Emil of Lönneberga | a Review
originally published on 25/12/2023;
Hello everyone, I am the knower of things, G.E.M.Simov, a fellow well aware of all funky pranks and misdeeds performed by kids here and there, and I've come to tell you about Astrid Lindgren's tales concerning "Emil of Lönneberga".
Simple review details - I rank books on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it.
It is important to point out that the edition I read was a translation and was not in English, so there might be a slight difference in the process of reading and understanding.
Content
The book I will be talking about is, actually, a funky collection of a trio of short novelettes, with all of them being about the titular Emil of Lönneberga. Those books are tightly connected to one another, even if they do not necessarily flow from one into the other smoothly - each starts off with a couple of pages introducing Emil, his family and his home.
Even so, the way they are structured lends itself to them being stacked together, as each of the "books" about Emil are presented in the form of a retelling, split apart into particular stories concerning his exploits at a certain date. The separation is not done in chapters, not is there a table of contents, nor are the stories short enough to fit into a single bedtime story, but the stories wind up being relatively quick reads.
Why might someone be tempted to read them as bedtime stories? Well, because this book is a children's book, through and through. In fact, it is such an astonishingly good children's book that I am left behind flabbergasted.
It depicts the antics of a small child in the relatively distant past (the nineteenth century), who lives on a homestead in Sweden. Unlike another cult classic children's book, like "Tom Sawyer", "Emil of Lönneberga" actually does things right. It neither glorified violence, nor does it present violence as a solution to anything. Unfortunately, this is going to be a running trend - I will compare this book to Mark Twain's tale of an unruly village brat, and I will maintain that Emil's antics are incomparably better suited for kids and teens than the former.
As said, violence is not a solution for anything in "Emil of Lönneberga", not even when it comes to discipline. Emil is sent to a kind of solitary confinement when he messes up, but that is done in the woodcutting shack, which features special tools and loads of wood, allowing him to not just get punished - by merit of being confined and forced to be alone - but also giving him something to do, which is carving wood into the form of wooden people. That also winds up clearly functioning as a means of improving his woodworking ability and, potentially, providing him with a way forward in life.
In addition to that, none of the things he does are out of want to do someone something bad. There is no instance, such as in "Tom Sawyer", where Emil sees someone and concludes that they are going to end up in a fight. In fact, when it comes down to there being an actual fight, not only is the fight portrayed as a waste and as something stupid, but Emil actively wants to avoid fighting and even stops it (in a peaceful manner).
All the mischievous things that Emil does are out of a want to do good, which wind up backfiring due to unfortunate turns of events or just an innocent lack of knowledge on his part. Then there are those times where his mischief is truly just sincere want to simply play and have fun, coupled with the fact that he is a child and does not truly understand a lot of things. In addition to that, he does not mislead or trick people for his own gain, he operates quite honestly and there is no foul play at hand.
In addition to that, he is quite pure of heart, as a result of which the example that he is providing for the readers, or the listeners, is exclusively good. Not only that, but that goodness is found in all other people as well - even those who are villainous, or can be considered as more opposed towards Emil, have a great deal of humanity in them, and are also described in a manner that does not shy away from making them sympathetic. Regardless, the most important thing is that they are treated as people.
It is also a fantastic book about childhood, about being a child and about being a parent, as well as about being a good person. It features such a neat plethora of Characters, who are all nearly platonic ideals of the archetypes - mother, father, so on and so forth - as a result of which there's some kind of examination of what a "father" is, as an example, which is nearly sufficient.
And even though I spoke about these things, and about how this book is a magnificent children's book, it winds up being quite lax in relation to its proper content. Aside from providing a very good example, and vaguely mentioning some important things, the book only has, within itself, the stories of Emil's antics and some reasonably detailed descriptions of things related to living in a homestead during the nineteenth century.
It was fascinating for me, to read through those lines and to consider all the things said therein, but the purely historical value that they have is clearly not something everyone will appreciate - even less so in contemporary times.
"Emil of Lönneberga", then, suffers from being too much of a children's book, or from being too focused on telling a story, rather than trying to fit an explicit meaning within itself. 2/3
Richness of Expression
This book flows like butter. It is incredible.
I say that with the knowledge that it does not display some herculean power, in regards to how it expresses itself. There are no intricately constructed sentences that go on and on and bear mountains of meaning, but require many readings to understand, nor are there any exceptionally beautiful bits of prose that show up.
In addition to that, the lexicon that winds up used is both very simple - due to the fact that this is a children's book, and the author has made great efforts to keep it very legible and comprehensive for the youngest possible readers - and also somewhat complex, or at least unusual, courtesy of the things that are being spoken of. Now, that complexity only extends to certain words that are not too well known for the average reader, or at least for one that has not read literature set in the time period or location examined in this book.
However, this is a faux complexity. Sure, I might not know what a cottar is, but I probably don't really need to know. Similarly, I might not need to know what the particular word for an ungilded pig is to understand that the word in question refers to that.
That's the beauty of this book - it is so well written, in regards to how it expresses itself, that the reader does not need to know what a particular word means to understand the meaning of the sentence it is used in, even if it is the key bearer of meaning. It is simple in a magnificent manner, because it does its best to flow well and to be a pleasant read that remains engaging throughout.
It is difficult to precisely explain what it is - maybe it is the fact that the author has done her best to present what she has written as though she was talking to the reader? Maybe it is that attempt to provide written text that reads as though it is living text, as though it is speech? I always find myself willing to say that, if text is written as though it is being spoken, it reads far more smoothly and is far more engaging than text that is only written.
With that said, I am completely satisfied and elated that "Emil of Lönneberga" is written as it is and its author expressed herself as she did. 3/3
Story
This book, or collection of books, tells a number of small stories in which Emil is the Main Character, and his family (as well as the other few people who live with him) are supporting, or alternatively key to the story, Characters.
All the stories are relatively self-contained, being presented as hijinks from one of Emil's days, though there are overlaps from one to another. There is a thin line of connective tissue between them that allows for the story to be one whole thing. In essence, all of the stories preceding the heroic deed of Emil - which concludes the book - are meant to build Emil up so that his deeds are not only plausible and believable, but are perfectly expected by the reader.
The stories introduce the Characters to the reader, but then they keep reintroducing them and adding new details pertaining to the type of Characters that they are and also the relationships they have with other Characters and, mainly, Emil.
They establish that Emil is such and such, and they give the reader more than enough material that will act as the convincing and solid foundation for the culmination of the book. It just works - and not only that, but the way things are structured fails to imply that there is a build-up that is taking place.
It all looks as though it is just a set of stories, until it becomes apparent that that is not the case, and that everything was slowly leading up to this great event. It is so masterfully done that the book tells these stories as simple events from life, as simple happenings, and it is quite possible that it was intended to just be a set of happenings that wound up capitalizing on the knowledge of the Characters that comes from "being" with them for a long amount of time, but…
Well, it appears too good to be just an afterthought. As a result of that, the entirety of the story has an impressively plausible feeling to it, one that naturally relies on a pinch of suspended disbelief, and yet everything that occurs is more than a little believable.
Ultimately, this book features well devised Characters, interesting stories and premises, as well as a most pleasant bit of development - with Emil growing up from an exclusively naughty prankster into an occasionally naughty kid that excels at what matters.
I've no complaints, really. 3/3
Legendary Point
Does this book get the Legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time?
Simple and concise, endearing and entertaining, as well as full of light-hearted fun and a number of chuckles that left me feeling warm in the stomach - "Emil of Lönneberga" easily makes me say: YES, it gets the Legendary Point. Simply put, this is the ultimate children's book! 1/1
Conclusion
9/10. "Emil of Lönneberga" is an amazing children's book, and is one I would, without even blinking, recommend to everyone. I'd also say it is a definitive must read for children, and I am saddened by the fact it is not as popular as other, less deserving titles.
I tuck it under my belt, another shining achievement that I proudly display. Truly magnificent for what it is.