SWEDISH FOLKTALES &
LEGENDS
Translated & Edited by Lone Thygesen Blecher and George Blecher
Swedish Folktales and Legends is a diverse and representative collection of stories from Sweden's centuries-old folklore tradition. Ranging from the ribald to the romantic, from the rustic to the mythical, these are lively translations of 150 tales drawn from unique sources including the Swedish National Folklore Archives and numerous private collections, while the humorous and dramatic illustrations are gathered from classic volumes of Swedish folktales. Lone Thygesen Blecher's engaging introduction details the purpose and background of folktales and legends as well as the history of their collection. This distinctive selection presents the storytelling artistry of Sweden's lush folkloric tradition.
Uncertainty: A Novel
by Mikael Larsen
Translated by Lone Thygesen Blecher
and George Blecher
In an erotic psychological thriller by an up-and-coming Danish writer, a mentally unbalanced tabloid journalist suspected of murdering his girlfriend tries to clear his name and discovers that his former lover led a double life.
If You Didn't Have Me
by Ulf Nilsson
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Translated by Lone Thygesen Blecher
and George Blecher
A young boy struggles to cope with loneliness, helplessness, and anxiety as he and his little brother spend an extraordinary time on a farm in southern Sweden during a temporary separation from their parents.
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Winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Prize from the American Library Association.
The Thirty Years' War
by Henrik Tikkanen
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Translated by Lone Thygesen Blecher
and George Blecher
By turns ironic and uproarious, The Thirty Years' War is about a soldier who carried on World War II by himself, years after it officially ended. In satirizing war and the making of a war hero, the controversial Finland-Swedish writer Henrik Tikkanen gives many a nod to American culture and the American military. His comic novel, reminiscent of the best writing of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is now available in English, ten years after its original publication in Finland.
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The twenty drawings are by Tikkanen, a noted artist and caricaturist as well as author. The Thirty Years' War was translated into English by George and Lone Thygesen Blecher, who were named Translators of the Year in 1984 by the American Library Association. The afterword is by George C. Schoolfield, chairman of the Department of Germanic Languages at Yale University, and an authority on Scandinavian literature.