What was originally intended to be a trilogy developed into a decalogue. In almost 5,000 pages, Jan Guillou has invited readers to a genealogy in which four generations reflect and summarize the entire 20th century.
The release of the novel's last part, The End of History, also marks the end of a long-running project that spanned ten years. In the season premiere of the literature program Babel, the author tells about the years and the work behind it.
- Writing the last sentence of this project has been very strange, says Jan Guillou in the interview with host Jessika Gedin.
"I do not need a psychologist"
From having had a calculated everyday life for many years, the author now lives in an uncertainty about what will happen next. It's a feeling that is completely new to Guillou, who has published over 50 books during her career.
- It is empty in the way that during 50 years of writing I have always known what to do when I am done with what I am doing right now. But suddenly the feeling comes that it's over, it's over. I have never experienced that before, says Jan Guillou.
Despite the vacuum that has come after the last publication of what the author calls his life's work, Guillou emphasizes that we should not be worried about him.
- I do not need a psychologist, he says.
See the entire interview in Babel, Sunday 20.00 on SVT2 or in SVT Play.