A Burnt Child: A Novel

Synopsis

After the international success of his collection of World War II newspaper articles, German Autumn—a book that solidified his status as the most promising and exciting writer in Sweden—Stig Dagerman was sent to France with an assignment to produce more in this journalistic style. But he could not write the much-awaited follow-up. Instead, he holed up in a small French village and in the summer of 1948 created what would be his most personal, poignant, and shocking novel: A Burnt Child.Set in a working-class neighborhood in Stockholm, the story revolves around a young man named Bengt who falls into deep, private turmoil with the unexpected death of his mother. As he struggles to cope with her loss, his despair slowly transforms to rage when he discovers his father had a mistress. But as Bengt swears revenge on behalf of his mother&’s memory, he also finds himself drawn into a fevered and conflicted relationship with this woman—a turn that causes him to question his previous faith in morality, virtue, and fidelity.Written in a taut and beautifully naturalistic tone, Dagerman illuminates the rich atmospheres of Bengt&’s life, both internal and eternal: from his heartache and fury to the moody streets of Stockholm and the Hitchcockian shadows of tension and threat in the woods and waters of Sweden&’s remote islands. A Burnt Child remains Dagerman&’s most widely read novel, both in Sweden and worldwide, and is one of the crowning works of his short but celebrated career.

Copyright:

1948

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780816687015

Related ISBNs:

9780816677993

Publisher:

University of Minnesota Press

Date of Addition:

03/18/25

Copyrighted By:

Stig Dagerman.

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Literature and Fiction

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Translator:

Benjamin Mier-Cruz