Martin Birck's Youth

Soderberg, Hjalmar

ISBN 10: 1870041577 / ISBN 13: 9781870041577

Published by Norvik Press, 2005

May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G1870041577I4N00

Synopsis:

Hjalmar Soderberg's partly autobiographical second novel was originally published in 1901, and traces the development of the title character from a seemingly idyllic Stockholm childhood to maturity as a thirty-year-old man, an introspective outsider, critical of society, constantly searching for the truth but going through a gradual process of disillusionment. He dreams of being a poet, but is too melancholic to break free from his modest bureaucratic career, and slowly drifts towards nihilism and aestheticism.
Martin Birck's Youth is a book rich in fin-de-siecle themes: melancholy, eroticism and decadence abound. The Stockholm depicted here is a haunting city of shadows and snowstorms, suppressed passion and loneliness. The conflict between dreams and reality which occurs in so many novels of the period is central to the novel.

About the Author: Hjalmar Soderberg (1869-1941) is one of Sweden's leading writers from the fin de siecle period. Perhaps best known for his elegantly crafted short stories (a selection of which has been published by Norvik Press), he was also the author of four novels, of which Martin Birck's Youth (1901) is the second. Drawing on his own childhood and early working life as a minor government official, Soderberg depicts his native Stockholm at the turn of the century from the perspective of a disillusioned outsider. Most of his works contain an underlying current of social and moral criticism, and the novels in particular caused controversy in their day with their frank exploration of sexual and moral issues. To support himself in his writing career, Soderberg worked as a journalist and literary critic. He later turned to writing philosophical and religious criticism, spending the latter part of his life in Copenhagen.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Martin Birck's Youth
Publisher: Norvik Press
Publication Date: 2005
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket