Nikanor Teratologen ("Nikanor the teratologist"), real name Niclas Lundkvist, born 27 October 1964 in Kåge,

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...

, is a Swedish novelist, essayist, translator and literary critic. His 1992 debut novel ''

Assisted Living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States. Still, the setting i ...

'' received considerable publicity in Sweden for its transgressive content and advanced use of language, which created a literary scandal and led to speculation about its author.

Career

Nikanor Teratologen debuted in 1992 with the novel ''Assisted Living'' (''Äldreomsorgen i Övre Kågedalen'', lit. "the elderly care in Upper Kåge Valley"), written in local dialect and full of transgressive content such as

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

, incest, necrophilia, antisemitism, cannibalism and strong violence. The book was published through the major publisher Norstedts förlag and created a scandal. Due to the advanced use of language, several critics were convinced that the book was written by an established novelist from

, and people such as Stig Larsson, Per Olov Enquist and

Torgny Lindgren Gustav Torgny Lindgren (16 June 1938 – 16 March 2017) was a Swedish writer. Lindgren was the son of Andreas Lindgren and Helga Björk. He studied in Umeå to become a teacher and worked as a teacher until the middle of the 1970s. For several ...

were mentioned as suspects. Eventually a journalist was able to identify the real author, which was followed by further rumours and speculation about Teratologen's interests and personality. The book eventually received cult status and had become a commercial success by the mid 2000s. It was published in English in 2012 through

Dalkey Archive Press Dalkey Archive Press is an American publisher of fiction, poetry, foreign translations and literary criticism specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works. The company has offices in Funks Grove, Il ...

. A sequel to ''Assisted Living'', ''Förensligandet i det egentliga Västerbotten'', was published in 1998. Teratologen has since published three additional books: ''Apsefiston'' (2002), ''Hebbershålsapokryferna'' (2002) and ''Att hata allt mänskligt liv'' (2009). He has described the poet

Comte de Lautréamont Comte de Lautréamont (; ) was the '' nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (; 4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, '' Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern a ...

as his "great precursor", and has also mentioned

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

as a major influence. He has translated works by Nietzsche and

Emil Cioran Emil Mihai Cioran (; ; ; 8 April 1911 – 20 June 1995) was a Romanian philosopher, aphorist and essayist, who published works in both Romanian and French. His work has been noted for its pervasive philosophical pessimism, style, and aphorism ...

into Swedish. In 2010 he received the award Beskowska resestipendiet from the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

Bibliography

* ''

'' (''Äldreomsorgen i Övre Kågedalen'') (1992) * ''Förensligandet i det egentliga Västerbotten'' (1998) * ''Apsefiston'' (2002) * ''Hebbershålsapokryferna'' (2002) * ''Att hata allt mänskligt liv'' (2009)

References

External links

Nikanor Teratologen
at

' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Teratologen, Nikanor 1964 births 20th-century Swedish novelists 21st-century Swedish novelists Living people People from Skellefteå Municipality Swedish literary critics Swedish essayists Swedish translators Swedish-language writers Translators to Swedish Writers from Västerbotten County 20th-century Swedish translators 20th-century essayists 21st-century essayists Translators of Friedrich Nietzsche 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers