Published in 1979, ‘Vredens barn‘ (“Children of Wrath”) is a novel by Swedish author Sara Lidman that won the ‘Nordic Council Literature Prize‘ in 1980, the first literary work of a woman to receive this prize, . Lidman was a novelist and debater born and grew up in Missenträsk (northern Västerbotten). Sara Lidman’s view was broader than most: her passion burned for South Africa’s suppressed people as well as the Vietnamese suffering in the war, and the limited life perspective of people in Western countries arose her heartfelt anger. ‘Vredens barn’ is the second part of a series of five novels on colonisation and railway construction in upper Norrland (end of the 19th century): the protagonist is Didrik Mårtensson, obsessed with ensuring that the railroad reaches Månliden, thus breaking the isolation of the town. But bringing people’s dreams on par with authorities’ and capitalism’s interests turns out to be very difficult. The language of the novel has a highly specific slant, strongly influenced by the local dialect and old biblical language. According to the Adjudicating Committee in ‘Vredens barn’ Sara Lidman evokes an entire rural life and human experience with love, tenderness, playful irony, and an inexhaustible joy of storytelling, which gives the story a mythical dimension. Read more on Sara Lindman
