The Games of Night

The Games of Night, Stig Dagerman, Quartet Books, 1947

Stig Dagerman was considered the most talented young writer in late 1940s Swedish literature. His career was brief, but mighty, producing four novels, several plays, a book of travel reportage, and this collection of short stories. His career ended by suicide in 1954, after suffering a long-term case of something like writer's block.

These stories generally take place in rural Sweden. One story is about a taciturn forester having an affair with the schoolmaster's wife. Another story is about children at a bathing resort being pushed to do dangerous things, like diving off cliffs, to catch coins thrown by tourists. A boy and his mother surprise his grandfather by recording a poem written by the boy onto a gramaphone record; the grandfather is not impressed. God visits Isaac Newton. A man with a reputation (deserved) for being a drunkard comes home for his father's funeral, and resents the family's expectations that he'll embarass everyone by being drunk at the funeral.

Like his career, Dagerman's writing is short and to the point. These tales have a darker sort of feel to them, like Strindberg or Kafka (to which they have been compared). If you can find this book, definitely check it out.