Westo, Kjell

(1961-)

   A Finland-Swedish poet, short story writer, and novelist, Westo started out with three poetry collections: Tango Orange (1986), Epitaph over Mr. Nacht (1988; Epitaph for Mr. Nacht), and Avig-Bon (1989; Avig Prayer). He continued with the short story collections Utslag och andra noveller (1989; Shot and Other Stories) and Fallet Bruus (1992; The Bruus Case), in which he offered detailed portraits of life in Helsinki in the 1980s, depicting linguistic environments where Swedish is very much in the minority, the world of popular music, journalism, the Finland-Swedish family, and erotic conflicts. Westo's novels are written against the background of Anglo-American culture, of which Helsinki is a representative on the eastern edge of Europe.

   Combining high and low culture, the textual background for Drakarna over Helsingfors (1996, Kites above Helsinki) is, in the fashion of postmodernism, both the cartoon character Donald Duck and Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto (1848). The novel is a record of the development of capitalism in Finland, which, because of the country's marginal status, took place over a briefer period of time than was the case in the centers of capital. Hence, the nature and function of capitalism can be illuminated with particular clarity in such a setting, as Westo does admirably.

   In Westo's next novel, Vådan av att vara Skrake (2000, The Curse of Being Skrake), the title character bumbles through a series of endeavors, starting with having a collision while driving a Coca-Cola truck in Helsinki during the 1952 Olympics. A potent symbol of American cultural and economic imperialism, Coca-Cola first arrived in Finland in 1952, which is part of the small stories that Westo tells in order to evoke the grander narratives of historical forces. The novel Lang (2002) takes its title from the main character, the twice-divorced former Finland-Swedish television talk-show host and author Christian Lang, who in this thriller gets involved with a young Finnish woman named Sarita. Lang's main problem is that, on account of the cult of youth inherent in the contemporary advertising-driven culture, he is unable to accept that he has aged; his deterioration of body and mind has simply gone too far for him to be able to regain the vigor of his youth. As such, he may be a fitting symbol for an economic system that is perhaps close to singing its swan song.

   The criminal behavior of Sarita's former lover is another symptom of a system that can no longer be controlled.