“Presumably it’s a quiet spring rain that can be heard drizzling over Stockholm at the moment, in the Year of the Child, the election year of 1979”. So the scene is set for a retrospective look at Swedish life post World War Two and beyond the Cold War. Here lies author Klas Ostergren, our twenty-five year old narrator barricaded into his flat, ready to impart his time spent with the older, enigmatic Morgan brothers.

 

Klas explains - Henry and Leo Morgan have vanished. Written in 1980, and translated into English in 2007, it is a classic tale of love and adventure, mystery and creativity. The story is less about Klas and his experiences, and more about his fl atmates Henry and Leo’s lives. Following a burglary in which Klas loses all his possessions, he moves in with Henry and a few months later meets his brother Leo. Clearly fascinated by the more experienced brothers, he recounts their hedonistic and artistic pasts.

 

Firstly, we follow the magnetic Henry Morgan, a boxer and musician desperately in love with the beautiful, but older Maud –the novel’s femme fatale. He deserts Maud and a stint of national service, fl eeing to Europe. Henry’s narrative takes us through the 1960s and into the 1970s, from his one-time secret agent mission, to encounters with famous artists and poets, and his love affairs in between.

 

Some sections are overly drawn out and intense, as Ostergaren creates a series of characters and situations, but each scene eventually merges with the novel’s main plot. Alongside Henry, younger brother Leo’s tale is told with similar gusto. His teenage years as a child prodigy to revolutionary poet and disillusioned drunk are beautifully written.

 

Snippets of his poetry are strong and beautiful – it would be easy for the reader to believe his work had a devastatingly powerful effect on Swedish literature. Leo’s teenage years are evocative of a bygone era– new Beatles haircuts and girls who look like fi lm stars – “This spring smelled very different. It smelled of cigarette smoke and perfume.” With Leo, innocence gives way to love and idealistic rebellion. Overall, Leo’s confused and sensitive nature is well portrayed.

 

Gentlemen is a mass of fascinating encounters with perfectly drawn characters - from the obsessive teenager Verner who cultivates fi les of missing persons, to the mysterious W.S - Maud’s older lover. Although a novel that examines Swedish life in a particular era, Ostergaren’s novel is far from staid and preaching. Henry and Leo’s personal experiences of the era are coupled with darker themes of politics and money. They stumble upon a State secret from the past, taking them beyond the sinister and on towards a path of self-destruction. Gentlemen is an imaginative novel, full of suspense and adventure, but don’t expect a perfect ending – by default the Morgan brothers refuse to conform.

 

Review by Catherine Niven