Lena Andersson

“Why was I interested in the folk home [the Swedish welfare state]? Because I grew up in it, in the country with this peculiar phenomenon which is both an idea and a practice and that no one really knows what it is but that we relate to all the time. And because I think the twentieth century is incredibly interesting. All that happened, the emergence of democracy, the grand ideas and what came with them, how they are carried by and affect people’s day to day. Also the fact that Sweden was so unique during that period and how it was manifested in the ordinary lives of ordinary people. In 2012, I realized that I wanted to write a novel about it. And now there’s two.”
– Lena Andersson

Lena Andersson is considered one of the the country´s sharpest temporary analysts, she writes about politics, society, culture, religion and other topics. Her fifth novel and English-language debut, Wilful Disregard was awarded the 2013 August Prize, Sweden´s highest literary honour.