The Red Room 🔥 By August Strindberg FULL Audiobook
The Red Room. By August Strindberg FULL Audiobook
"The Red Room" is a novel by August Strindberg that was first published in 1879. The story is set in Stockholm, Sweden, in the 1870s and follows the life of Arvid Falk, a young government worker who aspires to be a poet. The novel is a satire on life in Stockholm and the struggles of the artistic and literary career, politics, journalism, and the disillusion that awaits the aspiring actor.
The story begins with Arvid Falk telling Struve, a journalist, about the waste and inadequacy of a government department where he had worked. Struve worked this material into an expose for a newspaper that was looking for sensational stories. Arvid was discharged for giving out the information. Arvid's brother, Charles Nicholas, was a flax merchant. He liked to feel that he was supporting Arvid by lending him money, offering him cigars, and inviting him to dinner. He could not believe that Arvid, despite certain unconventional opinions, would give out such information for publication. Charles Nicholas was a rising merchant, but his favorite cronies were a beaten clerk named Levin and an apathetic schoolmaster named Nystrom. Charles Nicholas had a young wife who slept until noon every day and aspired to become a social and civic leader.
Arvid visited his friends: Sellen and Lundell, who were painters; Rehnhjelm, who ardently desired to be an actor; and Olle Montanus and Ygberg, who spent all day arguing the fine points of philosophy. All were serious about their art or their arguments, and all were poor. Although the practical Lundell made a living by doing magazine illustrations, the group had little money; frequently they were forced to combine their credit or pawn some of their clothes in order to scrape together enough money for dinner.
Out of a job, Arvid brought some of his verses to Smith, a successful publisher who offered Arvid the job of writing about Ulrica Eleonora, a Swedish historical personage, and doing hack work on other trite and uninteresting subjects. Arvid tried to do the work, in which he had no interest at all, but he was unable to complete his dull assignments. He joined his friends in the Red Room, a cafe where they gathered, argued, and spent as little money as possible. Arvid finally got a job on a newspaper. As a reporter on the affairs of Parliament, he did his work successfully, although he was privately outraged at the time wasted in interminable and senseless discussions.
"The Red Room" is a novel that explores the struggles of the artistic and literary career, politics, journalism, and the disillusion that awaits the aspiring actor. It is a satire on life in Stockholm and the follies and pretenses of life everywhere. The novel is a lively and entertaining read that is sure to captivate readers with its witty and insightful commentary on the human condition..
More: August Strindberg, The Red Room, Swedish novel
satire, Stockholm society, modern Swedish novel
poverty, abuses, frauds
civil servant, journalist, author
politics, publishing, theatre
philanthropy, business, hypocrisy
political corruption
00:00:00 I: A Bird’s-Eye View of Stockholm
00:27:45 II: Between Brothers
00:45:17 III: The Artists’ Colony
01:12:08 IV: Master and Dogs
01:53:32 V: At the Publisher’s
02:15:42 VI: The Red Room
02:48:34 VII: The Imitation of Christ
03:01:55 VIII: Poor Mother Country
03:27:05 IX: Bills of Exchange
03:38:22 X: The Newspaper Syndicate “Grey Bonnet”
04:00:31 XI: Happy People
04:22:08 XII: Marine Insurance Society “Triton”
04:42:59 XIII: Divine Ordinance
05:02:30 XIV: Absinthe
05:28:56 XV: The Theatrical Company “Phoenix”
05:53:49 XVI: In the White Mountains
06:22:01 XVII: Natura …
06:28:19 XVIII: Nihilism
06:50:16 XIX: From Churchyard to Public-House
07:16:30 XX: On the Altar
07:26:25 XXI: A Soul Overboard
07:39:02 XXII: Hard Times
07:53:11 XXIII: Audiences
08:06:36 XXIV: On Sweden
08:43:50 XXV: Checkmate
09:17:28 XXVI: Correspondence
09:34:10 XXVII: Recovery
09:42:58 XXVIII: From Beyond the Grave
10:01:38 XXIX: Revue
10:21:40 XXX: Epilogue