Runar Schildt (1888–1925)

Those of you who know my tastes know that I have penchant for the short story done well. It is a challenging format and good short storyists are few and far between. I had not heard of Schildt (October 26, 1888 – September 29, 1925) who was writing in the early part of the 20th century and that was probably due to the fact the he was a Finn and an early Finnish writer at that despite writing in Swedish.

The Meat Grinder is a collection of nine short stories that covers most of his ouevre and includes the enigmatic and beguiling story Aapo which was later made into a successful film. The early stories remind one much of the great Russian short story writers and examines the lives of some fascinating characters living a high life but as he develops his voice becomes substantially more Scandinavian and brings Hamsun and Ibsen and even Hrabal to mind more often than the Russians.

Schildt seldom wastes a word and yet never misses a key nuance in his complex characters and the unfolding of these sometimes strange stories. At the end one is convinced that there is a distinctly Finnish mind at work here with a distinctively interior mode moderating everything. That he was a master of the short story I have no doubt. Schildt wrote 33 short stories, of which 25 were published. I look forward one day to reading them all.… (altro)