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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Nezinu, vai ir godīgi tā ņemt un izravēt manu sirdi. Ārkārtīgi smaga grāmata. Nesaprotu, kāpēc pie tās atgriežos, atkal visa esmu lupatās.
One of the best works of children's literature ever produced; and if you aren't a child, one of the most whimsical, tragic, and enlightening fantasy novels you'll read.
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's fascinating to see how many international reviews this book has, far more than any other book I've seen on Goodreads. Thanks to Google Translate, I've read reviews of it in Spanish, Indonesian, Swedish, and Arabic. And it's especially interesting how many of them say roughly the same thing: this is a magical and compelling book, but given how it romanticizes death and particularly suicide as something sweet and brave, it's hard to imagine giving this to a child to read. The book starts when two young brothers die — one of lifelong chronic illness, the other sacrificing his life to save the first from a fire. They go on to a sort of Narnia-esque afterlife, in an idyllic world where they have their own house and land and horses, and where the sickly younger brother has a healthy body with working legs. But as with Narnia, there's evil and adventure, in this case from a neighboring valley ruled by a rapacious tyrant, and it pulls the two brothers in. This is a very sentimental book, largely aimed at kids — Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, of the Pippi Longstocking books and Ronia the Robber's Daughter (one of my favorite childhood novels), really lays on the colorful description of the world of Nangiyala, and emphasizes how much fun it would be for a 9-year-old to live like an adult, with his own home and horse and hearth. (It's interesting that the two brothers are extremely affectionate and devoted to each other, and the younger one in particular can't bear to be apart from the older, but once they've both moved on to Nangiyala, they never once mention their mother again — possibly because there's no good way to romanticize a mother losing both of her children in rapid succession.) But this is also very much a book about courage, and how the timid younger brother, who's spent his entire life disabled and in bed, learns to be brave in order to save his older brother, and then save the valley where they live. It's just very odd to my sensibilities — and apparently to many other sensibilities around the globe — that the ultimate expression of that bravery involves committing suicide, and helping his brother die, so they can go on to the NEXT afterlife together.
The Brothers Lionheart is a book I had to read as a child in school and it has always associated with something really, really sad. I couldn’t remember what, but it was sad. Now, I read it again years later and I remembered, “Oh, that’s why.”
I don’t think I really was able to fully process the story, maybe because I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it after reading it. Even today when I finished it again I am a little stuck in my thoughts and feelings the journey of the Lionheart brothers.
Astrid Lindgren covers a variety of difficult ethical/moral even existential subjects that are part of our lives. I would advise parents to read this book with their children or at least discuss it as they go through the story and after they have finished it.
I don’t think I really was able to fully process the story, maybe because I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it after reading it. Even today when I finished it again I am a little stuck in my thoughts and feelings the journey of the Lionheart brothers.
Astrid Lindgren covers a variety of difficult ethical/moral even existential subjects that are part of our lives. I would advise parents to read this book with their children or at least discuss it as they go through the story and after they have finished it.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
sad
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced