The Rock Blaster
Page 15
Cocktail. Swedish soft-porn magazine published from the 1940s until the 1970s.
Dagens Eko. Often referred to by its abbreviated name Ekot, the main news program broadcast by Radio Sweden.
Dahl, Richard (1933–2007). Swedish athlete whose career highlight was his unexpected victory in the high jump at the European Athletics Championships in Stockholm in 1958.
Danielsson, Axel (1863–1899). Swedish left-wing journalist and activist who, together with Hjalmar Branting, was convicted of blasphemy for one of his articles. See also Hjalmar Branting.
Domö, Fritiof (1889–1961). Swedish conservative politician, government minister, and leader of the Moderate Party.
Domus. Brand name of the department stores operated by the Swedish Cooperative Union between 1956 and 2012.
Elfsborg Fortress. Also known as Älvsborg Fortress, it originally lay on the Swedish mainland near Göteborg. In the seventeenth century, a new fortress was built on a small island off the Göteborg coast. The eponymous chapbook song that Oskar sings was written by August Wilhelm Thorsson in the 1880s. It is suitably melodramatic and concerns a lonely prisoner in Älvsborg and the death of his lover in a rowboat in the mouth of the Göta River during a nighttime storm right by the fortress.
El pueblo te defiende. “The people will defend you.” Supporters of Salvador Allende, president of Chile 1970–1973, are said to have chanted this phrase as they marched past the presidential palace in Santiago in a demonstration some days before the coup that toppled him and led to his death.
Engberg, Arthur (1888–1944) Swedish Social Democratic politician and government minister.
Erlander, Tage (1901–1985). Swedish politician, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, and prime minister following the death of Per Albin Hansson. See also Per Albin Hansson.
far. Swedish for “father.”
farfar. Swedish for a paternal grandfather, literally “father’s father.”
farsan. Informal and affectionate Swedish word for one’s father, equivalent to “dad” or (when talking to others) “my/the old man.”
Forum. Current-affairs program launched on Swedish radio in 1969 and later transferred to Swedish television.
Göta Canal. A 120-mile-long waterway consisting of canal sections, lakes, and rivers that was constructed 1810–1832 to link Göteborg and the Baltic Sea.
Hagberg, Hilding (1899–1993). Swedish communist politician and leader of the Communist Party of Sweden.
Hansson, Per Albin (1885–1946). Swedish politician and chairman of the Social Democratic Party. In 1932, he became the first of the party’s prime ministers during its forty-four-year period in government. He was one of the major influences in the building of a socialist Sweden after the Second World War.
Harstena. Island in the middle of the Baltic Sea that is used as one of the reference locations for the shipping forecasts broadcast by Radio Sweden.
Hermansson, Carl-Henrik “C.-H.” (1917–2016). Swedish communist and politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Sweden (1964–1975) and among those responsible for turning it away from Stalinism.
Humlegården. A park and garden in the center of Stockholm that houses the Swedish Royal Library and a monument to the botanist and zoologist Carl von Linné (Linnaeus).
Hyland, Lennart (1919–1993). Swedish television host and personality best known for the talk show Hylands hörna (“Hyland’s corner”), which ran from 1962 to 1983.
Katarina Bangata. Street in the Södermalm district of Stockholm, originally intended as a stretch of railway line.
Kilbom, Karl (1885–1961). Swedish socialist politician. He was a member of the Communist Party of Sweden until he was expelled, after which he became an active member of the Social Democratic Party.
King Oskar. King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (1829–1907, reigned 1872–1907). The king himself always spelled his name with a c, but practice varies. On page 153, Oskar says, “I do have a king’s name but you must admit that it also sounds like thunder”—åska (the Swedish word for “thunder”) is pronounced almost the same as “Oskar.”
Kreuger, Ivar (1880–1932). Swedish entrepreneur and creator of the business that eventually became Swedish Match, which sells tobacco, cigars, matches, and more. His empire collapsed during the Depression at the beginning of the 1930s. His death was declared a suicide, but his family and others have maintained that he was murdered.
Kriminal Journalen. A now-defunct men’s magazine that contained sensationalized stories and some soft-porn images.
Lansen. The Saab 32 Lansen, a Swedish military jet aircraft produced during the late 1950s.
Lidköping. A small town in southwestern Sweden.
Moberg, Vilhelm (1898–1973). Swedish journalist and author whose best-known books are the four-part “Emigrants” series written in the 1950s, which deals with a southern Swedish family forced by economic circumstance to emigrate to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. The story inspired a 1971 film starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann.
mor. An informal and affectionate Swedish word for one’s mother, equivalent to “mom.”
Norrköping. In east-central Sweden, the closest city to Oskar’s birthplace, about a hundred miles from Stockholm and with easy access to the Baltic Sea via the Bråviken Bay.
Öberg. Full name AB J.O. Öberg & son, a business conglomerate established in 1845. Its businesses produced playing cards and printed office products, and after a number of acquisitions, it became part of the Esselte Group in 1985.
ögonblick. Swedish for “a moment.”
outer archipelago. Oskar’s island seems to have been a part of the Östergötland archipelago, which lies in the Baltic Sea approximately seventy-five miles south of the Bråviken Bay near Norrköping. The archipelago is about three miles offshore at its farthest point.
Palm, August (1849–1922). By trade a tailor, he was a Social Democratic activist and agitator.
Palme, Olof (1927–1986). Swedish politician, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and twice prime minister (1969–1976 and 1982–1986). He was assassinated in Stockholm in 1986. His murder has never been solved, despite extensive investigations.
pappa. Swedish for “father,” also a form of address equivalent to “father” or “daddy.”
Pehrsson-Bramstorp, Axel (1883–1954). Swedish politician and briefly prime minister (from June to September 1936). Born Axel Pehrsson, he came from a well-to-do farming family and was associated with—and later adopted the name of—the Bramstorp family, whose farm in southern Sweden he acquired.
Radio Nord. A Swedish commercial radio station that broadcast from international waters in the Baltic Sea off Stockholm during the early 1960s.
Sköld, Per Edvin (1891–1972). Swedish Social Democratic politician and government minister.
Snurran. Family-oriented radio program that was broadcast 1953–1958 (and briefly in 1962), after which it transferred to Sweden’s Television.
Social Democratic Party. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden and was in power for extensive periods of time during the twentieth century.
Söderköping. A small town about ten miles southeast of Norrköping. Its historical significance is greater than its current standing—it was the site of two royal coronations.
Söderman, August (1832–1876). Swedish composer of the Romantic period.
“Sons of Labour” (Swedish: “Arbetets söner”). A popular song in the labor movement in Sweden, first sung in the mid-1880s.
Strindberg, Nils (1872–1897). One of three balloonists who died in 1897 while trying to reach the North Pole. See also Andrée, Salomon August.
Svensson, Kalle (1925–2000). Nicknamed Rio-Kalle, Swedish goalkeeper who played in seventy-three matches for the Swedish nati
onal team. His last international match was the 1958 World Cup final against Brazil, which Sweden lost 5–2.
Tingsten, Herbert (1896–1973). Swedish political scientist and journalist. He was, among other things, the editor of Dagens Nyheter, one of Sweden’s two main national daily newspapers, from 1946 to 1959.
Undén, Östen (1886–1974). Swedish professor of civil law and Social Democratic politician and government minister.
von Sydow, Oscar Fredrik (1973–1936). Swedish independent politician, government minister, and, for a brief period in 1921, prime minister.
Wigforss, Ernst (1881–1977). Swedish Social Democratic politician and government minister.
ALSO BY
HENNING MANKELL
AFTER THE FIRE
Fredrik Welin is a former surgeon who retired in disgrace decades earlier to a tiny island on which he is the only resident. He has a daughter he rarely sees, and his mailman, Jansson, is the closest thing he has to a friend. He is perfectly content to live out his days in quiet solitude. One autumn evening, he wakes up to find his house on fire. With the help of Jansson, he escapes the flames just in time, wearing two left boots. Dawn reveals that his house is destroyed—forcing him to move into an abandoned trailer on his island. Meanwhile, the police suspect Fredrik of arson because he had a sizable insurance claim on his house. When Fredrik is away from the archipelago, another house goes up in flames, and the community realizes they have an arsonist in their midst.
Fiction
ALSO AVAILABLE
Daniel
Depths
The Eye of the Leopard
Italian Shoes
Quicksand
The Shadow Girls
A Treacherous Paradise
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