Swedish Dadaism?

This is a new edition of Swedish writer P C Jersild's classical novel “Barnens Ö”. Well, at least it used to be a classic in Sweden! Many of Jersild's novels are surrealistic and slightly bizarre, and this one (originally published in 1976 under a different cover) is no exception.

The main character, Reine, is a 10-year old kid with delusions of grandeur, combined with sexual obsessions and a strong fear of growing up. Small wonder, since most of the adults he encounters turn out to be hypocrites, losers, criminals or cranks. Reine encounters this parade of human failure when he, instead of going to a summer camp for kids, decides to stay behind in the big city, trying to fend for himself. He survives by working for an undertaker!

I admit that I don't always “grok” Jersild's sense of humor, and I find the sexual themes nauseating. This is supposedly a book about a 10 year old, remember? The novel would have made more sense had Reine been a sane kid looking out on an insane world, but as it is, children are also depicted as weird, depraved and criminal. At the same time, the humor makes “Barnens Ö” impossible to take seriously even as super-noir Zivilisationskritik. The last chapter contains something similar to a Pamela Ewing moment, making me wonder whether the story is “real” even in its own fictional universe?

Perhaps “Barnens Ö” is best regarded as Dadaism, rather than surrealism sensu stricto. For more on this peculiar work, see my review of the English translation, “Children's Island”.