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Merab's Beauty: And Other Stories
Combines rural folktale and biblical argument in a collection of tales that explores the power of words and includes the tale "The Way of the Serpent"
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Torgny Lindgren
49 books106 followersGustav Torgny Lindgren was a Swedish writer.
Lindgren was the son of Andreas Lindgren and Helga Björk. He studied in Umeå to become a teacher and worked as a teacher until the middle of the 1970s. He was for several years active as a local politician for the Swedish Social Democratic Party. In the 1980s he converted to the Catholic faith.
Lindgren began as a poet in 1965 but had to wait until 1982 for his breakthrough, with The Way of a Serpent (Swedish: Ormens väg på hälleberget). Lindgren has been translated into more than thirty languages and was one of Sweden's most internationally successful contemporary writers. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1991.
Lindgren was the son of Andreas Lindgren and Helga Björk. He studied in Umeå to become a teacher and worked as a teacher until the middle of the 1970s. He was for several years active as a local politician for the Swedish Social Democratic Party. In the 1980s he converted to the Catholic faith.
Lindgren began as a poet in 1965 but had to wait until 1982 for his breakthrough, with The Way of a Serpent (Swedish: Ormens väg på hälleberget). Lindgren has been translated into more than thirty languages and was one of Sweden's most internationally successful contemporary writers. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 28, 2012
Perhaps I should begin this review by confessing straight out that I do not hold many contemporary writers in high regard. But hardly had I finished reading the first half dozen stories in this sublime book than I recognized I was in the presence of a writer of astounding originality. Yes, Torgny Lindgren is a modern master of the short story; but he is much more than that. A timeless magic pervades these stories such that, I predict, they will be read in the centuries to come.
When I first read this book from cover to cover, I immediately returned to the beginning and began reading once again. I did this partly because I wanted to prolong the pleasure of the book, but partly also because I wanted to work out how so much literary power could reside in a narrative style so simple, so pared down. Lindgren doesn’t bother with description. Instead, he names people and objects and places; and yet, they come alive as if my magic. Of course, we accept the lack of description because the author’s voice, so strong and authoritative, invites us to fill in the gaps with our imagination. Besides, when the characters speak, they do so in a way that is thoroughly unrealistic (as if they were quoting from the Bible!) But they do so with a sense of urgency and authenticity that is utterly captivating.
Indeed, one of the most distinctive features of Torgny Lindgren’s stories is his astonishing inventiveness with dialogue. Even when the characters are involved in everyday events or transactions, they never speak the obvious. It’s as if they were constantly reaching out to some fundamental truth about the human condition. These stories may come across as modern folk tales set in rural Sweden, but they hold universal appeal because they evoke the timeless mysteries of death and love and friendship and betrayal. Above all, they celebrate the power of the spoken word to transform us; to liberate us from guilt and the temptation to despair. All in all then: this is a fascinating and beautiful book from one of the great storytellers of our time.
When I first read this book from cover to cover, I immediately returned to the beginning and began reading once again. I did this partly because I wanted to prolong the pleasure of the book, but partly also because I wanted to work out how so much literary power could reside in a narrative style so simple, so pared down. Lindgren doesn’t bother with description. Instead, he names people and objects and places; and yet, they come alive as if my magic. Of course, we accept the lack of description because the author’s voice, so strong and authoritative, invites us to fill in the gaps with our imagination. Besides, when the characters speak, they do so in a way that is thoroughly unrealistic (as if they were quoting from the Bible!) But they do so with a sense of urgency and authenticity that is utterly captivating.
Indeed, one of the most distinctive features of Torgny Lindgren’s stories is his astonishing inventiveness with dialogue. Even when the characters are involved in everyday events or transactions, they never speak the obvious. It’s as if they were constantly reaching out to some fundamental truth about the human condition. These stories may come across as modern folk tales set in rural Sweden, but they hold universal appeal because they evoke the timeless mysteries of death and love and friendship and betrayal. Above all, they celebrate the power of the spoken word to transform us; to liberate us from guilt and the temptation to despair. All in all then: this is a fascinating and beautiful book from one of the great storytellers of our time.
December 23, 2008
Torgny Lindgren’s stories in Merab’s Beauty have just about everything you could want from an author of post-modern fables: magical realism, a distinct ethnic vision, metafictional themes, and a strong and consistent voice. Many of the stories in this book are set in the first half of the 20th century and deal with quirky Swedes whose obsessions rival anything found in Knut Hamsun’s better-known Norwegian novels. Lindgren’s Swedes have a vivid Protestant background which survives, in their daily life, as a fractured knowledge of the Christian scriptures; they are forever quoting verses from the Bible and knocking together rickety theological ideas in the most bizarre situations. They obsess over the threat of consumption and over their indispensible livestock. And they come out the worse for wear when pitting themselves against the geography of their farms--against boundary stones, wells, and one colossal tree stump. Yet these are also people who can do the impossible, lifting automobiles, tricking malevolent ghosts, and even returning from the dead to make love to an estranged wife.
Lindgren’s stories contain an inventive fantasy and a poignancy equal to the best of Haruki Murakami or Mark Helprin and easily outpace some prominent American tall tale writers on the scene today--Rick Bass, for example. Lindgren consistently defies anticipation and delights the reader with the utter right-ness of each outlandish plot development. In his characters there is something primitive yet also familiar and essentially, astonishingly human.
[Note: In contrast to the Collins Harvill edition, the Harper & Row edition includes an extra piece: the long novella "The Way of a Serpent."]
Lindgren’s stories contain an inventive fantasy and a poignancy equal to the best of Haruki Murakami or Mark Helprin and easily outpace some prominent American tall tale writers on the scene today--Rick Bass, for example. Lindgren consistently defies anticipation and delights the reader with the utter right-ness of each outlandish plot development. In his characters there is something primitive yet also familiar and essentially, astonishingly human.
[Note: In contrast to the Collins Harvill edition, the Harper & Row edition includes an extra piece: the long novella "The Way of a Serpent."]
January 12, 2025
Ännu ett boktips om en av Torgny Lindgrens böcker.
Denna gången om boken (eller novellsamlingen) Merabs Skönhet.
Jag jobbar som bibliotekarie och ibland så känner man lite stress över att man borde läsa lite mer modern litteratur men det är tammefan oförtjänt att gå tillbaka till något annat just nu.
Merabs skönhet är egentligen en novellsamling som författaren tryckt ihop i en ramberättelse och kallat roman.
Skräddare Molin och hans väggbonader ramar in berättelsesamlingen. Efter att ha misslyckats som klädtillverkare börjar han skapa bonader med bibelord och tänkespråk, som han säljer i Västerbottens byar. Vid försäljningen berättar han historier om lokala livsöden, vilka blir omtyckta och återberättade.
Jag tycker att Torgny Lindgren är vår tids främste författare. Många framhäver
att det finns en realistisk grund som skildrar livet i Västerbotten för hundra år sedan: hårda livsvillkor med fattigdom, arbetslöshet och sjukdom osv.. Jag menar att detta (den eventuella historiska realiteten) inte är huvudsaken och i vissa berättelsen knappt relevant.
Jag menar detta som det främsta, hjärtligaste positivaste man kan säga om en författare men karln skriver bitvis som en skogstokig människa.
Novellen "nåden" innehåller den kanske det mest actionfyllda och intensivaste slagsmålet jag någonsin läst.
Alla som har tillgång till bibliotek borde gå dit. Sätta sig ner och läsa den novellern. Det är 20 minuter av ens liv.
Novellen handlar om frälsningen av en dräng som varit med om en övernaturlig händelse kopplad till tid.
"Världen är icke så enkel som norsjöborna tror, sade han. Det finns mer mellan himmel och jord än norsjöborna hava drömt om.
Tiden gar framat, sade jag. Därför går klockan ock framåt."
Novellen har så otroligt många bottnar och kan läsas på så många olika sätt.
"Ingen kan hava magnetiska händer, sade jag. Det vore övernaturligt. Och det övernaturliga, det finns icke.
Utom i fråga om religionen förstås, lade jag till"
Det, läsas på många sätt, kan för övrigt alla noveller göras.
Jag blev djupt rörd över novellen "Vatten" på ett sådant sätt jag själv inte riktigt förstår. Det är något otroligt vackert i den novellen.
Novellen Gloria kan läsas som en existentiell novell av mörkaste slag och novellen som boken fått som titel av kan läsas som en ko-relaterad spökhistoria.
Jag har tyvärr lite svårt att hoppa till något annat om jag ska vara ärlig. Jag har läst hela boken under denna lördag, försökt dra ut på det men längtar bara tillbaka till den.
Ett riktigt mästerverk.
Denna gången om boken (eller novellsamlingen) Merabs Skönhet.
Jag jobbar som bibliotekarie och ibland så känner man lite stress över att man borde läsa lite mer modern litteratur men det är tammefan oförtjänt att gå tillbaka till något annat just nu.
Merabs skönhet är egentligen en novellsamling som författaren tryckt ihop i en ramberättelse och kallat roman.
Skräddare Molin och hans väggbonader ramar in berättelsesamlingen. Efter att ha misslyckats som klädtillverkare börjar han skapa bonader med bibelord och tänkespråk, som han säljer i Västerbottens byar. Vid försäljningen berättar han historier om lokala livsöden, vilka blir omtyckta och återberättade.
Jag tycker att Torgny Lindgren är vår tids främste författare. Många framhäver
att det finns en realistisk grund som skildrar livet i Västerbotten för hundra år sedan: hårda livsvillkor med fattigdom, arbetslöshet och sjukdom osv.. Jag menar att detta (den eventuella historiska realiteten) inte är huvudsaken och i vissa berättelsen knappt relevant.
Jag menar detta som det främsta, hjärtligaste positivaste man kan säga om en författare men karln skriver bitvis som en skogstokig människa.
Novellen "nåden" innehåller den kanske det mest actionfyllda och intensivaste slagsmålet jag någonsin läst.
Alla som har tillgång till bibliotek borde gå dit. Sätta sig ner och läsa den novellern. Det är 20 minuter av ens liv.
Novellen handlar om frälsningen av en dräng som varit med om en övernaturlig händelse kopplad till tid.
"Världen är icke så enkel som norsjöborna tror, sade han. Det finns mer mellan himmel och jord än norsjöborna hava drömt om.
Tiden gar framat, sade jag. Därför går klockan ock framåt."
Novellen har så otroligt många bottnar och kan läsas på så många olika sätt.
"Ingen kan hava magnetiska händer, sade jag. Det vore övernaturligt. Och det övernaturliga, det finns icke.
Utom i fråga om religionen förstås, lade jag till"
Det, läsas på många sätt, kan för övrigt alla noveller göras.
Jag blev djupt rörd över novellen "Vatten" på ett sådant sätt jag själv inte riktigt förstår. Det är något otroligt vackert i den novellen.
Novellen Gloria kan läsas som en existentiell novell av mörkaste slag och novellen som boken fått som titel av kan läsas som en ko-relaterad spökhistoria.
Jag har tyvärr lite svårt att hoppa till något annat om jag ska vara ärlig. Jag har läst hela boken under denna lördag, försökt dra ut på det men längtar bara tillbaka till den.
Ett riktigt mästerverk.
May 23, 2018
Mitt första möte med Torgny Lindgren, och frågan är - varför dröjde det så länge? Denna samling berättelser utspelar sig i Västerbottens små orter och byar, där livets mödor och motgångar skildras med ett säreget språkbruk. Jag som är uppväxt i Bygdeå (en by norr om Umeå) känner mig som hemma med de bondska språkinslagen såväl som bybons envisa läggning. Mer Torgny, tack!
July 12, 2016
3.5 stjärnor
Jag må erkänna att denna bok var annorlunda än de böcker jag vanligtvis läser. Den fokuserade mindre på dramatiska händelser, och mer på att skildra människors liv. Första delen handlade om skräddar Molin, och de följande om personerna omkring honom, vars historier han återberättar med stor säkerhet.
Språket i boken var väldigt fint, men då jag undgick att förstå hur de olika delarna hängde ihop under majoriteten av boken, så nådde den inte riktigt upp till 4 stjärnor. Jag hade även problem att förstå utifrån vems perspektiv berättelserna var (främst i del 3, Två Predikningar: Nåden).
Jag fann denna bok väldigt lugnande att läsa dock, vardagliga händelser i människors liv. Speciellt Del 6, Två Brev: Vatten och del 7, Stubbrytaren.
Jag må erkänna att denna bok var annorlunda än de böcker jag vanligtvis läser. Den fokuserade mindre på dramatiska händelser, och mer på att skildra människors liv. Första delen handlade om skräddar Molin, och de följande om personerna omkring honom, vars historier han återberättar med stor säkerhet.
Språket i boken var väldigt fint, men då jag undgick att förstå hur de olika delarna hängde ihop under majoriteten av boken, så nådde den inte riktigt upp till 4 stjärnor. Jag hade även problem att förstå utifrån vems perspektiv berättelserna var (främst i del 3, Två Predikningar: Nåden).
Jag fann denna bok väldigt lugnande att läsa dock, vardagliga händelser i människors liv. Speciellt Del 6, Två Brev: Vatten och del 7, Stubbrytaren.
January 6, 2023
En fin samling noveller som alla handlar om ordens kraft på ett eller annat sätt, i samma anda som romanerna, dvs udda typer och lustiga situationer i livets allvarlighet, med underfundig humor.
May 20, 2024
3,5!! Kanske mot en 4a.
August 21, 2023
Nog bästa läsningen i år.
December 18, 2019
3*
NORRLAND
NORRLAND
November 7, 2017
A collection of stories about the power of language seems rather out of place in today's world where everybody takes what they hear for granted. You might imbue your words with all of your soul's passions and still no one would take it seriously. Or maybe that's just me.
Absurd as it is to imagine people actually taking someone's words fully to heart, Lindgren's characters take seriousness to a whole new level. Lindgren's stories reminded me of Flannery O'Connor's fiction, with its insight into weird and often backwards mentalities and its grandiose levels of absurdity. These tales are what you would get if you combined novels about Christian peasantry like Vilhelm Moberg's The Emigrants or Babette's Feast and the weirdness of Kafka or Quiroga.
The style of writing is quite odd as well for a novel published in the 80's. The ordering of words and the plainness of its diction really contribute to its feeling of authenticity in a pious rustic setting.
Of the stories, my favorite story was The Word. The protagonist, Samuel, has such a warped perspective, and yet his mentality could be broadened to a more general fear and stubborn denial of reality, something which everyone does in one way or another. My least favorite story was probably The Way of the Serpent, which though it was acclaimed for it's realistic portrayal of poverty and abuse, I found it to be dull, both in its writing and its reiteration of old and worn-out themes, not to mention that it was the longest of the bunch.
I'm in no way religious and though I think there were likely religious themes in these stories, I chose to ignore them and interpret the themes in a more general sense. Overall, the writing is simple and easy to read, the plots are usually fascinating, and the characters are well developed and memorable.
Absurd as it is to imagine people actually taking someone's words fully to heart, Lindgren's characters take seriousness to a whole new level. Lindgren's stories reminded me of Flannery O'Connor's fiction, with its insight into weird and often backwards mentalities and its grandiose levels of absurdity. These tales are what you would get if you combined novels about Christian peasantry like Vilhelm Moberg's The Emigrants or Babette's Feast and the weirdness of Kafka or Quiroga.
The style of writing is quite odd as well for a novel published in the 80's. The ordering of words and the plainness of its diction really contribute to its feeling of authenticity in a pious rustic setting.
Of the stories, my favorite story was The Word. The protagonist, Samuel, has such a warped perspective, and yet his mentality could be broadened to a more general fear and stubborn denial of reality, something which everyone does in one way or another. My least favorite story was probably The Way of the Serpent, which though it was acclaimed for it's realistic portrayal of poverty and abuse, I found it to be dull, both in its writing and its reiteration of old and worn-out themes, not to mention that it was the longest of the bunch.
I'm in no way religious and though I think there were likely religious themes in these stories, I chose to ignore them and interpret the themes in a more general sense. Overall, the writing is simple and easy to read, the plots are usually fascinating, and the characters are well developed and memorable.
March 9, 2013
This was my first translation of Torgny Lindgren, who is widely know for Ormens väg på hälleberget (English title:The Way of a Serpent). As with other translated editions into English the reader is left to ponder if the language being transferred in a rough manner stems from a clipped interpretation then how it may pass in Swedish. Lindgren draws upon religious parables in Merab's Beauty And Other Stories, and the featured tales range from more fantastical to stark tellings. Found myself reflecting upon Isak Dinesen /Karen von Blixen-Finecke extraordinary Danish re-tellings as a compare, that perhaps due to Blixen's ability to translate her own work into English flows much more melodiously and stirringly. For me Dinesen/Blixen sets a high measure that Lindgren strains to raise. Certainly his writing is more brusque, but not without humor. Am curious to read more of his work by different translators.
March 6, 2014
What a cover lol
1 of: Merab's Beauty and Other Stories: Including the Way of a Serpent [Hardcover:]
By: Torgny Lindgren
Condition: Used - Good
Sold by: atlanta-book-company-usa £1.51
Translated by Mary Sandbach.
1 - Tailor Molin - a 'tale or'(hee) two sewn into wall hangings. 4*
2 - The Biggest Words - The Word made Flesh. 5*
3 - The Word - Don't say it! 5*
4 - Mercy 2*
5 - Gloria 5*
6 - Merab's Beauty 3*
7 - Water - brilliant tale that sorta defines rural living in Sweden 5*
8 - True Love 4*
9 - The Stump Grubber 5*
10 - Boundaries 5*
11 - The Weight Lifter 4*
12 - James, the Poor in Spirit 5*
That was the end of the short stories, now for the novella The Way of the Serpent, translated by Tom Geddes
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2015
These are the oddest short stories I have ever read. They are very short stories, simply written, but full of thought, twisting to ends that I hadn't even dreamed of. Even in translation, the word choice is beautiful and clever; even the comma splices, which I generally despise, add to the tone.
I bought the book on Thursday afternoon; it's Saturday morning now. I often have a hard time paying attention to books (which is why I read so many books to the halfway point and then get distracted by another) and I did have other books to read, but there is a quality to Lindgren's stories that completely captivated me. I have no doubt that I'll be thinking of these stories and their meanings for a very long time.
I bought the book on Thursday afternoon; it's Saturday morning now. I often have a hard time paying attention to books (which is why I read so many books to the halfway point and then get distracted by another) and I did have other books to read, but there is a quality to Lindgren's stories that completely captivated me. I have no doubt that I'll be thinking of these stories and their meanings for a very long time.
August 6, 2014
A Spoon River Anthology in Sweden. Not poetry, but tales.
A beautiful ode to the spoken word.
Every single story here is the ring of a wool chain made, told by the narrator, a tailor who has lost love finding a kind of personal faith.
And he can't stop moving his feet, his hands and his mouth between human afflictions, fears, idiosyncrasies and superstitions in a timeless scenario made by common people.
A beautiful ode to the spoken word.
Every single story here is the ring of a wool chain made, told by the narrator, a tailor who has lost love finding a kind of personal faith.
And he can't stop moving his feet, his hands and his mouth between human afflictions, fears, idiosyncrasies and superstitions in a timeless scenario made by common people.
December 9, 2022
“L’amore si manifesta solo a chi ha compassione per tutto ciò che vive. Sono la compassione e l’amore a proteggerci dalla morte eterna.”
È una raccolta sorprendente, in cui la parola è la vera protagonista di ogni storia. L’atto di parlare in sé, è ciò che muove tutto. Le parole non sono mai banali, e anche quando sono poche, posso essere ricche di significato.
Le storie che racconta il sarto Molin sono dense di emozioni e di sogni. Ci sono racconti in cui si affrontano tanti diversi rapporti umani, come quello padre - figlio, ma anche uomo - animale, che come certe parole, non va dato per scontato.
È una raccolta sorprendente, in cui la parola è la vera protagonista di ogni storia. L’atto di parlare in sé, è ciò che muove tutto. Le parole non sono mai banali, e anche quando sono poche, posso essere ricche di significato.
Le storie che racconta il sarto Molin sono dense di emozioni e di sogni. Ci sono racconti in cui si affrontano tanti diversi rapporti umani, come quello padre - figlio, ma anche uomo - animale, che come certe parole, non va dato per scontato.
February 12, 2025
Torgny Lindgren i Norsjö slog sig ned där ini huset. Solen lyste in genom nyputsadfönstren och blev meste som en Guds styrande hand när han dränkt i det gyllene ljuset förde pennan till linjeratpappret och lät orden rinna fram likt flödvattnet ur nygrävkällan. Stororden. Gammorden. Livet, Kärleken, Skönheten. De smakade sött. Saknade helt bittersmaken. Och det var fantastiskt.
March 13, 2025
Minns inte riktigt: smålustig, alltför smålustig? Saknar nog svärtan som ger tyngd till Torgny annars.
May 26, 2025
Torgny skriver alltid fint
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews