Horace Engdahl’s Själen och musiken is described by HBL as a book that may be modest in size, but not in meaning. The review suggests that its compact form is part of its strength, giving the work a focused and deliberate character rather than a grand gesture.

The reading experience is not entirely smooth at first. HBL says the book’s search for the soul initially feels preachy and self-absorbed, but that it eventually ends on a fine closing note. That shift gives the book its significance: a small cultural work that grows more convincing by the end.