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My Father, His Son
The engaging sequel to My Life as a Dog.
A young man named Ingemar Johansson joins the Swedish merchant marine, sails to many distant ports, has a variety of funny and poignant adventures, and searches everywhere for his father
A young man named Ingemar Johansson joins the Swedish merchant marine, sails to many distant ports, has a variety of funny and poignant adventures, and searches everywhere for his father
- GenresFiction
226 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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June 26, 2019DNF. I did not finish this so I’m not giving a rating.
This Swedish novelist had a book a while back, My Life as a Dog, that was well-received. The book I am reviewing started off pretty well – a young Swedish man has traveled to Algiers to meet up with his wife who is in the process of leaving him. It starts out with humor – a car accident he causes and his wise-cracks to the police about drugs lands them both in jail. Then he gets released while she is still held in prison. That will help save their marriage!
After that the story jumps around in time and place going back 15 years earlier when he was a seaman on various ships. But I lost interest with the third chapter that gives us 18 pages of two men standing on a floating raft in the harbor banging rust off the side of a ship while the main character fools around with a bag of fish guts seeing if he can attract a shark. There’s a bit of dialog in that chapter that goes nowhere but it’s mostly description – I didn’t understand the point of 18 pages and why a few paragraphs couldn’t handle it.
I notice it is not highly rated on GR (more 2's than 5's) and only has a few reviews, one of which shows its quirkiness: “If a book can have ADHD, I have found it. I have no idea what I just read...” (Sue from Cortland NY.) lol Sue
This Swedish novelist had a book a while back, My Life as a Dog, that was well-received. The book I am reviewing started off pretty well – a young Swedish man has traveled to Algiers to meet up with his wife who is in the process of leaving him. It starts out with humor – a car accident he causes and his wise-cracks to the police about drugs lands them both in jail. Then he gets released while she is still held in prison. That will help save their marriage!
After that the story jumps around in time and place going back 15 years earlier when he was a seaman on various ships. But I lost interest with the third chapter that gives us 18 pages of two men standing on a floating raft in the harbor banging rust off the side of a ship while the main character fools around with a bag of fish guts seeing if he can attract a shark. There’s a bit of dialog in that chapter that goes nowhere but it’s mostly description – I didn’t understand the point of 18 pages and why a few paragraphs couldn’t handle it.
I notice it is not highly rated on GR (more 2's than 5's) and only has a few reviews, one of which shows its quirkiness: “If a book can have ADHD, I have found it. I have no idea what I just read...” (Sue from Cortland NY.) lol Sue
May 18, 2024
An example of excellent writing! I should say "excellent translation" because I read the English version. The writer's tragicomic observation shines through in any situation no matter how dire.
Readers accustomed to a continuous thread from A to B might feel lost, as the author mixes scenes from his teenage and his late twenty-something self, which we all do when seeing our whole person in our private thoughts. I suppose some would call it post-modern, a term that seems to be over-used to the point of meaninglessness. No matter. His lively characters are fully developed and each episode is a self-contained adventure.
I don't know what book those low-rating reviewers read, but my copy was great! I definitely want to read his book My Life as a Dog.
May 18, 2024
Readers accustomed to a continuous thread from A to B might feel lost, as the author mixes scenes from his teenage and his late twenty-something self, which we all do when seeing our whole person in our private thoughts. I suppose some would call it post-modern, a term that seems to be over-used to the point of meaninglessness. No matter. His lively characters are fully developed and each episode is a self-contained adventure.
I don't know what book those low-rating reviewers read, but my copy was great! I definitely want to read his book My Life as a Dog.
May 18, 2024
March 15, 2013
Darkly, heartbreakingly amusing. Well thought out and written. Loved this book
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews