Translated material
The Queen versus Kierkegaard
Four Scandinavian new products worthy of your attention
A publication with illustrations by the Danish queen, a Norwegian political thriller, a biography of the most famous Swedish modernist artist and a graphic novel about Alzheimer's disease - read about these new items in modern Scandinavian literature in Elena Dorofeeva's material.
Karen Blixen. Ehrengard. Forlaget Wunderbuch, 2023
The novel was written in English, like most of Blixen's works, which she herself translated into Danish. But she did not have time to translate “Erengard”, and, as stated in the annotation to the publication, this work was done by her secretary, while preserving the original spelling of the baroness. The work, which the author called a “joke,” appeared in response to Soren Kierkegaard’s “Diary of a Seducer.” Karen Blixen accepted the challenge of a famous philosopher, whose hero claimed that he could seduce any woman. Its hero - the court artist and conqueror of women's hearts Kazot - suffers a fiasco, having fallen in love with the young maid of honor Erengard, a brave and bright girl, alien to pretense and affectation. Kazot feels defeated and is forced to admit that he does not understand anything about romantic feelings.
“Karen Blixen’s stories have always fascinated me with their fairy-tale aesthetics and extraordinary literary imagination - and I can say that I am proud to take part in this project,” the Danish ruler wrote in the foreword to the new edition. You can see the illustrations she made in decoupage style on the publisher’s page.
This work by Blixen was filmed twice - in 1982 by Italian director Emidio Greco, and in the summer of 2023 - by the famous Danish director, two-time winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Oscar winner Billy August. The new film came out on Netflix in September. The official trailer for the romantic comedy Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction can be viewed here .
Queen Margrethe II made about 80 decoupages, which served as the basis for the sets and interiors for this film, and also developed the costume design. A month after the premiere, her work was presented at an exhibition at the Karen Blixen Museum in Rungstedlund. Of course, the participation of the Danish queen in both projects is not just a coincidence.
The now former Queen Margrethe II is an extraordinary person. She ascended the Danish throne 52 years ago, and in a New Year's speech on December 31, 2023, she stated that on January 14 she would leave the throne in favor of her son, Crown Prince Fredrik, which she did on time. During the long years of her reign, Margrethe II managed not only to deal with state affairs, but also to create church vestments and theatrical costumes, paint pictures, translate and illustrate books.
In her youth, Margrethe studied at the University of Copenhagen at the Faculty of Philosophy. Later, at the Sorbonne and Cambridge, she received an archaeological education. While still a princess, in the early 1970s, she drew illustrations for Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer and sent them to the author. Tolkien was initially against illustrating his works, believing that readers' imaginations should be allowed to create their own images, but he was struck by how close Margrethe's drawings were to his own vision. In 1973, after the writer's death, two ink sketches by Ingahild Gratmer were found in his coat pocket, then other drawings of hers were discovered, some with comments and recommendations from Tolkien. In 1977, the Danish and then the English edition of The Lord of the Rings with illustrations by the Danish queen was published.
Since then, Margrethe II has continued to paint, loves landscapes with bold colors, and uses watercolors and acrylics in her work. In 2012, an exhibition was held in Copenhagen to mark the 40th anniversary of her reign, at which 135 paintings were presented. In the same year, an exhibition of her works based on fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen was held at the Hermitage: illustrations for “The Snow Queen”, decoupages and costumes for the film adaptation of the fairy tale “Wild Swans” were presented. Margrethe's work has also traveled to the United States, Canada, Italy, China, Japan and France.
Ingar Johnsrud. Patriot. Aschehoug, 2023
In this book, political issues are intertwined with a masterfully constructed detective plot. With elections just around the corner, terrorists have produced one of the deadliest poisons in the world. The woman became a hostage. The clock is ticking, and the heroes must race against time to prevent disaster.
Jonsrud said that before becoming a writer, he worked for many years as a journalist in the politics department and knows firsthand about the intrigues in the highest echelons of power and the irreconcilable personal rivalry between politicians. While working on the book, the author conducted a lot of research, including attempts to manipulate the course of the presidential elections in the United States and the Brexit vote in the UK using the Internet and social networks.
Ingar Jonsrud (b. 1974) is a well-known Norwegian journalist and writer who has worked for various newspapers and magazines. He made his debut in literature in 2015 with the novel “Brotherhood,” which won first place among Norwegian bestsellers. The book became the beginning of a trilogy, which was published in 20 countries, including Russia (“Brotherhood”, “Callipso”, “Cross”, 2021-2022, translated by Maria Nazarova).
Per Svensson. Zorn: Ett liv, en tid. Albert Bonniers Forlag, 2023
Svensson created an original book about the life and work of one of the most successful Swedish artists, trying to go beyond stereotypes and show not only a brilliant painter and portraitist (among his models, in addition to nude girls with curvy figures, were, for example, King Oscar II of Sweden, US Presidents Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt), but also a talented entrepreneur who knew how to acquire the necessary contacts and demand exorbitant fees. Zorn interacted with American presidents, was on good terms with the Swedish royal family, and earned more money than any other Swedish artist before him.
Zorn's talent manifested itself from a young age, his youthful watercolors amazed the imagination, and at the age of 15 the boy was admitted to school at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, the 29-year-old artist received a gold medal and in the same year was awarded the title of knight of the French Legion of Honor. Svensson shows the artist’s path to fame—and how the burden was too much for him to bear. The book also explores an important period in Swedish history when modernism burst into various areas of life - not only in art, but also in the culture and social life of Sweden as a whole.
Per Svensson (b. 1956) is a journalist, worked as the cultural editor of several leading Swedish newspapers, and is the author of ten books of essays, reports and biographies, awarded a number of journalistic and literary prizes.
Martin Ernstsen. Men hvem er du? Gyldendal, 2023
An adult son's trip to visit his father, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and is forced to live in an institution, turns into a journey through the memories of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In this deeply personal story, the artist tries to understand his father and come to terms with him, as well as his past.
According to the plot of the novel, the relationship between father and son has never been simple. Childhood memories of violent outbursts, family quarrels, and then, as an adult, differences in views on politics and immigration caused the son to rarely see his father. But how to treat a small helpless person lying in a hospital bed, for whom it is quite difficult not only to express his feelings, but to explain himself about the most banal things?!
This is a story about accepting yourself and your loved ones, human weakness and vulnerability, forgiveness and love. Visual storytelling immerses the reader in the world of human feelings and memories, even more fully revealing the psychological depth and tragedy of the story.
In modern Norwegian comics, the autobiographical trend is generally pronounced. One can recall a number of graphic novels that were also published in Russian, which tell about the personal experience and complex psychological problems of the author: Andres Kvammen “High School” (translation by E. Vorobyova, 2017), Anja Dahle Everby “Bergen” (translation by E. Vorobyova, 2019), two comics by Steffen Kverneland “Munch” (translation by E. Vorobyova and E. Rachinskaya, 2019) and “Dead of his own free will” (translation by E. Vorobyova and E. Rachinskaya, 2021).
Martin Ernstsen (b. 1982) is a Norwegian comics artist. He received a BA in Illustration from the UK and an MA in Storytelling from the University of Stockholm. Martin made his debut in 2007, and since then he has released several comic book albums and books, including for children. In 2019, Ernstsen translated Knut Hamsun’s famous novel “Hunger” into a comic book format (Russian translation by E. Vorobyova and E. Rachinskaya, 2021). For this work, he was awarded the Braga Prize in the category “Illustrated Books for Children and Adults” (2019), as well as the Grafill Prize in the categories “Best Comic of the Year” and “Best Literary Adaptation of the Year” (2020).