The twenty-six stories included in this volume are taut, economical in structure, precisely observed and laced with irony.
Hjalmar Söderberg Books
July 2, 1869 – October 14, 1941
Hjalmar Söderberg's writing delves into the realms of melancholy and unrequited love, painting vivid portraits of contemporary Stockholm through the eyes of the detached observer. His contemporary novels, plays, and poetry are celebrated for their profound exploration of the human condition and the nuances of urban life. Söderberg is revered in his native Sweden, often regarded as a literary peer to the national icon August Strindberg. His distinctive voice offers a poignant and insightful look at desire, regret, and the fleeting nature of happiness.
Lonely and introspective, Doctor Glas has long felt an instinctive hostility toward the odious local minister. When the minister's beautiful wife complains of her husband's oppressive sexual attention, Doctor Glas finds himself contemplating murder
Sweden at the turn of the previous century. Arvid, an ambitious and well-educated young man, meets Lydia, the daughter of a landscape painter, during an idyllic summer vacation and falls in love. Lydia, however, has other suitors, and Arvid is frightened of being tied down by his emotions. Trapped inside loveless marriages of convenience, they struggle in later years to rekindle the promise of their romance with bitter and tragic results. Hjalmar Soderberg, born in Stockholm, in 1869, was one Scandinavia's leading modernist writers. The Serious Game is Sweden's most celebrated and enduring love story.
Die Spieler. Zwölf Erzählungen und ein Roman
- 364 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Hjalmar Söderbergs Erzählungen und der Roman "Doktor Glas" skandalisierten einst das Publikum und wurden später vergessen. Seine Figuren, Spieler und Selbstmörder, zeigen eine gespenstische Wiederkehr und spiegeln den rücksichtslosen Individualismus sowie die Isolation wider, die auch in unserer modernen Gesellschaft präsent sind.
'Tomas schloß die Augen. Ellen, das Mädchen aus dem Handschuhladen, war in seinem Gedächtnis aufgetaucht. Er konnte nicht umhin, an ihre Arme zu denken. Er liebte Märta, und trotzdem schien es ihm, als hätte er Wesentliches vom Glück des Lebens verpaßt, wenn er diese Arme nicht sähe, wie sie sich weiß und entblößt ihm entgegenstreckten.'
