Lars Ahlin (4 April 1915 – 11 March 1997) was a Swedish author and aesthetician.

Biography

Ahlin left school when he was 13 to support his family, although he later attended several folk high schools. When he was 18, he had a mystical experience. He eventually moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, where he wrote two unpublished novels before his first success, ''Tåbb med manifestet'' (''Tåbb with the Manifesto'', 1943). The story, about a young proletarian who rejects the values of communism in favor of a secularized Lutheran theology where man is judged by his deeds, without preconceived notions, set the stage for his subsequent works. Critics have compared Ahlin to

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

and

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

. Among the awards he received are the Prize of the Nine in 1960, the Great Novel Prize in 1962, and the Small Nobel Prize in 1966. In 1995, he won the

Swedish Academy Nordic Prize The Nordic Prize (''Swedish'': nordiska pris) is a literary award presented annually by the Swedish Academy. The recipient is someone from the Nordic countries who has done significant work in any of the Academy's areas of operations or interests. ...

, known as the 'little Nobel'.

Notable works

*''Tåbb med manifestet'', 1943 *''No Eyes Await Me'' (story collection), 1944 *''Min död är min'' (''My Death Is My Own''), 1945 *''Om'' (''If, About, Around''), 1946 *''Kanelbiten'' (''The Cinnamon Girl''), 1953 *''The Great Amnesia'', 1954 *''Natt i marknadstältet'' (''Night in the Market Tent''), 1957 *''Bark and Leaves'', 1961 *''Sjätte munnen'' (''The Sixth Mouth''), 1985 *'' De sotarna! De sotarna!'' (''The Chimney Sweepers! The Chimney Sweepers!''), 1991

References

*"Ahlin, Lars", ''

Academic American Encyclopedia ''Academic American Encyclopedia'' is a 21-volume general English language, English-language encyclopedia published in 1980. It was first produced by Arête Publishing, the American subsidiary of the Dutch publishing company Nielsen Company, VNU''K ...

'', 1991 edition, p. 198. *"Ahlin, Lars". Encyclopædia Britannica. ''Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007. 1915 births 1997 deaths People from Sundsvall Swedish male writers Writers from Västernorrland County Selma Lagerlöf Prize winners Dobloug Prize winners {{Sweden-writer-stub