Fourth novel by author Sture Dahlström written in 1965.
The Brass Man shows a new and more melancholic side of Sture. In this book Jeb Stark returns to his childhood's Huskvarna, and remembers his 1930s childhood. How him and his friends Val and Saffron smoked dry leaves, caught pike, shot slingshot, peeked at older girls through the crack in the sauna, etc.
How he bought a used trombone from an odd uncle who was drunk, sang and always walked around with a brown bag with boiled pigs' trotters under his arm.
The job at the bicycle and weaponry factory where he used to stand by the machines and dream of plaing the trombone in the brothels of New Orleans. How he got to know the old pianist who played his imaginary piano dreaming about his time as concert pianist, talking to Jeb about music and people and books, while Jeb wants to be the brass man seeing the world full of soft brass instruments instead of hard weapons.
The first love, Lena, with whom he stopped and kissed every ten metres and made love in a cottage on damp blankets and who broke his heart and taught him jealousy.
Strong memory flashes that suddenly fades as Jeb walks the old streets. Everything is changed, everybody is gone, everything has entered into the vague and disappearing past.
As with so many of Sture's novels and short stories this one is only available in Swedish. Well, if I improve maybe I can do something about that one day...