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A review by mariegrim
Jonas by Jens Bjørneboe
3.0
The first half of this book is very good, with Jonas' experiences of not fitting in to normal school being an interesting story. You also get some shorter parts with other characters than Jonas. These are still intersting, feel relevant to the story, and are so short that you don't feel you are taken away from Jonas for too long at a time. The characters are well written and funny. Bjørneboe has managed to make them believable, but still borderlining comedic. For some reason you get a description of pretty much every character's nose. I've read a lot of books through the years, but no author have focused so much on noses.
The only part I did not like in the first half of the book was the description of how Jonas perceived the world. I've read many books, particularly comming of age books and books about adults which have a short chapter or two of the adult's childhood, which describe the child's perception of the world in a similar way. Childhood does in many ways perceive the world in a more dreamy way than adulthood. But these books' child characters perceive the world in such a dreamy way that I beleive they must all be high to see the world like that. I couldn't help but think that if this was really how Jonas perceived the world maybe he did belong in the special school. It seems to me few authors are really able to write a believable child character.
The second half of the book was in my opinion a bit messy. We move away from Jonas, and have to read through some quite long parts about other characters where a lot of it really is not relevant for the story. It's a good book for sympathizing with those who do not always fit in, but I felt it could need some more editing towards the end.
The only part I did not like in the first half of the book was the description of how Jonas perceived the world. I've read many books, particularly comming of age books and books about adults which have a short chapter or two of the adult's childhood, which describe the child's perception of the world in a similar way. Childhood does in many ways perceive the world in a more dreamy way than adulthood. But these books' child characters perceive the world in such a dreamy way that I beleive they must all be high to see the world like that. I couldn't help but think that if this was really how Jonas perceived the world maybe he did belong in the special school. It seems to me few authors are really able to write a believable child character.
The second half of the book was in my opinion a bit messy. We move away from Jonas, and have to read through some quite long parts about other characters where a lot of it really is not relevant for the story. It's a good book for sympathizing with those who do not always fit in, but I felt it could need some more editing towards the end.