LIDMAN, SARA

born Dec. 30, 1923, Missentrsk, Swed. novelist, one of the most acclaimed and widely read of the post-World War II generation of Swedish writers. Lidman grew up in the remote West Bosnian region of northern Sweden. Her studies at the University of Uppsala were interrupted by tuberculosis, and she began to write. She had an immediate success with her first two novels, Tjrdalen (1953; The Tar Still) and Hjortronlandet (1955; Cloudberry Land), both of which deal with the rural life of her childhood and youth. Another well-known work is Regnspiran (1958; The Rain Bird, 1962). In the 1960s she visited Africa and produced two novels protesting the oppression of the blacks. Samtal i Hanoi (1966; Conversations in Hanoi) is a record of her trip to Vietnam, and Fglarna i Nam Dinh (1972; Birds in Nam Dinh) covers the Vietnam war. Her regional novels blend realism with a fairy-tale-like atmosphere, and her works of social criticism express her commitment to the rights of the underprivileged. Lidman repudiated her earlier fiction in favour of reporting social conditions. Gruva (1968; The Mine) is a study of Lapland iron miners. Marta, Marta (1970) is a folk saga. In the 1970s she began a series of novels, including Din tjnare hr (1977; Your Servant is Listening), Nabots sten (1981; Naboth's Stone), and Jrnkronan (1985; The Iron Crown), set in the far north of Sweden; the books describe the introduction of the railroad in the late 19th century and its effect on the region and its inhabitants.