Lars Gyllensten--novelist, essayist, satirist, and critic--is one of the foremost contemporary Swedish writers; indeed, he has been described as the only contemporary author that Sweden could present to the world as one meriting comparison with Thomas Mann and Samuel Beckett. Highly prolific and winner of several literary awards, Gyllensten still is not as well known beyond Sweden as he might be, for few of his works have been translated into widely read languages. Even in Sweden, his popular appeal is limited, for his texts--intellectually stimulating, aesthetically pleasing, and often rife with irony and playful humor--place demands on readers that not all readers of more popular literature are willing to meet. A highly cerebral wordsmith of considerable intellectual range and erudition, Gyllensten challenges readers to examine critically the various philosophical and moral ideas that he discusses. Those who accept the challenge are well rewarded.

Lars Johan Wictor Gyllensten was...