Patrik Lundberg

This book was so far away from me, I just couldn't relate to it. It's about life in a small town, wanting to get away, being a nineteen year old guy who was the king in high school but failed all his courses and now have to take them again to get a passing grade. I'm like ... the opposite of that. And of course, the point of fiction is to somehow get to know different people and their lives, but ... so many of the characters are SOOO dudebro-ey. I hate dudebros.

When Chriss read this, she laughed a lot, but I didn't really do that. A few times, yes, and the humorous situations wasn't as forced as in the last book I read, but still not for me. I also feel everyone got hurt at all times, to a point where it didn't even seem realistic anymore.

The main character was very annoying, but luckily he did grow by the end of the book. I mean, he's 19, I guess I can cut him some slack. Though I had to keep reminding myself of that: there was not much of a difference between him and the 30 dude in the last book I read.

That said, it was an easy read, and had some good points about being true to yourself or whatever. It wouldn't have hurt if it elaborated on some aspects though, the younger sister's accident felt like it did nothing to the story. The book is short, some extra pages dwelt on that wouldn't have hurt.

Simon was the worst character though. Reminded me of why teenaged dudebros are the worst and why I never want to associate with them ever again.… (altro)

När Birgitta Lundberg föddes fanns det hopp, även om hennes liv. I rekordårens och folkhemmets Sverige kunde en arbetarflicka på landsbygden gå åtta år i skolan, ett år i husmoderskola och få ett kontorsjobb måndagen efter examen. Hon kunde spara till körkort och bil, åka på dans och hitta kärleken.

Snart levde Birgitta Lundberg den svenska drömmen: Make, två barn. Volvo och villa. En välfärd som fanns där när hon behövde den.

Sedan kom 1990-talets finanskris. Skilsmässan och stressen. Fattigdomen. Barnens liv till varje pris.

Patrik Lundberg växte upp på Fjärilsvägen i Sölvesborg. Nu är Fjärilsvägen en kärleksförklaring till hans mor, och en berättelse om det svenska klassamhället.… (altro)

Partik Lundberg is one of my favorite columnists. He writes for one of the tabloids, presenting clever looks on socioeconomics and racism, often from a small town perspective. Adopted from Korea, he’s one of rather few voices in Sweden raising awareness of racism towards asians specifically, a variety of racism that is for some reason seen as ”milder” here, often slipping under the radar.

”Gul utanpå” (which translates as ”Yellow on the outside”, referring to how someone once compared his cultural identity to a banana) is Lundberg’s autobiography about going to Korea to find his own roots. Starting with his upbringing as one of very few ”different” kids in his hometown, small town blues quickly sketched but beautifully captured, the main focus here is on the year he spends in Seoul, to study but mainly to find his birth family.

Lundberg writes with a frank honesty about the experience of finding himself popular with girls for the first time in his life (and what that does to him), about the joy of meeting his family turning more and more complicated as he struggles with their expectations, about his drinking habits and about the shock in finding out his birth papers have been altered to make him ”easier to adopt”.

In short, there’s a lot in here which I haven’t read about before, and I feel wiser for having read this quick book. As a person sharing a lot of musical references with Lundberg, it’s also a joy to find the quotes from lots of great indie songs hidden in the text everywhere. However, the style, effective as it is, feels almost too straight at times. It’s so clear it’s a little bland. Even if it doesn’t say so anywhere, I’m left with a feeling this is a book geared towards a younger audience. As such, it’s probably even better. Me, I’m turning my eye towards Lundberg’s debut novel, just released last month.… (altro)