Sommeren med Monika

by Per Anders Fogelström, Ursula Krogvig (Oversetter)

Sommaren med Monika är berättelsen om Harry och Monika, som tror sig fly från samhället, men vars "flykt" ryms inom en sommar. En sommar som blir en kärlekens höga visa i den hängivet tecknade stockholmska skärgården.

Genres: Scandinavian Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Per Anders Fogelström was among the leading figures in modern Swedish literature. He spent his whole life in Stockholm, and the most famous of his many works is a series of novels set in the city he dearly loved.

Ingmar Bergman's taboo-breaking 1953 film Summer with Monika is based on Fogelström's novel of the same name, published in 1951.

The author of more than 40 books in total, Fogelström also served as director of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society from 1963 to 1977. He received an honorary doctorate from Stockholm University in 1976. On the day he died, June 23, 1998, a bust of Fogelström was unveiled in Stockholm City Hall.

Reviews

[Nestor B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early 1950s novel from the working class areas of Stockholm. The depictions of the environment and the city are good, but the characters are rather flat. The author has great sympathy for Harry, but Monica is defined only by standard male clichés about women; seductive and deceitful. This is the story of a predicted disaster, at least for the reader and therefore it also idles towards the end. Haven't seen Bergmann's film, maybe it gives the characters more depth.

[Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

So by the end of the book Monika is still a child while Harry becomes an adult more or less. I think 3/4th of the book they are treated equally in some sense and I did really like that part of the book. However by the last 1/4th Monika is so unappealingly drawn that the book kind of craters. I can think of ways of getting the same point across without throwing the character of Monika under the bus.

[Anton Borrman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Den började lite mysigt med nya kärlek och äventyr som ändå kändes bra att läsa om. Men sen blev boken mer och mer ångestfylld och jag blev nästan på dåligt humör av den. Var det en för ung förälskelse med olyckligt slut eller var det två människor som inte passade i längden men inte i stunden? Oavsett fick boken än att drömma i början och gav en känsla att något var fel resten av tiden.

[Rebecka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, Monika sure is a horrible girl. I'd like to read this, but with a more nuanced Monika. The way she's written, she's just so unsympathetic the story ends up being pretty flat. If we could get some sympathy for her, the story would be so much more interesting. As it is, you just end up feeling sorry for Harry.

Still, I like it.

[bokmal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kärlekshistoria mellan två väldigt unga människor, som urartar när vardagen tar vis. Jobbigt att känna att man dömmer Monica mer för att hon är kvinna. Annars ingen bok som lämnar spår.

[Arek Szewczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Tanja (Litteraturhesten)]

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