Marit Kapla

Härifrån

Augustvinnaren som skrev Osebol är tillbaka med ny bok. Kärlek på svenska bygger på intervjuer om kärlek, gjorda av dokumentärfilmaren Staffan Julén inför en film med samma namn. Författaren Marit Kapla har bearbetat materialet och format det till litteratur. Det blir en poetisk text om kärlekens villkor i vår tid, med teman som ensamhet, samhörighet och att vara sann mot sig själv.

Kärlek på svenska

Winner of Sweden's prestigious August Prize 'A simple, pared-back and down-to-earth masterpiece' James Rebanks 'Compelling ... we listen to them like something caught on the wind ... so moving and so strangely beckoning' Nicci Gerrard, Observer 'Fascinating ... I was riveted by these life stories of young and old ... A wonderful read' Lydia Davis 'Like standing outside an open window on a warm summer evening and listening to a piece of contemporary history' Länstidningen 'What a wonderful book . . . You want to move into it' Expressen Near the river Klarälven, snug in the dense forest landscape of northern Värmland, lies the secluded village of Osebol. It is a quiet place: one where relationships take root over decades, and where the bustle of city life is replaced by the sound of wind in the trees. In this extraordinary and engrossing book, an unexpected cultural phenomenon in its native Sweden, the stories of Osebol's residents are brought to life in their own words. Over the last half-century, the automation of the lumber industry and the steady relocations to the cities have seen the village's adult population fall to roughly forty. But still, life goes on; heirlooms are passed from hand to hand, and memories from mouth to mouth, while new arrivals come from near and far. Marit Kapla has interviewed nearly every villager between the ages of 18 and 92, recording their stories verbatim. What emerges is at once a familiar chronicle of great social metamorphosis, told from the inside, and a beautifully microcosmic portrait of a place and its people. To read Osebol is to lose oneself in its gentle rhythms of simple language and open space, and to emerge feeling like one has really grown to know the inhabitants of this varied community, nestled among the trees in a changing world.

Voices from a Swedish Village

Osebol

Winner of the 2019 August Prize. Near the river Klar?lven, snug in the dense forest landscape of northern V?rmland, lies the Swedish village of Osebol. It is a quiet, welcoming place, one where history feels more present than elsewhere and the bustle of city life is replaced by the sound of the wind in the trees. In the last half-century, the automation of the lumber industry and the steady drip of relocations to the cities for work have seen Osebol's adult population dwindle to only 40-odd residents. The shops have closed; the bridge across the river is shut to traffic. But still, life goes on. Those who have inherited their farms for generations live alongside recent arrivals from near and far. People age; children grow up. Heirlooms are passed from hand to hand, and memories from mouth to mouth. In this extraordinary book, Marit Kapla, herself a daughter of Osebol, has gathered the voices of the villagers themselves, interviewing almost all of those remaining between the ages of 18 and 92. They alone speak. Their words are arranged to gemlike effect, with only a handful of lines on each page, and through them their griefs, joys and moments of humour paint a textured and deeply personal picture of lives lived against the backdrop of nearly a century of Swedish and global history. To read Osebol is to lose oneself in its gentle rhythms of simple language and white space, and to emerge feeling like one has really grown to know the inhabitants of this close-knit community, nestled among the trees in a changing world. It is a book quite unlike any other.

Marit Kapla

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