Why Can’t Ivan Read?

WHY CAN’T IVAN READ?

Karlskrona, Sweden—The island of Almö, a nature reserve just west of this provincial center on the Baltic Sea, is in winter a place of stark beauty and leaden silence. It comes alive in the summer, when it is a popular retreat with an 18-hole golf course, stands of juniper and alder, picturesque red wooden cottages, and waist-high grass concealing wild grouse. There is also a large sign alongside the main road that warns: “!stop! Foreigners not admitted! Military restricted area,” in seven languages. It marks the beginning of the Blekinge military reservation, which encompasses many of the islands and much of the coastal waters near Karlskrona.

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Stuart Y. Silverstein

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WHY CAN’T IVAN READ?

Karlskrona, Sweden—The island of Almö, a nature reserve just west of this provincial center on the Baltic Sea, is in winter a place of stark beauty and leaden silence. It comes alive in the summer, when it is a popular retreat with an 18-hole golf course, stands of juniper and alder, picturesque red wooden cottages, and waist-high grass concealing wild grouse. There is also a large sign alongside the main road that warns: “!stop! Foreigners not admitted! Military restricted area,” in seven languages. It marks the beginning of the Blekinge military reservation, which encompasses many of the islands and much of the coastal waters near Karlskrona.