Gentlemen

Gentlemen

by Tiina Nunnally (Translator), Klas Östergren (Author)

Synopsis

Barricaded into a large, gloomy flat in Stockholm, 1979, a battered and frightened young man - Klas Ostergren - writes the story of how he came to this sorry state. But is he a reliable narrator? In this expansive and exuberant novel, he tells the story of his friends (and flatmates), the two Morgan brothers - Henry, a charismatic charmer, a man who loves to play at life but is mysteriously bound to the beautiful Maud; and Leo, his younger brother - a child genius who became a revolutionary poet, drinking and smoking his way to disillusionment. But both of them have vanished, and in the course of the tale, we find out why.This is a tale in two strands: the intriguing Morgan brothers - the 'gentlemen', with Klas, of the title; and the underhand dealings of the State during WW2, when Sweden secretly collaborated with Nazi business interests - a story that Leo chances on, and which has sinister links with his own past, and with Henry's. Their lives are destroyed, suddenly and completely, and Klas is viciously attacked. Terrified of the consequences, he locks the world out and writes this account - but then Maud comes knocking on the door.The next book, "Gangsters", opens where "Gentlemen" finishes, with Klas and Maud alone in the flat. )

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 464
Edition: Main
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Published: 17 Jan 2008

ISBN 10: 1841958166
ISBN 13: 9781841958163

Media Reviews
Grandiose and charming * * Politiken (Denmark) * *
Adventurous and wildly imaginative, while at the same time painting a realistic picture of the years between the Cold War and the Vietnam War. * * Fyens Stiftstidende (Denmark) * *
Simply great fun * * Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark) * *
Author Bio
Klas OEstergren was born in Stockholm in 1955 and is the author of several novels including the landmark Gentlemen (1981) and its sequel, Gangsters (2005). A leading star of Swedish literature for nearly three decades, he has won the Piratenpriset and the Doblougska prize from the Swedish Academy. A founder of the rock band Fullersta Revolutionary Orchestra, OEstergren has also worked as a translator, playwright, and scriptwriter for television and screen, and he co-wrote Mikael Hafstroem's film Ondskan, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. He now lives with his wife and three children in the seafront town of Kivik in southern Sweden.