Book Reviews: Madicken | Samuel August från Sevedstorp och Hanna i Hult | Stora Emilboken

Title: Madicken
Author: Astrid Lindgren

Original title: Madicken
First published: 1960
Genre: Classic, Children
Series: Madicken #1
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 184
Finished: 19/07/2022
Summary: In 1925, while on vacation with his family on the Yorkshire coast, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his favorite toy, a little lead dog he was reluctant to put down even to dig in the sand. To console and distract him, his father, J. R. R. Tolkien, improvised a story - the story of Rover, a real dog magically transformed into a toy, who, after many fantastic adventures in search of the wizard who wronged him, at last wins back his life. This charming tale is peopled by a wise old whale and a terrible dragon, by the king of the sea and the Man-in-the-Moon.

My thoughts: This is the first installment in Astrid Lindgren's classic series of books about a young girl named Madicken, who lives with her parents, little sister, and maid on Junibacken. Each chapter in this book is episodic, while still maintaining a clear timeline and details that keep each story connected. Lindgren portrays everyday life in this book, but does it in a way that feels joyous and celebratory. Madicken is sometimes a very frustrating character to follow, but she's also charming in her mischievousness and curious manner. To date, this, along with Lindgren's stories about Emil, is my favourite book by this beloved author.

Rating: 4.75/5

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Title: Samuel August från Sevedstorp och Hanna i Hult (Samuel August from Sevedtorps and Hanna in Hult)
Author: Astrid Lindgren

Original title: Samuel August från Sevedstorp och Hanna i Hult
First published: 1975
Genre: Non-fiction
Series: --
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 158
Finished: 21/06/2022
Summary: Astrid Lindgren retells the story of her parents' lives: "It is a tale of love that holds more love than what I've ever read about in books". She also writes of her childhood days in Småland in a world that is no more. She recalls the tales she heard in Kristin's kitchen. She writes about trees she remembers. She recounts the fate of Andrew Peterson, a peculiar Swedish pioneer in America. And her book ends the way it started, with a love story. This one is almost as beautiful and touching as the one about Samuel August in Sevedstorp and Hanna in Hult, but instead it follows Luise Mejer and Heinrich Christian Boie who lived in 18th century Germany.

My thoughts: I picked this up to initiate my summer study reading this year. I'm taking a course at half pace about Swedish children's book author Astrid Lindgren's literature. The majority of the literature is free to choose for myself, as long as it's by Lindgren. With this collection of short essays and writings, I managed to finish the first 158 of the 2500 pages I'm required to read for the course. It's a book that is not very typical for Lindgren - as I mentioned she's famous for her children's literature. However, that fact made this a very pleasant book to start off with, since it shows who Lindgren really was when she didn't write for children. She had other interests and things she held dear, like the story of her parents falling in love and her interest in historical common people's lives and fates. The sections that I enjoyed the most were the one about her parents (particularly the descriptions of the last 'traditional' farms in Sweden before industrialisation wrapped its claws around the farmer profession), the one where she recalls the books she loved as a child herself, and her recount about the Swedish farmer Andrew Peterson in Minnesota. A pleasant read that kept me curious about what she'd tell me about next.

Rating: 3,75/5

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Title: Stora Emilboken (The Big Book of Emil)
Author: Astrid Lindgren

Original title: Stora Emilboken
First published: 1963
Genre: Classic, Children, Historical
Series: Emil i Lönneberga #1-3
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 409
Finished: Summer 2022
Summary: The books about Emil of Lönneberga and his little sister Ida take place in Astrid Lindgren's Småland. Lindgren uses her father's childhood memories as inspiration for Emil's mischief and adventures. This omnibus contains the first three books about Emil: 'Emil i Lönneberga' (Emil of Lönneberga), 'Nya hyss av Emil i Lönneberga' (New Mischief by Emil of Lönneberga), and 'Än lever Emil i Lönneberga' (Yet Lives Emil of Lönneberga).

My thoughts: The books about Emil of Lönneberga are targeted at a very young audience, much like the books about Pippi Långstrump (Longstocking in the English translation). While the language is very simple, it reads as though it is not only directed at children, but at readers of any age. Not because it deals with any particularly adult issues or delivers mature jokes that fly over the heads of children. Nothing of the sort, and yet it feels worth reading even as an adult, without the purpose of introducing a child to literature. These three books brought back memories from my own childhood - of watching the movie adaptations and being scared senseless by Emil's raging but well-meaning father, Anton. The stories work together to create strong bonds between the characters and to give modern readers a glimpse of a Sweden that no longer exists, when oxen helped plow the fields and and the roads were made of only dirt and gravel. I must say, though, that I sympathise with Anton a lot more after reading the books as an adult, and that Emil makes me all the more resolute to never have children of my own.

Rating: 4,75