Assisted Living Nikanor Teratologen 9781564786821

The Marquis de Sade is alive and well and living in Sweden-or perhaps author Nikanor Teratologen is the devil himself, sending the English-speaking world a Scandinavian squib to remind readers that such reassuring figures as vampires and serial killers are no more frightening than pixies or unicorns in light of the depravity contained in one quiet suburb. Reading like a deranged hybrid of Deliverance, Naked Lunch, and Tuesdays with Morrie, and rivaling The 120 Days of Sodom in its challenge to our assumptions as to what is acceptable (or not) in literature, Assisted Living presents us with a series of queasy anecdotes concerning an eleven-year-old boy and his grandfather, a monster for whom murder, violence, incest, drunkenness, and philosophy all pass as equally valid ways to spend one's time. Whether it's a study in excess, a parody of provincial proto-fascism, a clear-eyed look at evil, or simply a prodigious literary dare, Assisted Living is unlikely to leave you indifferent.

Nikanor Teratologen (real name Niclas Lundkvist) born 27 October 1964 in Kage, Vasterbotten, is a Swedish novelist, essayist, translator and literary critic. His 1992 debut novel Assisted Living 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.

Stig Saeterbakken (1966-2012) was one of Norway's most acclaimed contemporary writers. His novels include Through the Night and Siamese (also published by Dalkey Archive).