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Populärmusik från Vittula

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 2,220 ratings · 137 reviews

Matti och hans tystlåtna kompis Niila växer upp i det barnrika kvarter i Pajalas utkant som i folkmun kallas Vittulajänkkä, förkortat Vittula, och i översättning betyder Fittmyren, så kallat »som ett slags rå hyllning till den kvinnliga fruktsamheten«.

Det är sexti- och sjuttital, vägarna asfalteras, småjordbruken läggs ned, rockmusiken gör sin entré. De äldre generationern...more

Hardcover, 237 pages

Published August 10th 2000 by Norstedts (first published 2000)

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Mar 05, 2013 Manny rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Real men, real women, rock 'n' roll poets

Shelves: swedish-and-norwegian, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, well-i-think-its-funny, translation-is-impossible

Matti is a regular teen in 60s Pajala up in the extreme north of Sweden, where they think of themselves as Finns and speak Finnish by preference. These are guys who know how to hold their liquor, laugh at temperatures that go down to forty below zero, handle a gun, an axe or a snowmobile, build a house, butcher a reindeer and treat women the way they really want to be treated. Though it's true, Matti has also discovered rock 'n' roll. Maybe that makes him knapsu (gay), but he doesn't care. A rea...more Matti is a regular teen in 60s Pajala up in the extreme north of Sweden, where they think of themselves as Finns and speak Finnish by preference. These are guys who know how to hold their liquor, laugh at temperatures that go down to forty below zero, handle a gun, an axe or a snowmobile, build a house, butcher a reindeer and treat women the way they really want to be treated. Though it's true, Matti has also discovered rock 'n' roll. Maybe that makes him knapsu (gay), but he doesn't care. A real Finn can take care of himself if anyone's dumb enough to call him knapsu.

He also turns out to be a natural writer: his voice is sort of like Huck Finn crossed with a Viking saga. Out of consideration to the guys further south, he's been kind enough to write his book in Swedish, which at least is a half-respectable language. I understand that there's an English translation too, though I'm not sure I can recommend it. Here's what Matti thinks of English:

Engelska, detta språk med alldeles för svagt tuggmotstånd för hårda finska käftar, så sladdrigt att bara flickor kunde få femmor i det, denna snigelaktiga rotvälska, dallrande och fuktig, uppfunnen av gyttjetrampande kustlänningar som aldrig behövt kämpa, som aldrig svultit eller frusit, ett språk för lättingar, gräsätare, soffpruttare, så helt utan spänst att tungan sladdrade som en avskuren förhud i munnen.

[English, a language which doesn't offer enough resistance to hard Finnish jaws, so slippery that only girls can get As in it, this damp, wobbly, snail-like gobbledegook, invented by muddy southerners who've never needed to fight, never been frozen or hungry, a language for lazy vegetarians who fart on their sofas, so completely lacking in texture that you feel your tongue sliding around in your mouth like a cut-off foreskin.]

Unfortunately, we can't all be Finns. Girls, the quickest way to Pajala is fly to Kiruna via Stockholm, then take the bus north. But don't get your hopes up.
________________________

Consulting the Swedish wikipedia page about this book, I'm pleased to see that it's been translated into both the dialect of Finnish spoken here and standard Finnish, "together with some other languages". It also correctly describes the book as a skröna (roughly, bragging or lying as an art-form) masquerading as an autobiography. I'm afraid to say that some other reviewers have called it "magical realist". They are so knapsu that they probably enjoy the taste of wine.
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Jun 02, 2008 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Popular Music from Vittula is an ingenious blend of memoir, folklore, magical realism, and talented story telling. Who knew growing up in the Arctic Circle would be so enchanting? (I thought it would be too frigid to do anything but shiver.) But Niemi forms a beautiful landscape where men half a step away from Vikings raise kids who listen to The Beatles. The modern age quite literally steam rolls into an edge of the world village where citizens are treading the waters between the religions and...more

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Dec 02, 2007 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone i like.

This one has it all. Humanity, humour up the wazoo, insight, high emotional stakes, great use of language (it must be amazing in the Swedish but oh well),magic, and morals. Anyone who grew up in an isolated place will relate to this.

Spoiler alert, if you already know you're going to read this book, stop now:
seriously, why ruin it...
ok here goes

the scene where Niila's abusive father gets his ass kicked, then, while convalescing, finds heaven while walking the landscape in the cracks of the ceil...more

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Aug 29, 2007 Lorenzo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: swedish, aaa-my-library

I've got a kind of obsession for Scandinavian literature, having lived for a little while in Norway.

And yet I have to say that Swedish literature has more to offer than Norwegian one with such great novelists like Stig Dagerman, Lars Gustafsson and Torgny Lindgren.

Mikael Niemi belongs to a new generation of Swedish authors and -as I suppose from his surname, he has finnish roots.-
This book is a funny and easy reading which takes place in an exotic northern land, that part of Sweden on the Bothni...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Gail Francis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The narrator in this self-deprecating Swedish coming-of-age story does a great job at capturing a child's view of things. Author Mikael Niemi keeps the reader guessing at time as to the reliability of the narrator as he winds his way through the story of the friendship of two boys, their families, and eventually their band. The story reminded me of A Christmas Story with its wry depiction of working class families in a snowy climate. The chapter in which two families engage in a drinking contest...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Carolyn Crocker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Coming of age above the Arctic Circle in the blurred boundary between Sweden and Finland, Matti frees his imagination to soar above the harsh, barren environment, the melodramatic weather, and the competitive drinking and sauna that constitute local sport. Rock'n'roll as the saving grace. Who said there's no such thing as Scandinavian magical realism?

"The most dangerous thing of all, and something [Dad] wanted to warn me about above all else, the one thing that had consigned whole regiments of u...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Tyler Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scandinavian-literature

When most people think of exotic fiction in translation, novels from sultry, spicy locales such as India and South America come to mind. Anyone willing to go beyond this preconceived notion could do no better than this funny, impossible, tender and often disgusting tale of coming-of-age north of the Arctic Circle.

In the far north of Sweden, young Matti grows up surrounded by tough-as-nails lumberjacks, fire-breathing religious zealots, communist shit-disturbers and the occasional witch doctor....more

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May 14, 2013 Amorfna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: *Dragonfly*

Shelves: favorites, must-buy

Popularna muzika iz Vitule, predstavlja prvi roman Švedskog pisca Mikaela Niemia poznatog do tada po svojim zbirkama poezije kao i pozorišnim komadima.

Prvi roman, sjajan roman! Prljav, dirljiv, nostalgičan, duhovit.
Radnja prati odrastanje dva dečaka, Mattija i Nile, na samom izolovanom severu Švedske, bogu iza nogu, u maloj zabiti Pajali, u kraljevstvu leda gde vikinzi još uvek predstavljaju prototip idealnog muškarca, gde se sve važne odluke donose u sauni i gde bi se svaka poštena srpska pijan...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Kris McCracken rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a lovely little coming of age story set in the Finnish-speaking far north of Sweden. Set through the sixties, it traces the adolescence of a pair of friends and reflects on the world around them.

This is an exceptionally beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area and feeling disconnected from the main. You can tell that the author is a poet, as each chapter really can stand alone as culturally fertile vignettes of what it is to be a young bloke growing...more

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Jan 10, 2008 Karl Lehtinen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Best Finnish book ever.

Well, OK, I haven't read any others.

But this is what I imagine my childhood may have been like if my father had never left Finland.

Some of the most endearing scenes and stories I have ever read. Too god damned cute to put down. Nothing life-changing in here, but it shouldn't be missed.

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Apr 04, 2013 Mary Overton added it · review of another edition

Recommended to Mary by: Manny Rayner

On the link of literature to madness -
Excerpt from a lecture delivered in the sauna by Dad; he explicates the facts of life for 14 year old Mattie so his son will know how to be a man:
"Then [Dad] started going through a list of all the family idiots. I'd already met some of them: one was in the psychiatric hospital in Gallivare, and another in Pitea. In medical jargon it was called schizophrenia, and it seemed to run in the family. It would appear when you reached the age of eighteen or so, and...more On the link of literature to madness -
Excerpt from a lecture delivered in the sauna by Dad; he explicates the facts of life for 14 year old Mattie so his son will know how to be a man:
"Then [Dad] started going through a list of all the family idiots. I'd already met some of them: one was in the psychiatric hospital in Gallivare, and another in Pitea. In medical jargon it was called schizophrenia, and it seemed to run in the family. It would appear when you reached the age of eighteen or so, and was due to certain causes. Frustrated love was one, and Dad begged me to be very wary of getting involved with complicated women who were scared of sex. Dad urged me never to be too persistent with the fair sex if they declined to open their legs, but rather to follow his own example and find myself an unabashed peasant girl with a big ass.
"The other cause of lunacy was brooding. Dad strongly advised me never to start thinking too much, but to do as little as possible of it, since thinking was a menace that only got worse the more of it you did. He could recommend hard manual labor as an antidote: shoveling snow, chopping firewood, skiing cross-country, and that kind of thing, because thinking usually affected people when they were lolling about on the sofa or sitting back to rest in some other way. Getting up early was also recommended, especially on weekends and when you had a hangover, because all kinds of nasty thought could worm their way into your mind then.
"It was particularly important not to brood about religion. God and death and the meaning of life were all extremely dangerous topics for a young and vulnerable mind, a dense forest in which you could easily get lost and end up with acute attacks of madness. You could confidently leave that kind of stuff until your old age, because by then you would be hardened and tougher, and wouldn't have much else to do. Confirmation classes should be regarded as a purely theoretical exercise: a few texts and rituals to memorize, but certainly not anything to start worrying about.
"The most dangerous thing of all, and something he wanted to warn me about above all else, the one thing that had consigned whole regiments of unfortunate young people to the twilight world of insanity, was reading books. This objectionable practice had increased among the younger generation, and Dad was more pleased than he could say to note that I had not yet displayed any such tendencies. Lunatic asylums were overflowing with folk who'd been reading too much. Once upon a time they'd been just like you and me, physically strong, straightforward, cheerful, and well balanced. Then they'd started reading. Most often by chance. A bout of flu perhaps, with a few days in bed. An attractive book cover that had aroused some curiosity. And suddenly the bad habit had taken hold. The first book had led to another. Then another, and another, all links in a chain that led straight down into the eternal night of mental illness. It was impossible to stop. It was worse than drugs.
"It might just be possible, if you were very careful, to look at the occasional book that could teach you something, such as encyclopedias or repair manuals. The most dangerous kind of book was fiction - that's where all the brooding was sparked and encouraged. Damnit all! Addictive and risky products like that should only be available in state-regulated monopoly stores, rationed and sold only to those with a license, and mature in age."
Kindle location 2712-2741

In the oral tradition of hyperbolic tall-tales -
Chapter 10 tells the most frightening ghost story of all time.
Chapter 12 tells the darkest, most evil story of all time.
Chapter 13 tells the funniest mentor story of all time.
Each chapter is the self-contained narrative of an event during the journey from innocence to experience.(less)

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Apr 13, 2013 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: na

En tiedä, olenko koskaan lukenut näin alusta loppuun asti hillittömän hauskaa kirjaa. Kyläläisten touhuille, jutustelulle ja kertojan armoitetulle kielelle ei voinut kuin nauraa ääneen. Hautajaiset, häät, viinanjuontikilpailut, syntymäpäivät –uskomatonta komediaa, ja samalla niin tunnistettavan tuttua! Mäenkyläläisissä on paljon samaa kuin suomalaisissa, jopa meissä eteläisissä. Elämänmenon kuvauksessa oli menneisyyden nostalgiaa, josta ei kuitenkaan kaikkea toivoisi takaisin, kyllä se niin kama...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Carol added it · review of another edition

I read this novel for my Danish book group (it was written in Swedish, and translated into Danish -- but you can find it in English is the Madison Public Library). The book is a coming-of-age novel set in the Finnish-speaking part of northern Sweden, and the culture and point of view are different than in any other novel I've read. Although trained as an electrician, author Niemi is a poet and novelist. He has a unique style that includes some unexpected forays into fantasy. Growing up male in V...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Sean rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some lovely textural observation and memory portrayed with affectionate amusement and occasional flights of fancy. The story, set in the far north of Sweden, near the Finnish border, nevertheless had strong resonances for me, having grown up in approximately the same timeframe in Australian country towns. Being one of the guys who wants to play in a band, when the accepted male behaviour is boasting, drinking, and attempting to outstay your companions in a scorching hot sauna, rang very familiar...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

....and you thought you lived in a small town.I loved this book from the first glint of the black ice and the Northern lights. A coming of age tale about a young teen in Nothern Sweden, where Stockholm feels as far away as New York. Relatives are all silent fussbudgets, the coffee is strong and the vodka flows freely. Two boys become friends, one Swedish, one Finnish. Hilarious tales abound about catching rats to save up for a guitar to learning Esperanto off the radio. Everyone has their standa...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Milan/zzz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awarded

Oh I really liked this novel. Comparing with books I usually read this was something different, more than once I was laughing 'till tears (which is very rare). It is some sort of collection of stories about growing up in the province on the north of Europe (imagine this combination). It was actually so exotic read because elks and white nights and sauna are something totally usual. (and it's hardly to imagine all that in my life even once in six months)
This one lovely picture of life without PCs...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Ketan Shah added it · review of another edition

The blurb on the back compares the writer to a Swedish version of Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby,but there's a lot more to it than that. There's hints of magic realism too,reminiscent of Ray Bradbury ,and some of the incidents described have a darker edge than what Doyle and Hornby would typically cover. Highly recommended . If you enjoyed this you might like Tom Perotta's Bad Haircut,Chris Fuhrman's The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys and Tom Perotta's Boy with Loaded Gun. You might also enjoy the w...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Marthe rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is the sort of book that I rarely read. To begin with, it’s almost surprising to see how little newer Scandinavian literature I actually do read. Furthermore, I do not read many books in Norwegian now. In other words, this is the sort of book that I would not have picked up unless I had to, but then again, I did. I read it for my Norwegian class, and to be fair, knowing that we had to finish it was the only thing that made me finish it.

The story itself is about Matti’s life, and how it was...more This is the sort of book that I rarely read. To begin with, it’s almost surprising to see how little newer Scandinavian literature I actually do read. Furthermore, I do not read many books in Norwegian now. In other words, this is the sort of book that I would not have picked up unless I had to, but then again, I did. I read it for my Norwegian class, and to be fair, knowing that we had to finish it was the only thing that made me finish it.

The story itself is about Matti’s life, and how it was for him to grow up in a small town. You get to hear about both smaller and bigger events, but everything seems to have an impact on the boy who grows into a younger man. To hear about the events that happened instead of just telling the story alone, I think, is one of the few strong elements of the book. If I had liked the various stories, I think I really would have favoured the way of telling them.

However, I did not. There were too many strange scenes, and there were often details I found rather gross and just plainly disgusting. Furthermore, several of the scenes in the book are quite strange, and although the metaphors are the most important elements, I disliked them. Yes, as metaphors alone, they are good. I, however, just found the strange and creepy. It made me feel uncomfortable while reading, and when the whole book is like that; then it’s not good.

Furthermore, there are many who claims that this book was supposed to be funny. I didn’t even laugh once. I just found the plot grim, and the scenes didn’t manage to grab my interest. Of course, I hoped that it would get better after a while, but nope, I was disappointed. The same thing applies to the characters. If a story is going to be any good (in my opinion), it should have interesting characters because I know that I like a book if I care about any of the characters. Again, this was not the case for Niemi’s book.

Then again, I suppose some people like this book because of the setting. Yes, everything happens north of the Polar Circle, and yes, I can see why people would find it interesting. I, however, live north of the circle; so again, the setting didn’t do much for me. There was nothing exotic, nothing exciting and just... It was rather boring. The same thing applies to the narrator since I found him more annoying than interesting.

So yes, I cannot say that I have much more because this book was, in my opinion, bad. I did not like it at all, even though I tried. To me, it was too strange, and I could not sit and enjoy it. That is also why I am only giving this one star; when nothing captivated me and I only wanted to quit reading, it’s obvious that I cannot give it anything else. (less)

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Apr 03, 2012 annik rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scandi-lit, read-in-russian, sverige

В народе наш район называют Виттулаянккой, что можно перевести как “Сучье болото”.

читать однозначно: любителям скандинавов, когда осмысляешь прочитанное еще долгое время
противопоказания: неале к описанию деревенской жизни
вкратце: шведско-финская турнедальская глушь, конец шестидесятых, внезапно рок-н-ролл, который сносит крышу деревенским парням. новые горизонты, взросление, мечты, конфликты, переосмысление на фоне снега и музыки. автобиографично.

Турнедален преображался у меня на глазах. По вс

...more

В народе наш район называют Виттулаянккой, что можно перевести как “Сучье болото”.

Турнедален преображался у меня на глазах. По всей округе вдруг натянулись невидимые жгуты, вдоль и поперек склеившие людей. Крепкая, вездесущая паутина ненависти, похоти, страхов, памяти. Четырехмерная сеть – ее липкие нити тянулись в прошлое, уходили в будущее, спускались под землю к мертвецам, поднимались в небеса к еще не рожденным детям, ее силовое поле накрыло и меня, хотел я того или нет.

развернуто: в первый момент после прочтения – книжка ни о чем. через пару недель вдруг вспыхнуло в голове, что моя первоначальная критика, что книжка абсолютно не о музыке и вводит в заблуждение своим названием, неверна и поспешна. напиши я отзыв сразу после прочтения, я бы скорее всего разнесла ее в пух и прах, потому что это, собственно, не мое, и я ждала какого-то взрыва. но, как оказалось, ей надо было только отложиться в голове, спроцессироваться. так что если она не пойдет сначала или вызовет отторжение, покажется неинтересной, ни о чем, без капли экзистенции – то это зря. надо немного подождать, потому что книга чудная. обо всем. о жизни. о музыке.

Самым опасным пороком, от которого отец хотел уберечь меня, были книги – из-за них единственных люди целыми толпами сходили с ума.

ага.(less)

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Nov 13, 2012 Mikael Kuoppala rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very gutsy and funny novel that captures Finnish eccentricity in a very poignant and embarrassingly accurate way. Realism mixes with the sagas and legends of the north to form a wacky world of magical realism that is very much alive in our culture.

The novel is mostly just fun and entertainment, but it does give some interesting glimpses into the life of a minority in a reasonably closed, religiously oriented community. And some of the stuff about adolescence and growing up are pretty u...more

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Feb 15, 2012 James Perkins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very enjoyable novel about growing up in the 1960s in northern Sweden, right next to the Finnish border. Simultaneously hilarious and tragic, the story follows the fortunes of a young boy, Matti, as he negotiates the rocky path of childhood and adolescence. I liked it even more because I live in Finland, and the amusing descriptions of the behaviour and values of the population at large coupled with a dose of Meänkieli (minority Finnish of northern Sweden) had me in stitches as I recog...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ausgeliehen, read-in-2012

Ich weiß nicht genau, wie ich dieses Buch beschreiben soll. Ich wollte es schon lange mal lesen, nachdem meine Eltern, von denen ich es ausgeliehen hatte und eine liebe Freundin mir wärmstens ans Herz gelegt haben. Aufgrund des Titels dachte ich, es gehe hauptsächlich um Popmusik aus Schweden, aber das tat es gar nicht.

Es geht um die Kindheit von Matti, den der Leser kennenlernt, als er gerade dabei ist, einen Pass in Nepal zu erklimmen und der dort oben schließlich mit der Zunge an einer tibeta...more Ich weiß nicht genau, wie ich dieses Buch beschreiben soll. Ich wollte es schon lange mal lesen, nachdem meine Eltern, von denen ich es ausgeliehen hatte und eine liebe Freundin mir wärmstens ans Herz gelegt haben. Aufgrund des Titels dachte ich, es gehe hauptsächlich um Popmusik aus Schweden, aber das tat es gar nicht.

Es geht um die Kindheit von Matti, den der Leser kennenlernt, als er gerade dabei ist, einen Pass in Nepal zu erklimmen und der dort oben schließlich mit der Zunge an einer tibetanischen Gebetsplatte hängen bleibt und Angst hat, dort oben zu erfrieren, weil er nie wieder wegkommt.

Das ganze Buch ist mit solchen Skurrilitäten gespickt. Es ist praktisch eine Aneinanderreihung seltsamer Begebenheiten – und ich mochte es! Manche Dinge, die Matti aus seiner Jugendzeit erzählt, können gar nicht wahr sein, da driftet die Erzählung sehr ins Phantastische hinüber, zum Beispiel, als er als Junge in einen Geräteschuppen kriecht und sich dann dort im Kanonenofen vor dem Hausmeister der Mädchenschule, auf deren Gelände, der Geräteschuppen liegt, verstecken muss. Matti bekommt die Tür des Kanonenofens nicht mehr auf und muss so im Ofen bleiben, bis er so groß geworden ist, dass er nicht mehr in den Ofen hineinpasst und diesen sprengt. Diese kleine Geschichte fand ich schon sehr skurril.

Aber es gibt in diesem Buch wirklich alles, was wahrscheinlich zu einer finnisch-schwedischen Jugend dazugehört: Sehr seltsame Nebenjobs (Ratten töten. Viele Ratten töten.), Saunabesuche mit der Familie, Familienfeiern, die eigentlich immer in Besäufnisse und manchmal auch Schlägereien ausarten und schließlich gründen Mattis und seine Kumpels auch noch eine Rockband und werden dafür nicht etwa ausgebuht, sondern teilweise sogar angehimmelt.

Ich weiß nicht so genau, ob ich die Hauptfigur jetzt sympathisch fand oder nicht. Ich komme einfach aus einem völlig anderen Umfeld wie das, das der Erzähler des Romans hier schildert, aber nichtsdestotrotz hat es einen sehr großen Spaß gemacht, von Mattis wilden Erlebnissen zu lesen und ich musste wirklich oft in mich hineingrinsen, wenn ich mir die Geschehnisse bildlich vorgestellt habe.
Dieses Buch kann ich weiterempfehlen!
(less)

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Jul 19, 2009 Romi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people with a certain imagination and interest for Scandinavia

It was a fun read, but then again, I always enjoy Scandinavian literature. I "only" gave it three stars in the end because the craziness was a little too much for me. I couldn't quite place all the weird happenings (I listed some of them further in this review) in this story because I didn't expect it. I guess what I did expect was more of a portrait of life in northern Scandinavia.

The book basically tells the story of two boys, growing up in a little village high up in the north of Sweden, Paja...more

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Oct 04, 2007 Saxon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: most people but not my friends...hahahha...

Shelves: school

More literature assigned from school. This one is from my Modern European Comedy and Satire course.(Taught by a loud and entertaining visiting Danish novelist) Apparently, it is the best-selling Swedish novel ever in Sweden.

I give this four stars not so much because I personally throughly enjoyed this book as much as other novels I have given four stars, but because it deserves four stars for what it is.
What it is in a nutshell is a coming of age story. However, this takes place in the most no...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first and last chapters made me laugh. The middle chapters made me want to cry. The description of the ice breaking up on the river was especially beautiful considering the long and tedious winter we just got through. Otherwise the descriptions of the drunkeness of teenagers and the household violence and the general belief that Reading and education just ruins a man is depressing. A must read for the expats wanting to learn more about Swedish culture.

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Dec 14, 2011 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set in northern Sweden above the arctic circle, right next to the border with Finland. I enjoyed it for the taste of Finnish culture and character, the subtle language politics, the magical realist touches, hilarious scenes, great language, etc. It made me realize that people up here (Duluth-Superior) aren't THAT crazy. I got this book by accident, at a library book sale in Tinmouth VT. I'm going to lend it to my neighbor with Swedish-Finnish roots.

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Jul 27, 2011 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, humour, young-adult

brilliant. i read it in swedish and i just love the language so much. i usually say i hate swedish, but this swedish is so..weird... it must be dialect or something and there's finnish words mixed in and it's just so wonderful.
the book is good too. really it is. it left me with a feeling of melancholy but also peace...it's such a warm and heartfelt narrative, yet brutal and harsh and just.. so full of life and truths.

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May 28, 2012 Vår Ane rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hated this book, I wish I'd never read it. Its really not my type of book at all.
Its about a man and his journey trough life back home in Finland or Sweden or wherever. A lot of things happens to him and he seems a little unintelligent when he deals with these situations.
I understand that its suppose to be funny, and if you like these type of books I think you could enjoy it, but its definitely not for me.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 04, 2012 Sonatajessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-kidz-are-alright, read-in-2012, winter-wonderland

I think I could have enjoyed this more if I was a boy. Or small town grown, in northern Sweden. Or once played in a teenage rock band, preferably in the 60's.
Matti is looking back on his youth, growing up above the arctic circle in a small town where you know you are nobody, to be somebody means one has to leave.
Occasionally repetitive (drunken Swedish men are only funny for a while), this is an at times hilarious, at times outright weird coming-of-age tale. The language and metaphors breathtak...more

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Dec 03, 2009 D.J. Webber rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone, especially Swedophiles

Recommended to D.J. by: my wife

Shelves: read-in-swedish

This is a lovely book written as though it's a memoir. I'm not sure which bits are true and which bits are fiction. It also had some surreal moments, although that could be down to me not understanding the Swedish properly!

It describes a Swedish way of life that is simple and exotic, and quite different the 21st century Stockholm that I know.

This book is also very funny (lol funny) in places. Recommended.

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Orange Bear Party...: #2. Popular Music from Vittula	1	9	Dec 21, 2011 06:51pm

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Quotes from Popular Music from Vit...

“The most dangerous thing of all, and something he wanted to warn me about above all else, the one thing that had consigned whole regiments of unfortunate young people to the twilight world of insanity, was reading books. This objectionable practice had increased among the younger generation, and Dad was more pleased than the could say to not that I had not yet displayed any such tendencies. Lunatic asylums were overflowing with folk who'd been reading too much. Once upon a time they'd been just like you and me, physically strong, straightforward, cheerful, and well balanced. Then they'd started reading. Most often by chance. A bout of flu perhaps, with a few days in bed. An attractive book cover that had aroused some curiosity. And suddenly the bad habit had taken hold. The first book had led to another. Then another, and another, all links in a chain that led straight down into the eternal night of mental illness. It was impossible to stop. It was worse than drugs.

It might just be possible, if you were very careful, to look at the occasional book that could teach you something, such as encyclopedias or repair manuals. The most dangerous kind of book was fiction-- that's where all the brooding was sparked and encouraged. Damnit all! Addictive and risky products like that should only be available in state-regulated monopoly stores, rationed and sold only to those with a license, and mature in age.” — 2 people liked it

“Greger gave us a faraway look.

'Now you'rrre getting somewhere, lads! This is Holgerrri.'

I turned to Niila and muttered a gruesome premonition:

'By God, but he's going to get beaten up."

'What?' said Greger

'Oh, nothing.” — 2 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1031271.Popul_rmusik_fr_n_Vittula?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336520991l/1031271.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1031271.Popul_rmusik_fr_n_Vittula?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Populärmusik från Vittula by Mikael Niemi[/url]

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