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The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Selma Lagerlöf,

Thea Kliros (Illustrator),

Peter Klusen (Translator),

Mathilde Mann (Translator),

Mustafa Yalçıner (translator),

Velma Swanston Howard (Translator)

Start date: November 1, 2017

Finish date: November 30, 2017

Discussion: Lesser Know/Wilderness Classics

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Apr 03, 2021 Manybooks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-literature, book-reviews, birds, fairy-tales-fantasy, translations, geography, maturing

Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1909), and her 1906/1907 (appearing in two volumes) children’s novel Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (which I am presently reading in a German translation of both volumes with the title of Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen and which in English translations usually appears as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils for volume one and The Further Adventures of Nils for volume two) Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1909), and her 1906/1907 (appearing in two volumes) children’s novel Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (which I am presently reading in a German translation of both volumes with the title of Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen and which in English translations usually appears as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils for volume one and The Further Adventures of Nils for volume two) was actually originally conceptualised by the author as a detailed geography reader for Swedish school children.

But even though the genesis of Nils Holgersson’s story might therefore perhaps not inspire all that much confidence and could actually cause potential readers to even fear that Lagerlöf’s presented text would be tedious and hopelessly didactic, well and in my opinion, my reading time with Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen totally demonstrates the opposite, totally shows that writing meant to be used for education and enlightenment can also be penned in a readable and engaging format. For yes indeed, Selma Lagerlöf’s presented text for Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen (and I of course am going to assume this to also be the case for the Swedish original and the English translation) is both delightfully poetical, fanciful and bien sûr also imbued with much realistic facts and information, leaving an engaging and wonderful story that is both episodic and at the same time with a continuing thread of redemption, of turned into a gnome as punishment for cruelty and self-centredness Nils on his travels with his flock of wild geese not only discovering Sweden as a country, along with Swedish folklore, history, culture, industry and modern (for 1906/1907) agricultural practices, but also being taught slowly and steadily (and sometimes even rather painfully) how to become less selfish, how he, how Nils needs to learn to care for and about his fellow human beings and that being kind to animals is in fact a sign of strength and maturity and not ever the mark of weakness.

And although there is definitely a strong and palpable didactic current present in Selma Lagerlöf’s words with regard to Nils’ transformation from nasty to nice, from me, me, me oriented to helpfully altruistic and that Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen does most definitely provide very much overt instruction about Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf definitely does present and feature her verbal messages and educational information gracefully and engagingly, leaving my personal feelings with regard to Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen very much that this novel has delightfully and wonderfully been a total reading pleasure (and one that I also would have very much enjoyed and appreciated as a child) and with my only and very minor criticism being that since Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen features Nils travelling throughout Sweden with those wild geese, that I sure would be wanting some included detailed maps. ...more

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