Osynliga länkar: berättelser

by Selma Lagerlöf

En julgäst
En historia från Halstanäs
Den förste i förste år nittonhundra
De fågelfrie
Stenkumlet
Reors saga
Gudsfreden
Valdemar Atterdag brandskattar Visby
Tale Thott
Mamsell Fredrika
En fiskarhustrus roman
Mors porträtt
En fallen kung
Morbror Ruben
Gravskriften
Bröderna
Romarblod
I Vineta
Dunungen
Bland klängrosorna

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

405 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish author. In 1909 she became the first woman to ever receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings". She later also became the first female member of the Swedish Academy.

Born in the forested countryside of Sweden she was told many of the classic Swedish fairytales, which she would later use as inspiration in her magic realist writings. Since she for some of her early years had problems with her legs (she was born with a faulty hip) she would also spend a lot of time reading books such as the Bible.

As a young woman she was a teacher in the southern parts of Sweden for ten years before her first novel Gösta Berling's Saga was published. As her writer career progressed she would keep up a correspondance with some of her former female collegues for almost her entire life.

Lagerlöf never married and was almost certainly a lesbian (she never officially stated that she was, but most later researchers believe this to be the case). For many years her constant companion was fellow writer Sophie Elkan, with whom she traveled to Italy and the Middle East. Her visit to Palestine and a colony of Christians there, would inspire her to write Jerusalem, her story of Swedish farmers converting into a evangelical Christian group and travelling to "The American Colony" in Jerusalem.

Lagerlöf was involved in both women issues as well as politics. She would among other things help the Jewish writer Nelly Sachs to come to Sweden and donated her Nobel medal to the Finnish war effort against the Soviet union.

Outside of Sweden she's perhaps most widely known for her children's book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils).

Reviews

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ci sono dei fili invisibili che determinano la vita e le azioni dei personaggi di questi racconti. C’è un quadro che spinge un vecchio marinaio a sposarsi; l’amore per i figli morti da bambini, che accompagna le madri sostenendole per tutta l’esistenza; una strana capanna abitata da due vedove; una forza misteriosa e irresistibile che attira un cacciatore in un fitto bosco; c’è una città sommersa che a volte riemerge permettendo di rivivere il passato. Sono storie semplici, a volte tenere a volte divertenti, che ci rivelano anche la bellezza del paesaggio svedese.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

E' una piccola raccolta di racconti della Lagerlof. Sono storie normali, spaccati della vita quotidiana, molto piacevoli.
La storia che mi è piaciuta di più è Zio Rudolf, in cui un bambino di 3 anni, morto per un malore, diventa lo spauracchio della famiglia per generazioni.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: 14 short stories by Selma Lagerlöf, written at the beginning of her career (she was 35), in a style that strongly reminds one of her style in Gösta Berling. At first I thought that "Mamsell Fredrika" was a summary of the author's life written many years later, but in fact it is one of her first stories. Did she know beforehand what would happen to her? But no, in fact, it's her epitaph for Fredrika Bremer, a historical character. I also liked specially the Downie story, and the Christmas Guest.

ESPAÑOL: 14 cuentos que Selma Lagerlöf escribió al comienzo de su carrera (tenía 35 años), en un estilo que recuerda mucho a su estilo en Gösta Berling. Al principio pensé que "Miss Frederika" era un resumen de la vida de la autora, escrita muchos años después, pero de hecho es uno de sus primeros cuentos. ¿Sabía de antemano lo que le iba a pasar? Pues no, en realidad es su epitafio en honor de Fredrika Bremer, que fue un personaje histórico. También me gustaron mucho el cuento de Downie y el del Huésped de Navidad.

[Mariangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice short stories, in the same style of Nils Holgersson and Gosta Berling. I liked this book better than Gosta but less than Nils.

The English edition (from Gutenberg) contains two stories that are not in my Spanish version:
-THE SPIRIT OF FASTING AND PETTER NORD
-THE LEGEND OF THE BIRD'S NEST

On the other hand, my Spanish edition contains the following 8 stories that are not in the Gutenberg edition:
Una historia de Halstanas, Un caso de conciencia, La paz de Dios, Tale Thott, Los dos hermanos, En Vineta, El epitafio, Sangre romana

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are wonderful, but could benefit from a new, fresher translation. Lagerlof certainly deserves it.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvellous and charming collection of short stories by this Nobel Prize winning author.

[catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the stories are well told and beautifully descriptive, it seems that sometimes the parts in the stories do not match in style though, and sometimes this through me a little - as I thought I was reading a different story.

Of course, I would like to be able to read it in the original language, however with regards to Swedish, I am stuck on the vowels!

[Maja Eklund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selma Lagerlöf, banger som vanligt. Många små bra korta noveller. Undrar hur mycket av dessa små osynliga länkar mellan berättelser hon tänkt igenom och hur mycket hon bara lämnade till läsarens tolkning.

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review: https://theblankgarden.com/2018/08/31...

[Old Man JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories told in Lagerlof's beautiful prose. Most of the stories are told in Lagerlof's unique style of writing that seem to be almost fables or fairy-tales. All of the stories are good but some are fantastic. The ones that stand out in my mind are "The legend of the Bird's Nest" in which a hermit, while praying with arms outstretched for God to end the world because of his hatred for mankind, has a couple of birds build a nest in his hand and so he remains still until the baby birds that ulimately are hatched grow and leave the nest and the hermit learns to love the world. Outstanding!!, "The Outlaws" which follows two young men hiding from justice and "Uncle Reuben" in which young five year old Reuben catches a fever and dies but his legacy lives on through generations because the story of how he dies is used as a leason for parents to tell their five year olds. Lagerlofs writing and stories are simply amazing and each time I read one of her books I'm totally blown away.

[Kayla Randolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Spirit of Fasting and Petter Nord” - I want to know more about the rats from the beginning. Also, it’s so typical for a woman to have to bring herself back from the brink of death just so a man stops freaking out the townspeople. It was his fault she was dying!

“The Legend of the Bird’s Nest” - Lowkey adorable. We love a grumpy old man and what makes him not grumpy.

“The King’s Grave” - Jofrid had some weird standards at the start. What a trippy take though that you must be at fault for something or else why would it be haunting you. I’d love to see that intense ending on the screen.

“The Outlaws” - Get Edward Norton on the phone. Have him play both guys.

“The Legend of Reor” - Snakes spook me, but it was cute.

“Valdemar Atterdag” - Killer final paragraph and also this line about bells: “Where are the consecrated bells that drown the martyrdom of the soul? Where are they, with their wide, bronze throats, whose tongues cry out to God for grace for you?”

“Mamsell Fredrika” - I was kinda on board until it said that books are forgotten while people’s lives aren’t. I disagree.

“The Romance of a Fisherman’s Wife” - MEN ARE LIARS. Taking care of them should not be your vocation bb.

“His Mother’s Portrait” - Selma was writing about boy moms ages ago. She knew what was up with them.

“A Fallen King” - A fallen king, indeed. “‘O God, when honor is dumb, and misjudgment speaks, give me back misjudgment! When happiness is dumb, but sorrow speaks, give me back sorrow!’”

“A Christmas Guest” - Yay a happy ending for Christmas!

“Uncle Reuben” - For a story that starts with the death of a child, it was pretty heartfelt and endearing.

“Downie” - Uncle is a predator, but y’all are all bad people.

“Among the Climbing Roses” - A sweet note to end on. I couldn’t help laughing imagining carpenter bees and upholsterer bees as flying around with little toolboxes doing home renovations.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novellsamling, sammanplockad 1894, alltså några år efter debuten med Gösta Berlings saga. Det är hela 20 noveller (tror några lades till vid en senare utgåva), varav tre rör ett par kavaljerer sedan de lämnat majorskans flygel. Men i övrigt är det vitt skilda teman, ofta med en viss historisk lutning tillbaka. Det enda gemensamma draget är Lagerlöfs psykologiska skärpa och rena läsvärda stil, oavsett om där finns spår av saga, så är psykologin realistisk.

[John Carlsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Innehåller ett antal läsvärda noveller som definitivt innehåller det som gör Selma Lagerlöf så intressant. Allt är inte lika läsvärt, men novellen "Mamsell Fredrika" är nog ett måste. Oerhört suggestivt och väldigt intressant ur ett historiskt perspektiv. "Romarblod", "Gravskriften" och "I Vineta" dröjer sig också kvar!

[Anders Magnusson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2001 böcker
Sidan 42, mening 1:
”I ögonen lyste ännu febern.”