Instead of a Holiday: Sweden (but not Scandi crime)

Where shall we go today?

While the world deals with the pandemic, many aspects of our normal lives are on hold. Holidays in 2020 are likely to be difficult or impossible. With than in mind, we’ve put together a series of ‘instead of a holiday’ book lists. These lists contain novels with a sense of atmosphere and setting to imaginatively transport you to places you can’t currently get to, as well as travel, food and history writing to provide that all-important cultural engagement.

This is a list I’ve been wanting to make for some time. We love our crime writing at Mr B’s, but often I do wish more of the Scandinavian writing which isn’t part of that genre got translated and received just that little bit more air-time. So, here’s a small collection of what’s currently available from Sweden: fantastic voices and stories, classic, dystopian, lyrical, contemporary and political, which will each in their own way offer you a window into what Sweden is and has been in the past.