Svenska recensenter läser finska böcker : En studie i receptionen av finsk prosa, översatt på 1960-talet

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to investigate variation in reader reception of modern fiction and to show the types of variation that occur. It addresses the question of underlying causes of variation in the reception of the contents and structure of a selection of Finnish books, as well as the intertextual commentary on the part of reviewers of these books. The study is based on over 400 Swedish press reviews of 32 novels and short-stories which were translated from Finnish into Swedish during the 1960s. A second aim is to show how the reviews reflect Swedish attitudes towards Finland and Finns during this period.In general, the reviewers revealed a common perspective, although there were deviations. A finer grained analysis of the reviewers' interpretations of elements of content and perception of structure reveals considerable differences among reviews, however. Reviews of modernist authors varied more than those of traditional prose and non-fiction. The attitudes of the reviewers concerning the literary characters and the motivations for their actions varied greatly. Factors that condition the variation include genre, relationship of reviewer to author, social and literary conventions, and interests and idiosyncrasies of the reviewers.The attitudes towards Finland, its people and institutions that are revealed in the reviews are generally respectful and urbane. Occasionally certain condescending, 'big-brother', attitudes could be discerned, however.