JOHNSON, EYVIND

(1900-1976)

A Swedish novelist, Johnson was the son of a disabled railroad worker and had to fend for himself starting at the age of 14. With little formal schooling, he read widely, eventually rising to be one of Sweden's foremost writers, and he was honored with theNobel Prizein 1974. Johnson's first books were written while he lived in Berlin and Paris, where he became acquainted with the work of Europe's foremostmodernists. Such volumes asDe fyra framlingarna(1924; The Four Strangers),Timan och rattfardigheten(1925; Timan and Justice),Stad i morker(1927; City in Darkness), andStad i ljus(1928; City in Light) were the works that taught him his craft.Stad i ljus, which tells about a writer who is starving in Paris, shows influence fromKnutHamsun's novelSult.Minnas(1928; Remembering) portrays memoryas linked to repression.Kommentar till ett stjarnfall(1929; Commentary to a Falling Star) is set in Stockholm during the 1920s and is Sweden's first novel that uses the stream-of-consciousness technique.

Many of Johnson's novels from the 1930s feature the character Marten Torpare, who often appears as the author's mouthpiece. In the novelAvsked till Hamlet(1930; Farewell to Hamlet), Marten eschews vacillation and comes to terms with his own past.Bobinack(1932) satirizes capitalist society and briefly suggests that a cure may be found in a return tonature.Regn i gryningen(1933; Rain at Dawn) is likewise an experiment with primitivist ideas.

Johnson became well known for a series of four autobiographical novels about a character named Olof.Nu var det 1914(1934; tr.1914, 1970),Här har du ditt liv(1935; Here's Your Life),Se dig inte om! (1936; Don't Look Back), andSlutspel i ungdomen(1937; Finale in Youth) tell about Olof's life during the first five years after he has left home at the age of 14.

Right before WorldWarII Johnson wrote two novels warning people about the evils of Nazism,Nattovning(1938; Night Maneuvers) andSoldatens aterkomst(1940; The Soldier's Return), in which he argues for the use of force to prevent violence and the loss of freedom. The wartime Krilon trilogy, an allegory of the war, consists of the volumesGrupp Krilon(1941; Group Krilon),Krilons resa(1942; Krilon's Journey), andKrilon sjalv(1943; Krilon Himself).

After World War II Johnson wrote several historical novels.Strandernas svall(1946; tr.Return to Ithaca, 1952) is a retelling of the story of Odysseus's journey home. As he kills Penelope's suitors, he tries to obtain peace by force, but it is not clear that he succeeds.Drommar om rosor och eld(1949; tr.Dreams of Roses and Fire, 1984) is set in 17th-century France under Cardinal Richelieu. While following the procedures of theMalleus Maleficarum, a manual that describes how to detect witches, the cardinal's minions work to get rid of his enemies. There are clear parallels with the Moscow trials of the 1930s.Hans nådes tid(1960; tr.The Days of His Grade, 1968) chronicles Charlemagne's rise to power; the narrative includes the story of a failed rebellion in Lombardy that is reminiscent of the events in Hungary in 1956.

Johnson capped his career withLivsdagen lang(1964; Life's Long Day), a love story;Favel ensam(1968; Favel Alone), a book about concentration camp survivors; andNågra steg mot tystnaden(1973; A Few Steps toward Silence), which tells about characters who in various ways are held captive by the past.