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 the Nobel Prize in 1974. Johnson's first books were written while he lived in Berlin and Paris, where he became acquainted with the work of Europe's foremost modernists. Such volumes as De fyra framlingarna (1924; The Four Strangers), Timan och rattfardigheten (1925; Timan and Justice), Stad i morker (1927; City in Darkness), and Stad 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 from Knut Hamsun's novel Sult. 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 novel Avsked 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 to nature. 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), and Slutspel 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 World War II Johnson wrote two novels warning people about the evils of Nazism, Nattovning (1938; Night Maneuvers) and Soldatens 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 volumes Grupp Krilon (1941; Group Krilon), Krilons resa (1942; Krilon's Journey), and Krilon 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 the Malleus 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 with Livsdagen lang (1964; Life's Long Day), a love story; Favel ensam (1968; Favel Alone), a book about concentration camp survivors; and Några steg mot tystnaden (1973; A Few Steps toward Silence), which tells about characters who in various ways are held captive by the past.