The Marriage Feast

by Pär Lagerkvist

This collection of stories written over a period of more than thirty shows the deep seriousness and astonishing versatility of Par Lagerkvist's imagination. From the commonplace charm of the title story, to the searing futuristic satire of "The Children's Campaign, " to the disquieting fantasy of "The Lift That Went Down to Hell, " we see that Lagerkvist admits no settled boundaries between fact and fable. In this he is a poet for whom fantasy permeates the actual and "reality" can take on the dimensions of the fabulous. Life is, to him, a system of dark paradoxes; but there is also the good -- "a quiet, everyday radiance that mankind always had difficulty noticing and setting a value on."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Sweden, Nobel Prize, Swedish Literature, Literature

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Lagerkvist was born in 1891 in southern Sweden. In 1910 he went to Uppsala as a student and in 1913 he left for Paris, where he was exposed to the work of Pablo Picasso. He studied Middle Age Art, as well as Indian and Chinese literature, to prepare himself for becoming a poet. His first collection of poetry was published in 1916. In 1940 Lagerkvist was chosen as one of the "aderton" (the eighteen) of the Swedish Academy.

Lagerkvist wrote poetry, novels, plays, short stories and essays. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951 "for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind."

Reviews

[Paul H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising change from Lagerkvist's other work, which generally consists of austere novella-fable-parables drawn from Christian and/or pagan myth -- The Seventh Seal in written form, basically. (Though, to be clear, this only refers to the translated work, hopefully someone will get around to translating all of the 1910s-1930s stuff -- I guess Lagerkvist began his literary career as a sort of expressionist poet?).

In any event, very surreal to see Lagerkvist writing about people in normal, everyday mid-twentieth-century European contexts, sitting at cafes and living in houses, etc.; a curious sense of dislocation, like watching a French New Wave film made by Bergman, a romantic comedy made by Lynch, etc. The shorter pieces are also very reminiscent of Kafka, an influence that I somehow hadn't noticed before; Lagerkvist is a bit sunnier, I suppose, but the same depth and almost scriptural language.

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I ask you also to have a stone erected on our grave, just a simple stone with our names. And beneath them an inscription, these words:

Life united them forever." (197)

I had only read The Dwarf by Lagerkvist, but I knew, after reading it, that his work would be special. The stories that make up The Marriage Feast offer a beautiful compromise between fable and reality, and did not disappoint my expectation; in fact, some of them will stay with me for a very long time. I look forward to collecting and exploring more of Lagerkvist's work.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

No wonder he won the Nobel.

[mwr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several of the shorter stories are astounding for what is packed into 2 pages.

Probably among the best books I've read this year. The collection highlights his versatility. Seriously engaged by religious questions, clear-headed and cynical about our species, and tender and compassionate toward individuals.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather eclectic and fascinating collection of short stories, which I obtained somewhat by accident. I knew it was fiction, I just didn't know it was short stories when I acquired it. Previously, I had only read a few of Lagerkvist's novels, which I enjoyed very much so it was a welcome surprise to sample his tales, which range from extremely short (a single paragraph) to rather long (84 pgs, which actually happened to be my least favorite story, "The Masquerade of Souls" and probably brought the rating down a complete star for me). Most are on the shorter side (less than 6 pages) and many blur the line between fantasy and reality. His darkly satiric ones were some of my favorites, especially "The Children's Campaign." He often reverses reality and makes the familiar that which is the basis for the fabulist in his lore. Other favorites from this collection: "Father & I," "A Hero's Death," "The Venerated Bones," and "Paradise" (in which God encourages mortals to eat from the Tree of Knowledge... spoiler: it still doesn't go well).

[Cloglover · Rating 5 out of 5]

“No--there is no such boundary between life and death, not as one thinks. Like a ship putting out to sea, which is to sail far, far away we see it sink on the horizon, as into the depths, for ever, into an endless distance. ...
But he who lies lost in gentle melancholy on the shore can see it disappear behind a flower.”

We all know I am a Lagerkvist fanboy. This one is no different. I cried. I smiled. I loved it.

[Alejandro Caycedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful read.

[Phillip Frey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago I had read Par Lagerkvist's "The Dwarf" and "Barabbas." A few months ago I had reread both. I enjoyed them so much I looked through my bookcases and found the paperback of "The Marriage Feast," a collection of Par Lagerkvist's short stories. I had read this book long ago and decided to read it again. It's a book of treats. One of the treats is "Love and Death," a story that takes up about a half-page. It is quite dynamic. I'm so glad I returned to this book.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what might be sentimental (the title story), but is in reality moving, to the fable and fantastical, to intricate interior stories this is a pretty wonderful collection.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right now, especially, it seems really important to be reading Par Lagerkvist. We should listen to him. Since it is a collection of stories that he wrote over 30 years, they are varied in length and subject, but you can hear his despair at humanity and his hope and love for the same. The title story The Marriage Feast was so clear, so beautiful and so pure. May I use that word? I kept thinking something would go wrong. The groom would get drunk or some other disaster. NO! The loving couple, who are older, less than beautiful, but who love sincerely, leave the feast and go up to their room to finally be together. Beautiful! The story The Masquerade of Souls features another couple who have given themselves to each other completely and who need no other beings so complete is their union. I had trouble reading this one. I found myself skimming. I decided that they didn't need other people so they didn't need me.
The very short stories, just paragraphs, were insightful. They were all thought provoking. The Venerated Bones is one I will never forget.
Has anyone read his play The Man Without a Soul? I'd like to know more about it, and I can't find much on the internet.

[Bryan Heck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual Ratings

The Marriage Feast - 4/5
Father and I - 3/5
The Adventure - 4/5
A Hero's Death - 5/5
The Venerated Bones - 2/5
Saviour John - 4/5
The Experimental World - 3/5
The Lift that went down into Hell - 4/5
Love and Death - 3/5
The Basement - 3/5
The Evil Angel - 2/5
The Princess and all the Kingdom - 1/5
Paradise - 3/5
God's Little Traveling Salesman - 2/5
The Masquerade of Souls - 4.5/5
The Myth of Mankind - 2/5
On the Scales of Osiris - 1/5

[Truong Chung · Rating 1 out of 5]

I pick up this book since the title seems strange. Read the first story "The Marriage Feast" and instantly felt boring. This story is a congratulate for the sanctity of marriage and religion, with all of the warm and fuzzy felling of falling into love.

Try a few more stories "The Adventure", "Savior John". What a waste of paper and time.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an outstanding set of short stories that provide a fascinating view of Swedish society in the first half of the 20th century.