Snow

by Ellen Mattson, Sarah Death (Translator)

'The sky was now a block of darkness, punctured only by driving snow. The stars had gone out, the king was dead. And the wound on his arm refused to heal.' So begins Snow, the first novel by Ellen Mattson to be published in Britain - a brilliant exploration of an individual's codes of ethics and honour in the face of political and social collapse. The man is Jakob Torn, a small-town apothecary, stumbling drunkenly through the streets, a refugee from his own home, carrying a deep stab-wound inflicted by his wife. He does not understand what brought on this sudden violence, any more than he can come to terms with the death, in battle, of his king. When the town begins to fill with the starving, frostbitten remnants of the defeated army, and Jakob is conscripted into helping to embalm the king's body, all his certainties are called into question.Though set in 1718 in the west coast of Sweden, Snow is a profoundly modern and universal novel, interested less in the real-life historical drama that forms the backdrop than in the emotional and moral dilemma of Jakob Torn - a simple, loyal, honourable man who finds himself the damaged centre of a collapsing world.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2001

About the author

Ellen Mattson lives in Ljungskile, in Sweden. She has been awarded with De nios vinterpris, Selma Lagerlöfs litteraturpris, and Gerard Bonniers Award.

Since 2019 she is a member of the Swedish Academy on chair 9.

Reviews

[David Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow is a haunting existential tale reminiscent perhaps of Hamsun's Mysteries. It has more than a nod, too, toward Dostoevsky, particularly in the seedy character of Wessman, who berates Jakob Torn in a smoky tavern. Set pieces such as the arrival of the frostbitten ragged army or the washing of the king's corpse are beautifully handled. The motive behind the protagonist's alienation is somewhat vague - in the hands of Dostoevsky or Hamsun, Torn himself might have some dilemma or compulsion driving his actions. Well worth a read.

[Harriet · Rating 2 out of 5]

miserable, a study in despair, wretchedness and bleak isolation set in 1700s Sweden - no surprises it was very cold and they all froze to death

[Marie-Louise Pade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg læser den på dansk