Lars Gustafsson (1) (1936–2016)

I read a volume of Gustafsson’s stories a number of years ago and thought it was time to revisit him. It only took a few stories to remind me of my reaction to that collection. Odd. Definitely odd. Talented writer, interesting ideas, but definitely odd. Gustafsson, who died in 2016, earned a Ph.D. in theoretical philosophy (whatever that is) and, I do not intend it as a compliment to say that some of his stories read as if they were written by an academic. According to the entry in Wikipedia, Gustafsson once wrote: “sometimes I cannot see any sharp boundary between [my literary work] and [my philosophical work]. I tend to regard myself as a philosopher who has turned literature into one of his tools." Yup. That's completely accurate, I think. An academic with a degree in philosophy. There’s a little too much academic-ness about some of the stories; it often shows in the writing itself and it sometimes shows in the way he plays with ideas. In both cases, it made the stories less enjoyable for me. Still, there were some stories I enjoyed. But even so, I have trouble recommending this slim (150 pages) collection. There are stories written from the point of view of someone who is insane, of someone who has an intellectual disability, and of someone who is senile. Happy people? I guess Mr. Gustafsson and I would probably have trouble coming together on a definition of happy.… (meer)

Enjoyed most of these stories, particularly the ones focusing on those isolated by their mental states such as the well-known Greatness Strikes Where it Pleases which is insightful into the world of the intellectually disabled. The Bird in the Breast records a case of schizophrenia and seems to imply that the individual's delusions are as meaningful to her as reality. There's also a picture of an ailing Nietzsche in a pension during his period of wandering and prior to his final collapse in Out Of The Pain. The rest weren't entirely to my taste, a couple being a bit too cerebral and over my head but Gustafsson had a strikingly original style and is very readable despite the complexity of his philosophy. For me his greatest strengths were his psychological insight and very immediate writing style.… (meer)