To Mervas

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Shortlisted for Sweden's prestigious August Strindberg Prize, Rynell's To Mervas is a vivid exploration of both the internal and the external wilderness. Marta, a middle-aged woman who has withdrawn almost completely into herself after the loss of her disabled son, is jolted back into the world when she receives a short letter from her former lover, Kosti. The letter prompts her to set off for Mervas, a ghost town deep in the north of Sweden, with no notion of what might await her there...

Reviews

A wrenching tale by Swedish novelist and poet Rynell traces a womans personal journey through shame and violence . . . Rynell proves a fearless writer in this emotionally relentless work and finds a lyrical grace in Martas self-awareness. Publishers Weekly

Not a single false note rings in this sonata in minor. Swedish Daily News

Elisabeth Rynells language can only be described as breathtakingly beautiful. Uppsala Daily News

Rynell is one of Swedens most intense and intensely appreciated storytellers in prose and verse. She never wastes words. Rika Lesser

Author Bio

Elisabeth Rynell, born in Stockholm, is a poet and a novelist. Her works include the poetry volumes Night Conversations, Sorrow Winged Songs, Desert Wanderer, and the novels A Tale of Loka and Hohaj. To Mervas was a finalist for the August Strindberg Prize and is her first novel to appear in English. Victoria H ggblom is a writer and a translator. She lives in Berkeley, California.