Anneli Furmark
Anneli Furmark was born in 1962 in Vallentuna, Sweden, and grew up in Luleå. She studied fine arts at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts and initially focused mainly on painting. Her passion for drawing and writing led to the creation of her first graphic novel, »Labyrinterna och andra serier« [2002; tr: The Mazes and Other Stories]. The story is about growing up in a small town in northern Sweden – a theme she has taken up again and again in her later works. The interaction between landscape and people, as well as music, also often plays a major role in all of her ten books.
Anneli Furmark has already been awarded the Swedish Urhunden Prize for comics on four occasions: in 2005 for »Amatörernas afton« [2004; tr: Amateurs’ Evening], a collection of six short stories, which, among other things, tell the story of a girl who wants to stop thinking all the time, a man who has had too many experiences, and a wife and mother who falls in love too often; 2008 for »Jamen förlåt då« [2007; tr: Well, Sorry Then], which includes stories about growing up in Norrland, the northernmost part of Sweden; 2016 for »Den röda vintern« [2015; Eng. »Red Winter«, 2017], a love story complicated by political activism set in 1970s Sweden; and in 2021 for »Gå med mig till hörnet« [2020; tr: Walk Me to the Corner], the first graphic novel by Furmark to be translated into German. Elise, in her mid-fifties, has two adult sons and has been happy – or at least content – in her marriage for over two decades. She meets Dagmar at a party. What begins as a text message exchange soon develops into a passionate affair. Elise speaks frankly to Henrik, her husband: she does not want to leave him, but still wants to continue seeing Dagmar. They separate. While Henrik looks for a new partner, Dagmar stays with her wife and two children. Elise must ask herself whether what she gets from Dagmar is enough for her. The sometimes-rough style of watercolor and crayon pictures captures the loud and quiet emotions of the characters – with a special focus on the world of things. The »Guardian« raved that »somehow, she imbues even everyday objects – a quilt, a coffee cup, a freshly laundered vest – with an incredible tenderness, as if these things, too, had feelings.«
The author lives in Umeå.
Date: 2022
Labyrinterna och andra serier
Optimal Press
Göteborg, 2002
Amatörernas afton
Optimal Press
Göteborg, 2004
Jamen förlåt då
Kartago
Stockholm, 2007
Jordens medelpunkt
Kartago
Stockholm, 2012
Den röda vintern
Kartago
Stockholm, 2015
En sol bland döda klot
Kartago
Stockholm, 2016
Bring mich noch zur Ecke
Avant-verlag
Berlin, 2022
[Ü: Katharina Erben]