Our volume »Young European Narrators«, edited in both languages, German and English, contains Carl-Johan Vallgren's natrration »Documents Concerning the Gambler Rubachov«.

 

Carl-Johan Vallgren is born in Sweden in 1964.

In his literary works Vallgren concentrates on longer nar-ration – and it stands for the excellence of his novels that they have been published in close succession at the inter-nationally well-known swedish publishing house for literature „Bonniers Förlag“.

Vallgren, at first sight, seems to use rather traditional principles in composition and structuring of his narrations. For instance there is the book he is writing at present (»För Herr Bachmanns broschyr« / »For Mr Bachmann’s booklet«) that is given the classical form of a novel in letters; and also the novel »Documents Concerning the Gambler Rubashov« might have been written in the older days in which its hero is playing his final game: at the end of the 19. Century.

But all these traditional aspects are nothing else but the mimikry of a crafty novelist. For it is a characteristic of Carl-Johan Vallgren’s narrations that he always is on the side of his characters; always he is – to speak in terms of last century’s literature – a Dostojewskij: No matter how many devils are behind of one of the heros and no matter how diabolic one turns out to be, Vallgren is their narrating lawyer. However deap a Rubashov falls or is made falling by his inventor, however bad a situation or character is – lovingly Carl-Johan Vallgren stands up for him.

In our volume »Young European Narrators« we present the beginning of his novel »Documents Concerning The Gambler Rubashov«.