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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
I enjoyed reading this book, but it moved too slow for me. I rate it 3.5 stars rounded down. This book is written in the 1st person from the standpoint of Erik, a 14 yr old boy in 1957 rural Sweden. He spends a summer with his best friend, Edmund.
Henry is Erik's 22 yr old brother. Henry is a somewhat distracted person living in his own world, trying to write a book. The 3 of them spend the summer together at a rustic cabin on a remote lake in Sweden. Before they go to the cabin, a substitute teacher comes to Erik's school. She is a stunningly beautiful woman, and Erik and all his friends think Ewa Kaludis looks like Kim Novak.
Ewa is engaged to Berra Albertsson, a huge man and a bully.
In a very slow buildup, the story leads to Berra's murder. The killer is not revealed until the end, and I was not sure who the killer was until it was revealed. The translation was excellent.
Two quotes: Erik on Ewa: "She was just too beautiful. Like a goddess or a Kim Novak. You can't fly too close to the sun, and everyone who saw her that summer's eve knew it. "
Henry on people; "We'd be better off, us people, if we could keep our selves from always having to create a damn context. We should give ourselves over to the fleeting present instead."
Thanks to Penguin and the author for sending me the eARC through Edelweiss.
Henry is Erik's 22 yr old brother. Henry is a somewhat distracted person living in his own world, trying to write a book. The 3 of them spend the summer together at a rustic cabin on a remote lake in Sweden. Before they go to the cabin, a substitute teacher comes to Erik's school. She is a stunningly beautiful woman, and Erik and all his friends think Ewa Kaludis looks like Kim Novak.
Ewa is engaged to Berra Albertsson, a huge man and a bully.
In a very slow buildup, the story leads to Berra's murder. The killer is not revealed until the end, and I was not sure who the killer was until it was revealed. The translation was excellent.
Two quotes: Erik on Ewa: "She was just too beautiful. Like a goddess or a Kim Novak. You can't fly too close to the sun, and everyone who saw her that summer's eve knew it. "
Henry on people; "We'd be better off, us people, if we could keep our selves from always having to create a damn context. We should give ourselves over to the fleeting present instead."
Thanks to Penguin and the author for sending me the eARC through Edelweiss.
my entire family loves håkan nesser. they LOVE him. we have like at least 15 of his books at home, and not a single summer passes without at least one of them reading at least one of his crime stories. however, ive never read him before and i figured it was time, partly because of the biblical-adjacent title since it’s easter? idk man.
i liked a lot of things about this book, let’s list them. it was a breeze to read and kept me engaged the whole time, it is well-written, i liked the general nostalgic vibe, i liked the characters (or let’s be honest, i liked edmund), i liked the summertime setting and just the vibe everything gave off, i liked how ambiguos the mystery was and that there was no traditional bad guy (something my family tells me is common with nesser, which excites me!!). as far as swedish coming-of-age set in the 60s, it’s not quite on par with populärmusik från vittula, but i don’t think it’s that far behind.
i have to complain though - that fucking ending. i’m sorry but it’s COMPLETELY unreasonable that he ends up getting the girl. i think the entire character of ewa kaludis is treated pretty unfairly in this book - isn’t it so that the focus is on what all the men around her feel for her, instead of what she feels? and the ending is just the culmination of that fucked up-ness. i cannot stress this enough, no sane woman would want to spend her life with a man for the sole reason that he obsessed over her when he was 14. no woman would know that said 14 year old watched and masturbated to her having sex and not be grossed out but instead (which i think the author implies) find it cute? the entire thing is such a male fantasy that it almost seems intentional - leaving your loving wife and kids for an older woman youve obsessed over your entire life because of course she finds you sexy now? not to mention the pedophilic light that scenario shines on ewa? it’s just a mess and it’s sad that he still hyperfixates on her body, talks about how her BODY is the last thing he has left from his youth and how much he fucks her. now that i’ve rambled about all that im actually not sure that the author didn’t do this in order to poke fun of it. uhhhh it left a sour taste in my mouth anyways.
i think overall though this is somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4 so im gonna put a 4! despite my reservations i think i would recommend this, might read more nesser in the summer or so as well.
i liked a lot of things about this book, let’s list them. it was a breeze to read and kept me engaged the whole time, it is well-written, i liked the general nostalgic vibe, i liked the characters (or let’s be honest, i liked edmund), i liked the summertime setting and just the vibe everything gave off, i liked how ambiguos the mystery was and that there was no traditional bad guy (something my family tells me is common with nesser, which excites me!!). as far as swedish coming-of-age set in the 60s, it’s not quite on par with populärmusik från vittula, but i don’t think it’s that far behind.
i have to complain though - that fucking ending. i’m sorry but it’s COMPLETELY unreasonable that he ends up getting the girl. i think the entire character of ewa kaludis is treated pretty unfairly in this book - isn’t it so that the focus is on what all the men around her feel for her, instead of what she feels? and the ending is just the culmination of that fucked up-ness. i cannot stress this enough, no sane woman would want to spend her life with a man for the sole reason that he obsessed over her when he was 14. no woman would know that said 14 year old watched and masturbated to her having sex and not be grossed out but instead (which i think the author implies) find it cute? the entire thing is such a male fantasy that it almost seems intentional - leaving your loving wife and kids for an older woman youve obsessed over your entire life because of course she finds you sexy now? not to mention the pedophilic light that scenario shines on ewa? it’s just a mess and it’s sad that he still hyperfixates on her body, talks about how her BODY is the last thing he has left from his youth and how much he fucks her. now that i’ve rambled about all that im actually not sure that the author didn’t do this in order to poke fun of it. uhhhh it left a sour taste in my mouth anyways.
i think overall though this is somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4 so im gonna put a 4! despite my reservations i think i would recommend this, might read more nesser in the summer or so as well.
Uskomatonta, luin pohjoismaalaisen murhamysteerin! Poimin sen sattumalta kirjastosta mukaani, joten en tiennyt mitä kirja käsittelee. Hahmot oli hyvin rakennettuja, ja luulin pitkälle yli puolivälin kirjan olevan pelkkä nuoren aikuistumista seuraava romaani. Sen lisäksi kirja on myös romaani pohjoismaisesta kesästä, jossa on paarmoja ja hyttysiä, kirjan lukemista myöhään yöllä päivänvalossa, juhannus ja soutelua. Erinomainen kirja.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Enjoyed that it focussed on the coming of age summer instead of the murder mystery.
Atmospheric tale combining a boy's coming of age and a murder mystery during a languid summer by a lake in 1960s Sweden. The voice of the 14-year-old narrator and his taciturn friendship with another boy feels authentic. Their crush on a teacher, who resembles the actress Kim Novak, becomes tangled in adult matters that take a dark turn. I wasn't keen on a later romantic development, but I enjoyed the slow burning story and the eventual revelation of a long-held secret.
I really liked this book. It's a coming of age story set in the sixties, which focuses on the two teenaged boys, Erik and Edmund, who spent a summer in a cottage in Sweden, because both their mothers are sick, albeit from different illnesses. Then something horrible happens that changed everything, and Erik's summer is set in relation to what happened before and after that horrible thing. A part of the summer are also Erik's brother, the boys substitute teacher and the girl in the grocery store. There was a certain warmth to the story that I liked, even though things ended as they did.
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sigh... This was an assignment in school, and it was honestly among the most boring, pretentious books I've ever read... The characters were trashy and not interesting at all, nor was the plot! I almost died from boredom reading this.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes