True, since the novel has a strong auto-biographical element. I'm not convinced that anything else can be inferred from the choice of place.snaps wrote:The setting and time-frame are fairly crux to the story. These are not accidental.
While I'm not familiar with Blackeberg, I seem to know that it did have a somewhat soiled reputation at the time. But so do other places today, and people actually living in those places often say they don't recognise their homes from the images given in media. It's not as bad as it seems. I guess Blackeberg of the 1980s was the same.gkmoberg1 wrote:In a slightly larger context, attempting to understand Oskar's family's economic situation, I am curious what can be inferred from where he and his mother are living. I believe - but do not know - that the novel purposefully paints a starker view of Blackeberg than how life there would have been in 1981. Yet, can anything be said about the general economic nature of what it meant to have lived there (in that time period) as opposed to the alternatives? I know nothing about Stockholm and surrounding cities, towns and suburbs. For example of what I am wondering about: Was Blackeberg, or even Oskar's street, on par with the surrounding neighborhoods and towns? And from that can any surmise be made about how well Oskar and his mother were living? For example, would it seem likely that the two of them were living modest, comfortable lives? [if this has been discussed earlier, whack me with a link.]
About Oskar's family's economic situation, it's obvious that they were not well-off. Oskar lived with his mum in a small apartment, Oskar did have his own room, but his mother slept in a sofa bed in the living room, but she kept her clothes in the wardrobes in Oskar's room. (That's why Eli could choose one of her dresses.)
