Books like The Snake

Written during WWII, The Snake is set in a nervously neutral Sweden on military alert. Dagerman, an army conscript and anarcho-syndicalist, uses the day-to-day setting of military service as a backdrop for an exploration of social justice and the psychology of fear.The first part of the book, Irene, is about a young woman who works at an army camp and is drawn to Bill, a sadistic soldier. In the second part, We Can't Sleep, anxiety-infused experiences of Dagerman's alter ego, Scriber, and fellow conscripts are laid bare. In the last chapter, Scriber spells out his vision for how to conquer fear with an absurd disastrous ending.This is Dagerman's first novel, published when he was 22 years old. It took reviewers by surprise: "So powerfully and convincing a debut, that it is unsurpassed by any other Swedish author in this century", exclaimed Olof Lagercrantz, the editor of the daily Dagens Nyheter.