I cannot name one single Swedish fiction writer. Not one single person from the country of Sweden has penned a book of lies that I have read or enjoyed and that has also stuck with me in my brain. Hold on here, hold on...

Did the person who wrote "Pippi Longstocking" come from Sweden?



She had pigtails. I also think she had magic powers; I don't really remember. Maybe I am thinking of "Anne of Green Gables."

I'll have to look that up.

Wait -- what about that guy who rode across the Pacific Ocean in a boat made from twigs and white purity?

Ah yes -- but that was supposed to be a true story.

I wish that I could criticize the insularity of Swedish literature, but I would be speaking from a position of complete ignorance and intellectual poverty.

Why don't we trade for awhile, Sweden? Why don't you send us all of your best books for a few years and we'll toil, agonize, and sweat and then tell you if you are geniuses or not? Ya'll are working too hard. Ya'll are getting cranky. Take a load off. Have a hamburger.

Posted by miracle on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:36:56 -0400 -- permanent link