But long -wind when he writes about the literature world
Published 2025-06-02 04.00
“Musan” by Mats Strandberg
How is it Sig that became your writer?
Hedda Strömberg, the main character, answers about this compulsory interview question Mats Strandbergs “The Mouse “:” I Love Books “.” We lived far in the countryside and there were no other children nearby. So instead I read a lot and used my imagination. “Snark.
Hedda is a acclaimed youth book writer who sold himself to the Swedish Dekbonder. But the inspiration is missing and the readers are absent. Based on how Hedda expresses herself and thinks about her writing, it is not so hard to understand why. At the same time, former best friend David Ridings made a success by running the Hedda trauma, once entrusted him. He shamelessly weaves these experiences in his feminist pies in antique myths (a genre that nowadays feels suspicious as an example of prestige literature written by men).
In his earlier horror literature, Mats Strandberg used the gray, somewhat banal Sweden: the Finnish ferry, the nursing home and the conference. While he now writes about his own environment, the authors, it becomes classic in various respects.
A little too long, Strandberg is busy with predictable twists coupled to those who are really parasitizing about who and some betrayal is ethically justified in the name of art and class hatred.
David Ridings comes from a supported cultural gender consisting of generations of artists, photographers, theater writers and game developers. About the Midsummer, they gather in the deception Villa Thamyris – a historic hub for the cultural elite of Sweden and old occultists. Hedda has now also been invited. She notes Carl Larsson-The sketches on the walls that the higher class ignores cleansing, as well as a mysterious stuffy food lift in his wardrobe.
The “mouse” is a pain point The constant doubt about the equity, but also the price of the opposite: the hurry in the creative power. In the chapters with quotes, including from KafkaThe Stir -mountain And LagerlöfThe hypnotic state of creativity or desire for it described in various ways. This is really the treasure of all writers. If you have nothing else to write, rewrite your own writing and all the demons it calls.
David and Hedda meet the first time at a writing school modeled to Bishop’s Arnö – a context that breaks Hedda’s self -image. It is said that readers of cultural sites have experienced the experiences of Hedda in various old cultural debates. It is not enough to just be a reading and writing person to be special. Because she Nepo-babies That forms the student base on “Lundsberg Lundsberg”, the cultural world is far from idealized or unreachable. Unlike Hedda, they do not wonder if they earnings To write. Instead, they already speak the same language as the teachers “and reject the compelling horror novels of Hedda. The worst is the fear that the cultural class actually is Better that the management is inexhaustible.
A little too long, Strandberg is busy with predictable twists coupled to those who are really parasitizing about who and some betrayal is ethically justified in the name of art and class hatred. But then the book finally switches in full fear and all planted pop -cultural plants begin to bloom. You recognize yourself. It is Ari Asterrs “Midsummer” And Bong Joon-Hos “Parasite”, seasoned with Stephen KingThe Charlie Brooker And not least Neil GairanWho not only resembles David Ridings like his scented pasties from the 80s on antique myths, but is also a writer who has shown a scary double.
Although Strandberg Connect with tradition without removing it, you may still have to think about whether he adds something new, either to the genre or with a constant discussion about literature and creation. The fact that it is the trauma that is the muse of our time is an observation that has been in circulation for a while. The often uneven power relationship between Musa and artist is an even more investigated theme.
The eternal conflicts such as’ Mouse” Moves around, between high and low, prestige and money, inspiration and writing spasm, today fades against the most important fear of literature: that the book will lose its relevance as a medium and that literature is detached as the most cherished art form. To worry, had serious enough ”Musan” Had to be a little closer to this fear. Because although Hedda eventually takes the game home in the book, even this happy reader cannot really believe that her literature will actually do.
The art of destroying art
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