Göran Tunström's adroit narration, accessible mysticism, and palpable warmth have assured him a place in the highest tier of twentieth-century Swedish writers. By dint of his birth in the province of Värmland, his literary foremother was the peerless storyteller Selma Lagerlöf, and his poetic forefather was Gustaf Fröding, known for capturing the mystical in earthy lyrics. Born into a pastor's family, Tunström was strongly influenced by Lutheran values and rituals. His parents experienced poverty as children but were different in temperament; Tunström described his father's home as a "house of sighs," his mother's, conversely, as a "house of laughter." His paternal grandfather was an evangelical preacher; his maternal grandfather a factory worker who also played the violin and accompanied silent movies on the piano. Although his grandfather was offered the chance to study music...