War Diaries, 1939–1945

"'Laden with sadness and dismay,' the diaries show everything from Lindgren’s horror at the deportation of 1,000 Norwegian Jews to Poland—'it is diabolical!'—to her personal heartbreak after a marriage crisis."—The Guardian

"As a writer, Lindgren was no navel-gazer given to mooning about her feelings, nor as a civilian was she proximate to powerful people pulling the levers of history. She was, however, a vivid observer of domestic affairs and geopolitics who, as her books for children would prove, was keenly alive to life’s vagaries. . . . Sensitive and wide-ranging, the diaries of the future author of the 'Pippi Longstocking' books offer a rare Scandinavian perspective on the catastrophe. . . . Fresh and intelligent."—Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal

“A compelling and well-researched narrative full of passion and a constant yearning for peace and change. Lindgren’s diary is detailed, informative, and incredibly engaging.”—Library Journal (starred review)

"A bystander’s unillusioned record of a war-ravaged, refugee-strewn world resonates these days. And Lindgren’s bracing testimony sheds unexpected light on outlandish Pippi after all. . . . As a child born of a war-haunted imagination, Pippi and her zany gumption make perfect sense."—Ann Hulbert, The Atlantic

“Provide[s] an intensely personal and vivid account of Europe during the war.”—Fallon Willoughby, The Daily News (Bowling Green, KY)

"The newly published 1939-1945 diaries of the globally acclaimed children’s book author offer fresh insights into war-time Sweden and into the life of the not-yet-famous Astrid Lindgren."—Radio Sweden

"A fascinating time-machine. 'Then' becomes 'now.'"—Per Svensson, Sydsvenska Dagbladet

"This is a breath-taking read."—Barbara Möller, Die Welt

"This is a fascinating, engrossing, and wholly unique account of a young writer’s attempts to make sense of World War II, from the local concerns of food rationing and the well-being of her children to the larger theatre of war unfolding in Europe, Africa, and Asia."—Morten Høi Jensen