Statue: Theme Thursday

Statue of Strindberg by Carl Eldh.

“People are constantly clamoring for the joy of life.
As for me, I find the joy of life in the hard and cruel battle of life - to learn something is a joy to me.”
-- August Strindberg (1849-1912)


Strindberg was a Swedish poet, playwright, essayist, and novelist, and also wrote a lot of good short stories ... here is the first paragraph of one of his stories.

Conductor Crossberg was fond of lying in bed in the morning,
firstly, because he had to conduct the orchestra in the evening,
and secondly, because he drank more than one glass of beer before
he went home and to bed. He had tried once or twice to get up early,
but had found no sense in it. He had called on a friend, but had
found him asleep; he had wanted to pay money into the bank, but had
found it still closed; he had gone to the library to borrow music,
but it was not yet open; he had wanted to use the electric trams,
but they had not yet started running. It was impossible to get a
cab at this hour of the morning; he could not even buy a pinch of
his favourite snuff; there was nothing at all for him to do. And
so he had eventually formed the habit of staying in bed until late;
and after all, he had no one to please but himself.

-From "The Sluggard"


*The Red Room, a novel by Strindberg has long been on my 'to read' list.
Strindberg also wrote fairy tales and some well reviewed autobiographical works, which include: The Son of a Servant, A Fool's Defense, and Alone.

*Considered by many critics to be the first example of modern Swedish realism. A friend recommended it for its irony and sarcasm.