Swedish author Per Hagman is probably best known for his debut book Cigarett from 1991, where he managed to achieve some sort of cult status. His latest book tells the tale of a young man trying to find his place in a world full of decadence, hangovers and broken dreams, just like a song by Lustans Lakejer.
We follow the presumably autobiographical main character as he illegally raises a falcon in Cairo, looks back on a juvenile trip to Monaco and tries to find love in all the wrong places. The stories are often engaging and amusing, but I’m not sure if the author wants to be seen as an international playboy or a melancholic dreamer. Most of all he seems like an urban nomad, never content with staying in one place for long.
In some ways the narrator reminds me of the Swedish comic Rocky, where the main character is an underdog who always manages to mess up his life and insists on telling others about it. Both characters also tend to base story arcs on personal experiences, however incredible they may be. Some of the stories feel exaggerated and borderline juvenile, but I’m constantly being drawn back to the pages for some reason. Definitely not a book for everybody but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be available in English translation at this time.
1 comment
I really enjoyed this book as well, was quite reluctant to read Hagman at first. But it turned out to be well-written and had a story to tell. Lovely.
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