Madeleine Gustafsson

1. What is good literary criticism?

Literary criticism is a written account of a meeting between a text and a reader by proxy. There are also a number of requirements for a good review which can be met to a varying extent in a given text. A review should be as well-written as possible. It should be possible to understand, and not just by the initiated (I am referring here to literary criticism/reviews in dailies, not to scholarly texts which are written for a completely different readership). It should be an account of a meeting: there are no generally accepted values which can be used as a reference. (Then again, the critic should naturally be as well-read as possible, not just concerning the book in question but in a way which enables the critic to place it in a context -- that is what I wish to convey when I say 'reader by proxy': this is a personal meeting, not a private one). And, finally, that it conveys a clear and accurate picture of the book in question, so that the reader of the review as a third party is able to form a -- preliminary -- idea of the book for him or herself.

2. Which one of your own reviews do you like best?

I am always dissatisfied, especially when I have just finished a text because then I can still remember how it was meant to come out and what was left out. It does happen sometimes that I re-read a review later, and realize that whatever was left out was in there anyway, between the lines, as it were.

3. What do you like to read yourself?

I read all kinds of things and I read all the time, but I'm happiest when I find a text that expands my consciousness: "so this is a part of me, too!"

Madeleine Gustafsson
born 1937, may not be a member of the Swedish Academy, but she is a member of Samfundet De Nio (a writers' guild based in Stockholm). This is in her capacity as writer of three collections of poetry and three collections of essays, in her capacity as a translator from German, French and Italian, but above all in her capacity as one of Sweden's most experienced and highly respected literary critics. She started reviewing books for Stockholms-Tidningen in 1953 and has remained faithful to literary criticism in newspapers, working for Dagens Nyheter for the last thirty years. Madeleine Gustafsson's literary criticism is characterised by solid expertise, penetrating analysis and a wide frame of reference that includes Central Europe in particular. In terms of style, she favours subtle, exquisite effects and a soft-spoken yet authoritative approach.