Critics such as Selma Brodrej, Johannes Klenell, and Ulf Olsson have called Aase Berg's autofictive diaries self-absorbed, uneven, and "murderously boring". After Berg responded to her reviewers in book form, several cultural critics have questioned her harsh tone. According to Berg herself, the diaries are a literary research project that explores the boundary between reality and fiction.
Can you understand the critics who say that you cannot describe the diaries as a feminist project and then call someone a "little cunt"?
I understand how they think. But I think they can think one step further. The critic I called a cunt wrote in her review that I "lacked great cock calm". Normally, I don't use gendered language, but this is a meta thing. It's very childish, but I'm just responding with her language in a direct reply, says Aase Berg.
"Don't care"
Aase Berg understands that negative reviews are part of the job and says that she always thinks about whether her critics are right.
It's not like I go crazy every time I get a critical review, but I can get damned angry if people obviously haven't read or understood my project. Now I don't care a bit, but I still wanted to document and portray the feeling, even if it only lasts for a day. That's what diaries do.
What does the debate say about today's literary criticism?
Today's literary criticism is lagging behind. First, you have to read up on an author's work before you write reviews. There has been a lot of criticism of young contemporary poetry for roughly the same reasons as autofiction. Literary criticism hasn't quite grasped how to understand this new literary research that's going on, says Berg.
"Fun that it's being discussed"
At the same time, she points out that, for example, Lars Norén's diaries have received a different reception.
Some have tried to steer the debate towards the idea that older women are attacking younger women with less power. But I think it's about having more respect for older men. It's more provocative when women show anger or ugly feelings. Especially older women who aren't constantly playing the sex card.
Overall, Berg is pleased with the attention the debate has generated.
It's a bit fun, of course, that you're working on something that can actually be discussed and debated. I'm not out to create a sense of comfort; others can do that.
Kristoffer Viita/TT
Facts: The dispute between Aase Berg and the critics
TT
The literary dispute began in 2023 when Aase Berg's first diary "I am never home" received lukewarm reviews. Critics such as Ulf Olsson, Johannes Klenell, and Selma Brodrej described the book as boring and self-absorbed. The artist Marianne Lindberg De Geer defended Berg in Expressen and called the critics a "B-team of bullies" – something Selma Brodrej dismissed as cronyism.
When Berg released the sequel "We're almost there" in the fall of 2025, she responded directly to her reviewers in the text, including with coarse insults towards Brodrej and Klenell. The debate has since continued on the culture pages, where writers are now arguing about where the boundary lies between artistic freedom, personal attacks, and public vendetta.
On November 20 at 6 PM, the conversation "Life in letters: a conversation about public diary writing" will be held – about the literary debate, at ABF-huset in Stockholm. Participants include Aase Berg, Marianne Lindberg De Geer, and Vesna Prekopic (moderator).
