''Flowering Nettle'' () is a partly

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...

written by the Swedish

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Harry Martinson Harry Martinson (6May 190411February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow ...

in 1935 and first translated into English by Naomi Walford in 1936. Article by Ann-Marie Vinde, Swedish Book Review, issue 2004:1 The book tells the story of the orphan child Martin, who is Harry Martinson's

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

, and is written from the perspective of the child. Martin's father dies, and his mother leaves her children for a new life in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Everything he holds dear disappears at a very early age, and he grows up working at several farms and being sent away, or going away himself, as he faces the harsh working life of the farmhand. Martin is described as selfish, stupid, childish, self-pitying, obsequious, cowardly and false. Thus, there is no idealisation of the child.Peterzén, Ingvar: Nässlorna Blomma, Bonniers Svenska bokförlaget, Stockholm 1962 The language in the novel has been described as intentionally childlike. ''Flowering Nettle'' and its continuation '' The way out'' are partly autobiographical and depict the hard and insecure existence of an orphan child among the destitute in Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century.

References

Swedish literature Swedish non-fiction literature Works by Harry Martinson Novels about orphans 1935 Swedish novels Novels set in Sweden Swedish-language novels {{1930s-novel-stub