<P>Shortlisted for Sweden's August Prize, Elisabeth Rynell's To Mervas is a vivid exploration of both external and internal wilderness. Marta, a middle-aged woman who has withdrawn almost completely into herself, is jolted back into contact with the world by a letter from her once-great love. Physical and emotional abuse, longing and loss, and the nature of love and redemption are explored with remarkable empathy and a visceral lyricism in Rynell's wrenching novel. <P>Elisabeth Rynell is a novelist and poet. Her first novel, Hohaj, was adapted into the Swedish film Snowland. To Mervas is her first novel to appear in English. <P>Victoria Haggblom is a writer and translator. She has received several translation grants and awards from the PEN American Center, the Swedish Institute, and others.