Niepokoje Anniki Bengtzon – cykl Lizy Marklund jako przykład wieloaspektowości szwedzkiej powieści kryminalnej
Unrest Annika Bengtzon – the series of crime novels by Liza Marklund as an example of a multifaceted Swedish crime fiction

Author(s): Monika Samsel‑Chojnacka
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Protagonist; women’s social role; Scandinavian noir
Summary/Abstract: When at the end of the 20th century a Swedish journalist Liza Marklund entered a competition for the best female debut within the crime novel organized by Deckarakademin she opened the new perspectives and possibilities for young female writers writing about crime. In the meantime she also introduced some new dimensions into the genre. Her series tells a story of Annika Bengtzon who started her job career as a young journalist apprentice in the capital city and continued climbing up the career ladder while fighting with injustice, as well as learning constantly new thing about life and society. The series a modern example of Bildungsroman which is divided into eleven volumes. A very important aspect, which is present in the whole series, is an observation of metamorphosis undergoing within the two decades on the verge of centuries. The novels become an anthropological record, showing a society during transformations, as well as evolution of Stockholm as seen by the main character of the novels. Each volume is a voice in a social debate concerning violence against women, immigrants, the heritage of the generation of 68 and their communist ideals, capital punishment, the role that media play in the society, neutrality of Sweden as well as anonymity on the Internet and responsibility in the virtual world. However, the story character of Annika herself is a construct which remains under the debate as the young journalist tries to combine her career with family life as well as struggles with various social roles ‑ more or less successfully. It makes her also fight with dilemmas which seem to be common for the European women nowadays.

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