Naïve. Super


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This is one of the books I learned about from my friend who lives in Sweden, which captured my attention to such an extent that I really recommend it as a very positive, uncomplicated yet very deep work to read. Written by a Norwegian author Erlend Loe, Naïve. Super is deceptively simple - and could be described as a work of naivism.

"I have two friends. A good one and a bad one. And then there’s my brother. He might not be quite as friendly as I am, but he’s OK … My life has been strange lately. It came to a point where I lost interest in it all. It was my 25th birthday. A few weeks ago."

This book is pure emotion expressed in a very simple way - it is a direct portrayal of life of a 25-year old without making things look entertaining or complicated. The linguistic style of Naïve. Super is very interesting as well - for the most part it contains very short, sometimes elliptical and never ironic sentences. The narrator of this book is easily recognizable to those of us who are like him. I laughed at the main character and, more importantly, I recognized myself in him and was able to laugh at myself. That kind of self-reflection is rare and valuable in fiction, just as this book is a rare and valuable treat.

I found a review of the book that is just perfect and evokes the style of the book itself:
After reading the first couple of lines … I was hooked on to it and now I am in need of something similar to read.
This is definitely one of the best books I've ever read.
Because it made me re-believe.
In trees, and bikes and in people.
It's simple. Nothing too bad happens. Nothing too exciting.
It's real.
It's everything we're short of in today's society.


5 comments:

Floss said...

That sounds really interesting - I will look out for it! Thanks also for your advice on reading your blog. I could see it all today, but if I have trouble in future I know what to do...

Paralelo Longe said...

Hi Olga,

Definitely you arouse my curiosity regarding this book. I also loved your “critics”, very well written and you expressed yourself in a very profound way. I’ll see if I can find it here in Lisbon. There are moments in our lives when time seems to stop and we don’t feel motivated, at all, to do anything. That happened to me last January when my father died. I was very attached to him and we had an enormous complicity together, so it took me quiet a while to recover from some apathy. But life must go on and with all the care we have around us, sooner or later, we are able to overcome these setbacks. A big hug, TI

zhrh said...

thanks for droppin by
am not sure whether the book available in Malaysia
really hope to get the book too

Olga said...

Floss, it is great it is now working better for you, I'm trying to figure our why this happens but it is not easy to understand how to change it :(

TI, thank you for your kind comments. I hope you are feeling better now and life doesn't seem so blue anymore. I know sometimes at such moments when you can't be sad anymore you just feel empty inside.. Take care TI, hugs.

Zhrh - nice of you to step by..

josie said...

I'm looking forward to read it, if I can find it here, thanks for dropping by