Reviews - Back in the Day | The StoryGraph

246 reviews for:

Back in the Day

Oliver Lovrenski

4.19 AVERAGE

stromkr's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

andreeavis's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I loved this book with all my heart! It reminded me of childhood and adolescence, the messiness of it all and how we can go through unscathed. Oliver Lovrenski’s writing is raw and unfiltered; it reads more like a journal, and it’s both tragic and funny at the same time. Back In The Day captures the experience of being an immigrant (he is Norwegian-Croatian) and brotherhood, the love and friendship between boys, with such candor, that I couldn’t stop myself from loving these boys and their dangerous life.

The narrator is Ivor, a Norwegian-Croatian immigrant (hence the feeling of journal). He shares his story, growing up in a poor neighborhood in Norway, making friends with other immigrants - Marco, Somali and muslim, Arjan, his Indian friend, and Jonas, their Norwegian buddy. The story starts when they are 13, and it continues over 18, following Ivor and his friends when they discover drugs, when they become addicts, and they get into the hospital multiple times because of that, through petty crime, violence, and theft. Their lives are hard ones, and Ivor is aware of it. The whole story brims with self-awareness and self-analysis.

The way the book is written is what immersed me in the story. It’s written how I make notes sometimes, in my app, without capitalisation or punctuation, exactly how a teenage boy would experience life. I love those boys so much! I accompanied them through heartbreak, falling in love, thinking one of them died of an overdose or was beaten up by a rival gang almost to death. Through the death of their loved ones, through poverty and trying to figure out who they are in a world that doesn’t make it easy for boys.

Lovrenski doesn’t judge the boys, and nor does he alter their actions. He tells their story, how they would have said it. I gave this book 5/5 stars, and would give it more if I could. Please read it, it’s short but it’s wonderful from all points of view!