Karin Boye was a Swedish writer and poet who had a great influence on Scandinavian literature of the 20th century. “Kallocain”—Boye’s last and most famous novel, repeatedly reissued and translated into many languages—stands alongside such great works as George Orwell’s “1984,” Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451°.” It is a dystopian novel set in the future, where a person belongs completely to the system. A talented scientist, Leo Kall, develops a drug called “kallocaine,” capable of controlling people’s thoughts and feelings.