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Torgny Lindgren. Hummelhonung. Stockholm. Norstedt. 1995. 167 pages. 262 kr. ISBN 91-1-912432-5.
Torgny Lindgren's Hummelhonung (Bumblebee Honey) is a fascinating novel of biblical dimensions. Themes of death, compassion, and brotherhood are presented in allegorical riddles that often are ambiguous and difficult to interpret. The title of the novel refers to an anecdote about hummelmjoedar, bumblebee honey deposits in the ground. A man had a faithful dog, specially trained to scout hummelmjoedar. During one such expedition, the man and the dog fall into a deep well. At first, they share the honey, brotherly. As soon as the honey is gone, they start preying on each other, turning into mortal enemies. This anecdote strikes the central theme of the book.
The plot is deceptively simple. A nameless forty-five-year-old woman writer is on...