Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
an frontier. The multigenerational saga
Hanna's Daughters
by Marianne Fre-
driksson traces a Swedish family from the 1870s through World War II. Nor-
wegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's controversial plays explore the role of wo-
meninthe19thcentury(try
A Doll's House
or
Hedda Gabler
).A19th-century
Frenchwoman takes refuge in Denmark in
Babette's Feast
by Karen Blixen.
Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy (
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
The Girl Who Played with Fire,
and
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's
Nest
)
—
with its themes of violence against women and government corrup-
tion—put Swedish crime fiction on the map. His bestselling novels have been
translated into some 30 languages. Other thrillers include
Smilla's Sense of
Snow
by Dane Peter Høeg, and
Faceless Killers
, the first of several Kurt Wal-
lender mysteries by Swede Henning Mankell.
Sophie's World
by Norwegian
Jostein Gaarder is a metaphysical mystery wrapped in the history of philo-
sophy.
Films
Watch any of Oscar-winning Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's films, espe-
cially
The Seventh Seal
(1957, a knight questions the meaning of life),
Smiles
of a Summer Night
(1955, turn-of-the-century frolic), and
Fanny & Alexander
(1983, children overcome father's death).
Song of Norway
(1970) is a musical based on the life of Norwegian com-
poser Edvard Grieg. Bergman alums Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann star in
The Emigrants
and
The New Land
(1971, 1972) based on the Moberg novels.
The bittersweet
My Life as a Dog
(1985) shows Sweden in the 1950s, while
the “original foodie movie,”
Babette's Feast
(1988), is set in rural 19th-cen-
tury Denmark (and based on the topic by Karen Blixen cited above).
Pelle
the Conqueror
(1988) examines Swedish immigration to Denmark in the 19th
century, and
Kristin Lavransdatter
(1995) is a much-condensed version of the
epic novel. The midnight sun plays a role in the Norwegian thriller
Insomnia
(1997, later adapted by American filmmakers). A young Finnish boy is evac-
uated to Sweden during World War II in
Mother of Mine
(2005).
Julia Ormond plays the title role in the dramatic film adaptation of
Smilla's
Sense of Snow
(1997). For lighter fare, try comedies such as
Italian for Be-
