Det är nu det vänder: Il gusto della malinconia e il dovere della felicità nel romanzo En svensk kändis di Alma Kirlić

Abstract

Scandinavian second-generation writers provide evidence of the social impact of migration and multiethnicity. Yet the Swedish literary market seems preferably to target writers of African or Middle Eastern descent, perhaps benefiting from the rifts that the non-whiteness issue generates in people. On the other hand, the Yugoslav diaspora, nowadays celebrated as a model of positive integration, is often ignored in the literary context. In her novel, Alma Kirlić questions the supposedly happy outcome of the Yugoslavs’ arrival in Sweden. Relying on the ‘melancholic migrant’ metaphor, this study aims to further explore Sweden’s post-migrant condition by providing new points of reference.

Keywords

• Happiness duty. Melancholic migrant. Post-migration. Swedish Contemporary Literature. Yugoslav Diaspora