Mi hermano y su hermano

by Håkan Lindquist

Mi hermano y su hermano es una novela sobre dos hermanos. Nos narra la historia de uno de ellos. Jonas, de dieciocho años, que ha pasado su adolescencia rastreando en la historia de su hermano fallecido. La necesidad de crear una imagen de su vida, le lleva a investigar las causas de su muerte. En la búsqueda del hermano, Jonas descubre que Paul había tenido una relación amorosa con un chico. La lectura de su diario, la complicidad de su madre y la ayuda del mejor amigo de su hermano, hacen que Jonas vaya conociendo y aceptando la verdad.

Con una narración muy directa y llena de carga emocional, el autor nos ofrece una historia conmovedora y memorable.

Mi hermano y su hermano recibió excelentes críticas en Suecia. Se ha publicado en Dinamarca, Noruega, Alemania, Hungría, Islandia, Bélgica, Italia, Holanda, Polonia y Francia, donde ganó el premio literario Bordelaise de Lunetterie. Asimismo, ha sido traducido al inglés y comercializado en Inglaterra, Estados Unidos, Australia y Nueva Zelanda.

Genres: LGBT, Fiction, Gay, Queer, Gay Fiction, Sweden, Young Adult

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

English version: Håkan Lindquist was born in Sweden. He lives in Stockholm and in Berlin. He has written five novels, many short stories, one opera libretto and several articles mainly on literature and art. He is currently working on a new novel.

German version: Håkan Lindquist wurde in Oskarshamn (Schweden) geboren, wo auch einige seiner Romane spielen. 1993 veröffentlichte er den Roman "Min bror och hans bror", der inzwischen in viele Sprachen übersetzt ist und im Deutschen unter dem Titel "Paul, mein großer Bruder" ein großer Erfolg wurde. 1996 folgte der Roman "Dröm att leva", der 2008 im Bruno Gmünder Verlag unter dem Titel "Ein Traum vom Leben" erschien, 2003 "Om att samla frimärken" (deutsch: "Der Briefmarkensammler, 2010 bei Bruno Gmünder).

Lindquist lebt in Stockholm und Berlin. Seine Werke sind in vielen Sprachen übersetzt worden. Augenblicklich arbeitet er an seinem neuen Roman. Mehr Infos über den Autor – auch auf Deutsch – gibt es unter: http://hakanlindquist.blogspot.com. Die E-Mail-Adresse des Autors lautet: hlq@comhem.se


Swedish version: Håkan Lindquist, född 1958 i Oskarshamn, Småland, är en svensk författare.

Reviews

[jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

the most exciting thing about this book is that when i ordered it i received an email a few days later like "we're sorry, we don't have the book right now. but don't worry, we will print it for you!"

can confirm that the book looked very fresh and crisp and that i am indeed the book store's favourite boy 😌


my main complaint is the writing which felt very simplistic and kinda childlike. i think some emotions might have gotten lost in translation.

the story itself was alright though i think some choices were made that should have remained... unexplored.


read as part of 202-Queer 🌈✨


april reading: 3/26

[Jemppu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those, which hit so close thematically it would be impossible to convey its significance without going into depths of personal history, and none of which would necessarily be relevant in reviewing the book for others.

Quite mild and cute in tone, but which conveyed substance for the particular subject matter(s), and utterly captivated me from the very first line. A rare eye-read to do so.

"There are five hundred and two days between the last day of your life and the first day of mine. Still, you have always been present, more or less."



_____

Reading updates

[Joanka · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointment! I’ve been searching for this story for years and there was always something to get in my way. So I wanted it more and more, having already some mental image of how it may look. Based on the summary and the positive reviews I believed it will be a deeply psychological story with a mystery subplot. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with psychological novels.

I have no idea – maybe in Swedish it’s a wonderful read. The author himself translated it into English and maybe he simply wasn’t able to do it well. Let’s be done with saying it – the language is so awful I had hard time finishing this little nightmare. Was it a school essay? Because especially the dialogues sounded like ones that my students used to create. It’s not simplicity, nothing that make you think such style was chosen on purpose. The characters are extremely flimsy, it’s difficult to talk about their personalities in any way. The supposed detective story “with loose ends, clues and cliff hangers” is rather embarrassing and the epic romance can’t play out if the characters have close to no depth.

It all happens so fast that you can’t get attached to anyone, it makes little sense in so many places, and even my favourite usage of a foreign language here felt awkward. The book left me angry because it wasted such a promising premise. It could have been great… But it’s not, it’s absolutely not. Do yourself a favour and avoid it.

(I might be a bit too firm maybe, I had such expectations…)

[Macartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple and beautiful Swedish story, originally written in 1993 and only recently translated. A love letter to brothers of all kinds—biological, romantic, missing, imagined, desired. A ghost story that is equally mysterious and heartbreaking, without being trite. A study in the desire to connect. A quick read if you open up to it. I sobbed for like the last 40 pages.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was both a "detective" story and a love story, and really did combine the two elements successfully.

A "detective" story of a brother searching for the story of the brother he never know, and a love story of both one brother for another, as well as the "love story" uncovered as a result of the detective story.

I was drawn into the story from the first paragraph. This was a great read.

[Rocio Voncina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titulo: Mi hermano y su hermano
Autor: Håkan Lindquist
Motivo de lectura: -
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Físico / Electrónico: Electrónico
Mi edición: —
Puntuación: 3.5/5

Es una novela que narra la necesidad y la búsqueda de un joven intentando descubrir quién fue su hermano (el cual no llegó a conocer).
Es un viaje muy emocional, entre la idealización versus la realidad, las viejas heridas, los malentendidos, los secretos y los silencios.

El estilo de Håkan Lindquist es directo, no recurre a descripciones complejas o detallistas, la trama se apoya mucho en los sentimientos y la parte emocional.
Aquí no hay construcciones de personajes con dimensión, esto es una historia simple, contada por personas sencillas.
Es un retrato sobre la sociedad sueca, y como se plantea la idea de la familia/sociedad en la zona nórdica.

En resumen, una novela sencilla coming-of-age.

[John Hatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

18-year-old Jonas decides finally to try and find out more about the brother he never knew, Paul, who died a year before Jonas was even born. The answers Jonas uncovers in his detective work are surprising, and the story is emotionally charged without becoming pathetic, as Jonas learns who his brother was.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book and loved it. I thought it strong in character and brilliant in execution, particularly for such a short book. I will read it again and will one day purchase a copy. It is the sort of book to give to your friends, or to anyone. It is something you enthuse over. I would hope more of the authors work is translated, he after all is translating many works into Swedish so I hope some one returns the favour.

Once again a wonderful novel of great depth, sympathy and beauty. It is a love story that can bring on tears.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked of this translation of the Swedish novel at Dog Eared Books in The Castro of San Francisco while I was exploring the city with my friend Jana. I had never heard of the book but I was drawn to it. I don’t know why I’m attracted to book covers with photos of actual people. It’s rare to find these types of covers. Normally, publishers choose more stylized covers with blurred faces, people who have turned away from the camera, identifying features cut off. This book has a young man on the cover, reclined, looking directly at the reader. It’s haunting and seductive, an excellent photo and cover.

A little more than a year before the narrator, Jonas, was born, his brother died. As he comes of age, the narrator searches for his brother, Paul. Who was he and how did he die? The mystery of what happened to the brother is a plot device that pulls the reader through the story. The book itself is a first person account of a young man searching for identity and his family history through the loss of his brother. Even a decade and a half later, the tragedy of his brother’s passing still haunts his family and the people around his brother. This is a small book, 169 pages, and could have been developed further. This book could also become a pulp thriller, a race to find out what happens, but it doesn’t get sensational. It’s a small, contained story that is well written though perhaps a bit underdeveloped. I enjoyed reading this, a perfect summer read. • Trade Paperback • Fiction - Mystery, LGBT • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ • Found on the shelves while shopping at Dog Eared Books in San Francisco.▪️

[Guille Osorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda, valiente, fácil de leer, simple pero intensa, triste pero a la vez llena de amor. Hace rato que no leía un libro tan lindo. Es interesante ver como las preguntas, intuiciones y dudas del protagonista van cambiando según la edad y eso que empieza cerca de los 13 y el libro termina cuando tenía 16 o por ahí. Debo reconocer que tiene varios factores que hacen que un libro no me guste (pero no afectó nada porque lo amé) Me cargó Daniel, demasiado. Tiene cosas que no se resuelven y el final es abierto, pero lo amé. Primera vez que me gusta un libro con ese tipo de final.

Con respecto a Paul... me encantó. Amé la relación por sueños con su hermano, amé esa simbología aunque fuese simple. La historia de amor es hermosa, fuerte, llena de emociones y de aceptación. Este libro me deja mil frases que me encantaron: « No hay por qué tener miedo - continuó el otro chico-. Lo peor que puede ocurrir es que gente que no tiene nada que ver con nosotros diga tonterías. Pero como no tienen nada que ver con nosotros, no nos importa, ¿verdad?»

«- No te asustes, Paul -susurró-. Mira a tu alrededor. La gente está demasiado ocupada. Nadie se fija en nosotros. Y si lo hiciesen, no importa. Eres la persona que he estado esperando. Tú y yo. Y si hemos esperado tanto, no tenemos por qué dejar de hacer lo que queremos.»

No hay una historia más linda y más triste que la de «Princi» y su «Milenec».

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it, It was truly easy to read; it was a really gripping book.

The plot is quite good. It was the first time I have read a novel like this and it has entertained me a lot.

About the characters I wanted to say that I liked them, except for some like Daniel, who have been somewhat strange to me.
However the rest of the characters were good.

The only bad thing is that it has been somewhat short and the end is not completely closed.

Anyway, i highly recommend you this book if you want to read something I recommend it if you want to read something related to mystery and romance.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very beautiful in its (ostensible) simplicity: it unfolds with a strange force, which, for all the unexpected turns along the way, holds a sense of dreamlike inevitability.

"...sometimes, when you're sure you've forgotten, old memories just overwhelm you. You think you're safe. You think, what happened then doesn't matter anymore. But you're wrong, you're oh so wrong, 'cause sooner or later it will all come back. And you remember. And then the past is no longer far away. It's not even left or gone"

[Jon O · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first few pages were good enough to make you want to read the whole book in one sitting. It was interestingly written that would draw curiosity. It was haunting. At times, I thought I would be seeing the ghost of his brother coming back for a visit. Personally, it was that chilly. And I like the way the author chose to end the book, without attempting to reveal the confrontation of the gay issue with the parents. Somehow, it felt like the mother knew. This is a good book. Definitely recommended.

[Anwen Hayward · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in this book as I'd had a similar idea for a story myself a few years back (about a child investigating the life of a sibling they'd never known) and I thought I would see how this author kept the narrative going. For the plot of this book, I'd give 3 stars - it's quite a gripping idea, but the characters are so thinly drawn that I just stopped caring after a while. As for the style; well, I can imagine the draw behind translating your own work and having control of it in as many languages as possible, but I really feel like this work suffered for it. The translation was stilted and very off-putting at times. The dialogue felt childish and rudimentary to a point that couldn't be put down to simple stylistics. I'm sure that the original text is a much better read, but for those of you who would be reading the English version, I must warn you that you'll need to sit through some pretty abysmal prose and even worse dialogue. As for the cover - honestly, it looked like I'd signed myself up for some sort of Lolita-esque homoerotica, which hey, if that's your thing, then great. It's not what the book actually is (for which I was grateful) so don't judge this book by its cover.

Overall, an interesting story let down greatly by the international publishing process. I'd happily read and recommend a retranslated version done by a professional and sympathetic translator of literature, but I can't recommend this book in its current version.

[Wael Margheni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I believed I could write a review for this book, but of course after a couple of days, I simply realized I shouldn't.
Sometimes when someone recommends you a book, or a song, or whatever, you simply choose to keep the thoughts related to it to yourself and not share them with anyone; thoughts that made it even more special.
And this book is simply that intimate and given to me by a very special person.

[Lidka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh. My. God. That was worse than my students' writings and trust me, they're pretty bad. Please do not translate if you don't know the target language. I kept thinking "brilliant that you learnt what Past Perfect looks like, now it's time to work on when to actually use it as it doesn't fit everywhere, but first let's do irregular verbs." It was absolutely ridiculous. Who published it?? I mean I really liked the idea but the execution was disastrous and it ruined everything.

Landed a permanent place in my ultimate bottom 5.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Sorrow has its own life...'

Håkan Lindquist wrote this sterling, poignant, profound little novel in his native Swedish in 2002. Now, courtesy of Bruno Gmünder Verlag embarking on a very welcome avenue of adding literature to their repertoire of fine quality art books, the author's English translation is available in the United States. MY BROTHER AND HIS BROTHER has been published in Denmark, France, Norway, Belgium, Hungary, Iceland, Germany, and Italy: the impact on audiences is obvious. This is one of those rare books that is understated, sophisticated, and deceptively complex in nature.

Jonas narrates the story as the only child of a mother and father whose first son Paul died at age 15, three years before the birth of Jonas. As the family's sorrowful memories situation unfolds Jonas, now at age fifteen, feels the need to understand more about the brother he never knew. He discovers photographs, meets his mother's old friend Daniel who apparently knew Paul well, and slowly Jonas begins to find the defining aspects of his brother Paul: Paul was a dreamer and different from the rest of his classmates. The events of his 'accidental death' of being hit by a train disturb Jonas so deeply that he must discover facts that shroud the memory of Paul. Slowly he uncovers the fact that Paul had discovered love in the form of a Czech lad name Petr: Jonas finds his brother's diary and slowly unravels the mysteries that surround his brother's death, mysteries that involve a misunderstanding of the fate of Petr. From Jonas' investigations he comes to understand Paul, and Petr, and Daniel, and even his parents, connecting with the spirit of Paul with a love so deep that as the subtitle states 'Love Bigger Then Life' makes Jonas and Paul blend into one being.

Reviewing a book as strong as MY BROTHER AND HIS BROTHER: LOVE BIGGER THAN LIFE is a task that could dilute the impact of the story if too much is revealed. It is tempting to share the many beautiful passages and phrases that bloom throughout this novel, but in doing so the surprises that make the novel so powerful would be diminished. Suffice it to say that this is a book that is a must read for everyone who loves fine literature. It is one of the most compelling love stories to be published in a long time. The cover is a haunting image of a beautiful pensive lad courtesy of Bruno Gmünder Verlag photographer Howard Roffman and designer Frank Schröder. Highly Recommended.

Grady Harp

[Gerry Burnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerry B's Book Reviews - http://gerrycan.wordpress.com

I was first drawn to My Brother and His Brother [Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh, 2011]by the intriguing title, as well as the strikingly handsome, Nordic lad portrayed on the front cover by photographer Howard Roffman. Now, I’ll admit that this is not the best way to choose a novel—“you can’t judge a book by its cover,” etc.—but fortunately Håkan Lindquist came through with an intriguing story as well.

Written in Swedish in 1993, but not translated until 2002, My Brother and His Brother, tells the intriguing story of Paul Lundberg, deceased older brother of Jonas Lundberg, who undertakes to piece it together from clues hidden away in his parent’s attic, newspaper archives, and the mind of a family friend.

Compelling Jonas onward is the desire to know something of his brother who died under curious circumstances in front of a train. The cause of his death is particularly curious because, in the course of his discovery, Jonas learns that Paul had a rather intense love affair with another boy.

So was it a suicide prompted by Paul’s inability to come to grips with his newly-discovered sexuality? Or perhaps a lover’s tiff? Or was it something more sinister? The answer to any one of these questions would make an intriguing story, but to all this Lindquist has added the quest for closure when the loss of a family member might have been caused by suicide on account of his homosexuality.

There is also a coming of age dimension, for in unravelling the truths about his brother Jonas is also learning about himself. Therefore it is an epiphany of sorts, and also a bridge that brings the family closer—particularly between Jonas and his father.

This is a ‘sweet’ story of brotherly love[1], a topic not often explored, but thoroughly poignant and enjoyable. Five bees.

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Híjole, pues es cierto.

He ayudado a mi profesora de Géneros Periodísticos a evaluar trabajos finales, y esta historia se sintió igual a varias de las que he leído en esas ocasiones. Escritas por gente con buenas ideas, pero que no tiene mucho que ver con la literatura ni los géneros literarios.

-
Spoilers:
La historia arranca ya de plano con un adolescente que -no siendo gay- mágicamente acepta que su hermano lo fuera, que su vecino-mejor amigo de la familia lo sea y que se embarca a buscar a la vieja pareja de ese amigo. No lo sé, pero ojalá eso existiera en la vida real.
También un adolescente (osea arriba de 12 años) de pronto decide buscar y traumarse por conocer absolutamente todo de un hermano fallecido antes de que él naciera. ¿Nunca le dio curiosidad antes?
También la mamá, o ambos padres, como que son muy abiertos a hablar de cosas que en una novela necesitarían unas 100 páginas de desarrollo.
También ese adolescente de la nada al final aconseja (mucho mejor que los adultos), consuela a todos y se arma una mega historia tipo periodística sobre lo ocurrido.
Y pareciera que literalmente no existe nadie más en el mundo de la historia. Tampoco hay más amigos ni una pareja o interés amoroso para el protagonista.
--
Fin de spoilers.

En sí la historia es una especie de Call Me By Yur Name, o anime japonés, donde los padres están ausentes todo el tiempo. Y ni la portada del libro tiene mucho qué decir o qué aportar.

La idea supongo que es buena, y tiene algunos puntos que se entrelazan de buena forma. Pero en general es un pretexto para contar algo medio biográfico del autor, o una idea que andaba por su mente. Y la idea es buena, pero la ejecución es muy irreal.

[Alessandra S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

"La eternidad está enamorada de todas las obras del tiempo. Y ahí también entras tú, Jonas. La eternidad te ve. Ve tus ojos. Pero tus ojos son obras del tiempo. La eternidad no conoce el tiempo. La eternidad trasciende el tiempo y, por lo tanto, no ve a través de tus ojos. Por eso la eternidad está enamorada de ti y de todos los que viven en el tiempo".

Encontré esta obra por casualidad, no tenía muy en claro para dónde iba el asunto, pero decidí probar y de pronto me hallé a mí misma, voraz, incapaz de parar. Lo leí en una noche de ocio y desahogo; el libro es corto y devorable, tiene un lenguaje relativamente sencillo y a su favor la intriga funciona con, digámosle, habilidad. Hay por ahí una historia de amor que medio encaja, y quizá una que otra frasecilla que deslumbra a un despistado. La historia no es mala..., de acuerdo, no demasiada mala; tiene sus puntos rescatables, sirve para pasar el rato si tu intención es 'estar' y bueno, ciertamente alimenta el deseo habitual de escarbar en el pasado, pero la cosa en sí es... déjame decirlo: bastante plana y el final es una verdadera grosería.

[Rodrigo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una historia de amor entre hermanos que nunca se conocieron sonaba como una gran base para una novela increíble, pero me dejó esperando. Y probablemente es el estilo de Lindquist el que me dejó frío. Es un relato plano, completamente objetivo, sin ninguna emoción. Se limita a informar qué es lo que pasa, e incluso cuando alguien llora, simplemente dice: Sara lloró. ¿Alguien siente algo en esa historia? ¿Alguien se emociona, se entristece, siente alegría, enojo? La búsqueda completamente injustificada que Jonas lleva a cabo para descubrir quién era en realidad Paul, su hermano muerto, podría haber sido una maravilla pero a veces me parecía estar leyendo un reportaje periodístico, no una novela.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra points for translation. Not a romance novel.

[Joaquín · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super weno :}

[Ralph Bardsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book - unique voice. Probably more YA than adult fiction. Still - a nice mystery unfolds as you read this novella. It was a great read for a quiet afternoon at home.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I loved the idea and execution of the book... it was missing something... perhaps it was lost in the translation.

[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

Citaat : Soms verwondert het me dat ik je mis. Ik heb je toch nooit gekend. Toch mis ik je. Alsof ik je had gekend. Alsof ik je vergeten ben en nu weer aan je denk. Ik droom vaak over jou, je zoekt me 's nachts op. Ik ken de klank van je stem niet. In mijn dromen spreken we altijd woordeloos.
Review : Håkan Lindquist werd geboren op 1 januari 1958 in Oskarshamn, Zweden. Hij verwierf wereldfaam met zijn jeugdboek Min bror och hans bror dat in Nederlandse vertaling werd uitgegeven door uitgeverij Clavis onder de titel Ik heb een broer gehad. Anno 2012 brengt Uitgeverij ‘t Verschil een heruitgave van dit prachtige boek, onder de nieuwe titel Mijn broer en zijn broer dat 14+ jongeren maar ook volwassenen leert omgaan met rouwverwerking én jeugdige gevoelens van verliefheid.



Jonas heeft zijn broer Paul nooit gekend. Paul stierf nog voor Jonas geboren was. Maar nu Jonas even oud is als Paul bij zijn dood, gaat hij zich allerlei vragen stellen: hoe was Paul echt, lijk ik op hem, hoe is hij gestorven? Het boek laat echt een boeiende en spannende zoektocht zien, waarin Jonas de raadsels stap voor stap ontrafelt. Tijdens zijn zoektocht vindt Jonas een jack wat van Paul is geweest. Hij vraagt aan zijn ouders of hij het mag hebben als herinnering en na wat strubbelingen stemmen zijn ouders toe. Dit suède jack had Paul aan op het moment dat hij stierf. Door een noodlottig ongeval is hij om het leven gekomen en niemand heeft enig idee wat er precies gebeurd is.

Op een dag vindt Jonas in de binnenzak van het suède jack een brief die van zijn broer Paul is. Dat wekt zijn nieuwsgierigheid. Van een goede vriend hoort Jonas dat Paul ook dagboeken bijhield en hij gaat meteen op zoek. En hier begint een ontroerend, mooi, grappig maar ook verdrietig verhaal van een jongen die zijn broer leert kennen en het leven dat hij leidde enkele weken voor zijn dood.



Het boek is geschreven vanuit Jonas positie maar wanneer hij de dagboeken leest neemt Paul het verhaal van hem over. Dit zorgt ervoor dat je een duidelijk beeld krijgt van de twee broers die elkaar na 18 jaar leren kennen. Jonas wil weten wat zijn overleden broer als puber bezig hield voor hij op 16-jarige leeftijd stierf. Jonas’ ouders vertelden altijd dat Paul door een trein overreden werd, toen hij niet oplette en in gedachten verzonken op de sporen liep. Jonas komt er echter al snel achter dat dit niet de hele waarheid achter Pauls dood is. Beetje bij beetje verzamelt Jonas bewijsstukken. Met behulp van Daniël, een vriend van Paul en Jonas’ ouders, komt Jonas steeds meer over de ware identiteit van zijn broer te weten, en reconstrueert wat er gebeurde voor Paul stierf. Mijn broer en zijn broer mag dan over rouwverwerking gaan, toch is het geen triest boek. Jonas is er zo op uit om te weten wie zijn broer was dat hij zich echt ingraaft in zijn broers leven. Het is een boek dat je onroert maar ook in spanning houdt.

[Marthese Formosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable read! I got this book from someone last queer summer camp and I'll be sure to pass it around now that I read it.

I had previously read two mystery novels and I tend not to read the blurb, so I realized early on I was accidentally going to read a mystery novel! But it's ok, it's not a detective sort of type novel but rather a slice-of-life mystery.

The story, set in Sweden, sees Jonas, a boy living with his parents. He's living in the Shadow of his brother Paul, who died the year before Jonas was born. Jonas becomes slightly obsessed, in an understandable way, to get to know this brother and he sets to find out more about him through people that knew him and discovering new clues. He soon gets to know about Petr, his brother's lover and what may have happened to Paul.

I liked that it was not fully resolved, in real life, every person lives their own life and you cannot get inside their head. Written accounts, recordings and people's testimonies only give a partial gimps into someone's life.

It was sad and at some points it did trigger me, a person that lost someone very close to me. But in a good sort of way I could understand what was happening and how people went through grief in different ways. The mother was really nice, the father too though he had problems connecting with Jonas which seems to have been somewhat being a work in progress by the end.

You cannot but help to feel almost for everyone in the book, especially Paul. The book reminds us that when we don't see something concretely, we need to ascertain facts! But who knows, Paul may have died anyway.

[harwin.j · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was at a book sale and randomly saw this on top of some books, and the cover gave me "self published" vibes. But sometimes the best books are the ones we least expect.

It's probably one of the shortest novel's I've read in a while. Pretty easy read, and I do have a love for Sweden, and the author being Swedish was a bonus. But the story is quite touching. The title is a little confusing at first but it explains it self later on. The story that the author created, when you read it, it's very vivid. I felt like I was watching the characters in real time, and seeing it all visually. It was scary at the same time cause I have never experienced something like that before while reading a book. There is such an incredible way the author explains the characters feelings and what they are going through. You feel every laugh, every question, every love, and every hurt.
I definitely cried as a full grown adult man.

As you get to the near end, you feel your heart shatter. But the story doesn't leave you with a mangled heart. It ends with a very calm and peaceful feeling.

This is a book I will keep on my shelf forever, and as I'm writing this, I already want to read it again.

[Cléthra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro difícil de reseñar, que me dejó una sensación de absurdo vacío.
La historia en sí me pareció interesante y emotiva. Un niño que mientras camina la adolescencia va conociéndose a través de la historia de su hermano, el cual no conoció; asique es un proceso en donde va recopilando datos de él por otros y a medida que pasan los años y crece, todo lo que había construido con piezas ajenas se va desmoronando para dejar libre su propia percepción o conocimiento de la identidad del hermano (a la par que la suya). Porque es un proceso el cual atraviesan juntos de alguna manera, a pesar que uno de ellos no esté físicamente presente.

Aún así, todo se queda corto. Siento que al ser una historia tan compleja debería haberse desarrollado mucho más. Las conversaciones que tenia el protagonista con los padres eran vacías y su manera de narrarlas, robóticas. Ni hablar de la relación completamente extraña y en cierto sentido "morbosa" de Daniel con los dos hermanos, en especial Paul. No termina nunca de sincerarse con Jonas y deja espacios importantes en la trama.

Mi relación con el libro fue compleja pero es fácil, rápido de leer y (contradictoriamente) me hizo sentir muchas cosas.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the exception of some PG related sex scenes, this book translated from the Swedish, reads like a Young Adult novel. Jonas, a 15 year old teenager, whose only sibling, Paul died tragically in a train accident in 1969, 3 years before Jonas was born. The intrepid Jonas discovers that Paul had a relationship at the age of 15 with an older boy from school. How Jonas gets this information from Paul's lost diaries and from a problematic family friend is the crux of the book and leads to a surprising discovery. it was very fast and enjoyable read. FYI: Paul's lover was Czech and there is a Czech-English glossary at the end of the book.