A gentle reader requested to know a bit more about Torgny Lindgren. And so ever one to oblige those seeking knowledge about my favorite writers, you all shall be punished for his curiosity. I have only five books, I don't know how many are available in translation: The Way of a Serpent , Light , Sweetness , Bathsheba , and Merab's Beauty . The first three that remain most vividly in my mind--the first a story about a wicked landlord who collects the rent from a family in rural Sweden and when the money runs out begins to exploit the women of the household. The title is taken from proverbs 30:19 the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. (KJV) And though my recollection is at something of a distance now, at least two, and possibly all three of these is developed in the course of a very short novel. Perhaps the best description of the book is gritty and realistic. I...
I read it recently, and I'm not sure you need to go out of your way. The most enlightening thing about it to me was that some of the essays read like a really good blog post, and it sort of de-mythologized the author-god impression I had of Chabon and gave him back his person-status.
ReplyDeleteAs far as his reflections on manhood go...not so impressed. I'm put off by his affection for comic books; his appeal to the nostalgia of 70s and 80s era objects and attitudes feels a little stale; and his moral positions are mostly incompatible with a Catholic sensibility.
...but it's fun reading nonetheless.