Island of the Doomed
Using nightmarish imagery, this is an allegory centered on seven shipwrecked people, doomed to die, each seeking a form of salvation.The central theme is fear. The language is inspired by Faulkner, and the symbolism by Kafka.
Dagerman wrote the novel while holed up in August Strindberg’s writing cabin in Stockholm archipelago. The last sixty pages were written during one night when dagerman said he felt like “God was doing the writing”.
Stig Dagerman (1923–1954) is one of the most prominent authors among the Swedish “Fyrtiotalisterna” (writers of the 1940s). He made his debut in 1945 with the novel The Snake which was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet prize for literature. He is best known as a writer of prose, with Island of the Doomed, 1946, A Burnt Child, 1947 and Wedding Worries, 1949, but…
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Sold to: Denmark, France: Agone, Hungary: Napkut Kiado, Mexico: Sexto Piso (World Spanish), Poland: Panstwowy Instytut, US: University of Minnesota PressUsing nightmarish imagery, this is an allegory centered on seven shipwrecked people, doomed to die, each seeking a form of salvation.The central theme is fear. The language is inspired by Faulkner, and the symbolism by Kafka.
Dagerman wrote the novel while holed up in August Strindberg’s writing cabin in Stockholm archipelago. The last sixty pages were written during one night when dagerman said he felt like “God was doing the writing”.
