Serious Game

Henning Mankell described this novel, on the centenary of its publication in 1912, as one of the world's lost classics. Published by Marion Boyars since 2001, and in a new reprint now, THE SERIOUS GAME is a love story that has barely aged at all. Mankell writes: "Söderberg wrote a contemporary novel. He wants the reader to look upon that time and to understand that love is not a secluded island, it is always affected by the "big" world; by society; politics, disasters and scandals (he even mentions the Dreyfus affair)." The book was also featured in the finale of the 2013 TV series, TRUE BLOOD, and has a special place in the hearts of many readers. Set at the turn of the previous century, THE SERIOUS GAME tells how Arvid, an ambitious and educated young man, meets Lydia, the daughter of a landscape painter, one summer and falls in love. Lydia, however, has other suitors, and Arvid is frightened of being tied by his emotions. Years later, now trapped inside loveless marriages of convenience, the two struggle to rekindle the promise of their romance with bitter and tragic results. A work of tremendous insight, tenderness and gentle irony, THE SERIOUS GAME tells a compelling story of bright young bohemians in love and struggling to free themselves from the snares of liberal society.

Although the story of misguided love, adultery and despair told in this turn-of-the-last-century Swedish novel is relatively simple, Soderberg's thorough exploration of his characters' lives makes it satisfyingly complex. Arvid falls in love with Lydia when they are both young; when ambition and straitened circumstances keep him from her, he still pines for her. After they both marry fairly lackluster mates, their love for each other remains constant. They have a prolonged affair, at the end of which lies despair for Arvid but contentment for Lydia. Soderberg manifests a keen painterly eye for settings: Arvid and Lydia's affair plays out against a backdrop of serene Stockholm parks, crowded newspaper offices full of workaholic journalists and the spare bedrooms where their trysts take place and in each locale, the details offered are just enough to create a world of sensations. Feminist readers may take umbrage at the male domination of Arvid's milieu women get little or no air time, although they would seem to determine the course of the novel. Soderberg creates psychological suspense worthy of Dostoyevski, as Arvid's internal moral conflicts achieve the gravity of physical pain. Tidbits of their affair are dropped along the way, as well, that make the book quaintly puzzle-like, as when Lydia instructs Arvid to put a postage stamp right side up if he loves her, upside down if he does not. Although the novel may be slow going in spots, its emotional intensity makes this translation a welcome occurrence. (Apr.)Forecast: A blurb from Margaret Atwood, a champion of Soderberg's work, may get browsers to stop and take a look. Even more effective would be a few well-placed reviews, which this novel amply deserves.
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