Though the world seems dominated by the literature of English writers, if we scratch the surface a very different picture emerges. With the continued growth of education around the globe more and more regions are adapting their storytelling techniques to the written word; the increasingly interconnected world translating and exporting their tales. Scandinavian literature in particular has become a strong force in the world of books with Iceland being, arguably, the world’s leading literary nation with one in ten of its people publishing books.
It’s the dark world of crime fiction that has proved the greatest gateway for Scandinavian writing to reach out to the wider world. This so-called Nordic noir—with its dark realism, bleak and bloody happenings, and moral ambiguity—has caught the attention of the English speaking world; pushing aside the more timid and unrealistic work of the native authors. Today Scandinavian crime fiction can be seen on bookshelves, cinema screens, and television sets, either in their original iterations or as English adaptations.
One of the figures leading the march of Scandinavian crime fiction is the Swedish novelist and literary critic Jan Arnald. Under the name Arne Dahl he has created a hugely successful series that follows the fictional ‘Intercrime Group’ as they tackle psychopaths, gangsters, and all manner of figures caught up in the surreptitious and dark criminal world. As a master of the genre and one of Sweden’s leading literary critics Jan is perfectly poised to give us an insight into the world of Nordic noir and why this specific genre is taking the world by storm.
Susan as she talks with Jan about his own career, the history of Nordic literature, and why Scandinavian authors are so good at writing crime fiction. Why is Nordic noir so dark? Is this the secret of its success? What is ‘Proletarian Realism’ and why is it so important in Scandinavian writing?
Author Jan Arnald
We stay with the theme of blood in the second half of the show as Susan talks about the human immune system and ‘The Compatibility Gene’ with Professor Luke O’Neil. In 2003 the Human Genome Project completed its work and produced the first full map of the genes that make up human DNA. This great work and scientific milestone was merely a step, albeit a very large one, in unlocking the secret of how humans, and the wider world, work.
Ten years later Professor of Immunology Daniel M Davis published a book that told the story of the human genome, the history of its discovery, and how some genetic pairings define almost everything about us. Though there are over 25,000 genes in the human body, regulating everything from the colour of our hair to the functioning of our brain, Davis argues that only a few of these are ‘compatibility genes’. These will determine the strength of our immune system, the viability of organ and tissue transplants, our chances at reproduction, and even our relationships with others.
Join Susan and Professor O’Neil as they unravel the story of the human genome and take a look at ‘The Compatibility Gene’. What does the human genome tell us about ourselves? Can we trace the how and the why of man’s evolution through our DNA? And what does our ever increasing understanding of the human genome mean for our future?
