| Subtitle | A memoir in fragments of a foreign language |
| By | Stephen Keeler |
| Published By | |
| ISBN | 978-1-9997637-4-9 |
| Publication Date | 01/09/2021 |
| Price | 8.99 |
| Paperback Hyperlink | https://archetypebooks.net/product/50-words-for-love-in-swedish/ |
Synopsis
From bageri (bakery) to vitsippa (wood anemone) via Björn Borg, Saab and smörgåsbord, Keeler delights with 50 words that capture the essence of his love affair with Sweden and the ways we know each other and the ways we can fall in love with places not our own.
Authors Biography
Born 1951. Educated: Durham, Leeds, London and the Royal Society of Arts. 40 years in international language education. Lived and worked in China, Vietnam, eastern Europe, for the British Council, the UN and BBC World Service.
Reviews
Keeler has written a deeply companionable book … Deft, detailed, gently humorous and kind; it’s just enough. Lagom, in fact.
A L Kennedy
Keeler has brought the Sweden of my childhood vividly to life in this charming and idiosyncratic memoir… a joy from beginning to end.
Marika Cobbold
Fascinating!
Just wonderful.
Delightful vignettes of Swedish life
Beautifully written vignettes of Swedish life. A delight.
Brilliant!!
Brilliant insight into Swedish culture in the seventies.
A sunny book. To be picked up at the end of the day. A good book to dip into just before restful sleep.
A fabulous look at life, love and all things Swedish. Joyful.
A gorgeous book of fascinating vignettes
An idiosyncratically charming recreation of the joys of discovering the Swedish way of life by a young male foreigner in the 1970s.
A painting of 1970s Swedish life in words.
S. Keeler evokes the sights and sounds of his first experience abroad with poetic flair.
Loved it. Interesting and warm
I was drawn in by the title of this book. And I ended up more than half in love with a country I had never known.
I’ve just discovered this comments thread and read the above. And I am stunned by the generosity of your comments. Thank you everyone who has endorsed, supported and enthused about my ‘memoir in fragments of a foreign language’. You are all very kind.
Wistful and celebratory, evocative and beguiling, a beautiful watercolour of a favourite place.
A beautifully written book, full of love for a country, it’s people and customs and also the author’s wife and daughter.
This is a lovely nostalgic book, full of love, and magic. I so enjoyed every word!
Think A L Kennedy was right – a deeply companionable book indeed!
I usually only read fiction but I read this book in one comfortable sitting. Simply wonderful.
A lovely insight into an outsiders perception of living in, sharing and enjoying Sweden and Swedish culture.
Wonderful book. Made me smile, made me cry.
stunning writing
stunning writing
a book with a massive heart
wonderful book, enjoyed every word.
Enjoyable reading, a memoir shared through the author’s love of all things Swedish. Each small section based on a different part of Swedish culture. A cosy book you want to share with others.
Wonderfully book! A treat and delight to read. Beautifully written with humour smiles and a few tears. The love for Sweden and it’s people is palpable!
Beautifully written, elegaic memoir of life in Sweden.
Delightful poetry evocative of Swedish memories
Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down each new Swedish word is described so beautifully and personally.
The fifty words open up happy and evocative memories. A delight to read.
50 words are hardly enough to say how much I loved this book. Stephen Keeler’s wistful memoir feels simultaneously intimate and universal in the way he reflects on the past (1970’s) and the place (Sweden). It is both lighthearted and deeply felt. I smile. I sigh. I marvel at how this slender tome about the past feels like a soothing balm for our present times.
Exquisite writing; a poetic trip down memory lane evoking the sights, sounds and even smells of bygone years in a foreign land.
A book full of nostalgia and love for place and people – compelling and wistful
– wonderful read
A fantastic Xmas gift!
I found it deeply moving, weaving the everday and the extraordinary into something quietly life-affirming.