The Prince of Soul and The Lighthouse

by Fredrik Brouneus, Tony Tarasiewicz (Illustrator)

What happens when we die?

This has been the third question on mankind's FAQ list since the dawn of time (numbers one and two Is this edible? and Excuse me, would you care to breed?).

I know what happens. Believe me, I'd rather not. But I do.

There is a lighthouse, and it guides our souls along the narrow path to being reborn as humans. It's the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, as my undead granddad and the Tibetan special mission monk in my kitchen have kindly told me, there's a problem with the lighthouse. And if the world is to be saved, someone needs to fix it.

Which is where I come George Larson, eighteen years old. Who could possibly be better suited to save the world?

Well, almost anyone. Especially as being a teenage guy is nothing at all about question three but all about questions one and two.

And really, that's complicated enough as it is.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Humor, Fiction

292 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2012

About the author

I'm a Swedish writer living in Gävle, Sweden. My latest book, The Ballad of Solomon's Bend, was published in 2019 and is a dark humor novel for young adults. I lived in Dunedin, New Zealand, 2009-2014 and wrote my first English young adult novel there. The Prince of Soul and The Lighthouse was awarded the Sir Julius Vogel Award for best youth novel 2013 and has since been translated into several languages.

Reviews

[Taghreed Jamal El Deen · Rating 2 out of 5]

رواية مزجت ما بين حكايات الأطفال والرعب والفنتازيا التاريخية والخيال العلمي والغموض والتشويق، ولم تكن مقنعة في أيّ من ذلك.
يمكن اعتبارها فاصل خفيف بعيداً عن الروايات الثقيلة.
الترجمة أكثر من ممتازة.

[Kafka · Rating 5 out of 5]

روايه غريبة, ساحره, مضحكه، تمت ترجمتها ببراعة من رامي البيروتى لدرجه تشعرك بأنها كتبت بالعربية.

[EvaLovesYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also posted on Eva Lucias blog (Danish review)

"The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse" is written by Swedish Fredrik Brounéus. This novel is a modern, quirky and funny adventure. It is very easy to be sucked into this literary and funny journey. The main character, George, loves soul music. He lives a quiet life with his friend Kaisa, but after his grandfather's death strange things begin to happen and appear. George realizes that he is going on an amazing adventure with the dead grandfather, his friend Kaisa and a monk called Tenzin. Their quest is to find a shining light house.

Where do I begin? "The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse" is one of the most interesting books that I have read this year (2015). I really enjoyed reading it and couldn't wait for turning the pages to see what would happen next. Fredrik Brounéus is a gifted author. He has the abbility to capture the reader. He is always one step ahead of whoever is reading it, so you are sucked into this wonderful and quirky modern fairy-tale.

The novel is well-written, easy to read and there is always a hidden element of the dry and underplayed humour that Swedish authors are so famoused for (examples of that could be Jonas Jonasson and Fredrik Bachman). There are funny dialogues, beautiful descriptions, and most importantly; a language that always searches for more.

My opinion on the book
This is a really great book. The novels sets its focus on different themes, both dead, reincarnation, thought, mind and the difference on mind and body. I could keep on describing this book, but I'm afraid that I will reveal too much. I think it's better if you read it and figure out this adventure yourself.
"The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse" is a modern fairy-tale and I can only recommend it, especially if you like the quirky and philosophical kind of stories. While reading it, I thought of authors like Jostein Gaarder and Neil Gaiman.
I am definitely going to read more of Fredrik Brounéus' books!

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[Rhuddem Gwelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in the book room where my books were also for sale at Swedcon a couple of years ago and I was curious enough to buy it. The title grabbed my interest and the book lived up to it. It's fun and the word 'quirky' which is often used in the reviews here is appropriate. I enjoyed it.

[Sweetp-1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a refreshingly quirky little book, but at times the plots veers perilously close to the ridiculous. I had a hard time "getting to know the book" and found it wasn't really fitting into any of my usual urban fantasy type universe molds. On the publishers website it is described as 'comic science fiction' - and once I began to think about the book in terms of 'comic strip/cartoon' I began to actually quite enjoy it. This would be an excellent cartoon strip - lots of fast paced action and big reveals happening without too much tension/build up, lots of fun and oddball characters (dead but undead caffeine addicted grandfather, crazy tibetan monk with bad engrish) that would translate brilliantly to cartooned form. Once I began to think of this as a written comic (perhaps the opposite of graphic novel?) I enjoyed it a lot more. This is a YA book, but towards the lower end of the age spectrum I think. The MC is 18 but reads more like about 13-14. Would appeal to the boys - lots of action, no real lovey dovey bits, some funny boy- appealing humour. All in all an enjoyably 'different' YA book. 2.5 stars.

[Omnya · Rating 3 out of 5]

٢.٩/٥
الكتاب لليافعين
كتاب لطيف وخفيف وفيه جانب من الكوميديا، يوجد جانب يتكلم عن الطاقة و تناسخ الارواح وقد يزعج البعض.
الحبكة و الاحداث كانت جميلة وكنت متشوقة لمعرفة اللغز (المنارة) ونهايتها لابأس بها.
(( الحياة تعاش بأكملها عندما تموت.. حقيقه لامفر منها))
(( لا حاجه للواقع بان يكون ذا مصداقية.. هو كما هو؛ لانه حقيقي، بينما الخيال يجب ان يكون ذا مصداقيه لنصدق بانه حقيقي. على الرغم من ان ليس كذالك. ))

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 3 out of 5]

18 yr old George Larson is quite happy with his life – playing soul on his guitar, and dreaming about the gorgeous International student, Kaisa from Finland he is writing songs with. But when his Grandad knocks on the door at 2am one morning, George’s problems begin. Grandad is supposed to be dead. Kaisa isn’t really who she says she is and then a strange monk turns up telling him he has to put out a lighthouse and save the world.

This is a funny but thought provoking book. It's another way of looking at reincarnation in a light hearted way. Enjoyed it.

[Hatim · Rating 3 out of 5]

ممتعه و تسرق الوقت تماماً
تذكرني كثيراً بأفلام هوليود الفانتازية ، السرد بالرواية جميل و هنالك الكثير من حالات التداعي على لسان المراهق بطل الرواية
جد مات و عاد كزومبي ، بوذي ، فتاة تبادل مدرسي بولندية و موسيقى السول .. الكثير من الموسيقى
و أخيراً لغز المنارة المفقودة.

[Doa'a Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية خفيفة،، مكتوبة على لسان مراهق ببساطة وتعقيد عالمه الخيالي الخصب والجنون، مغامرة بين الحياة والموت وعن الحياة والموت،، فيها افكار جميلة بين السطور لانتقاد الحضارة والحداثة والعلم
احببتها بشكل كبير وهي مناسبة لليافعين فهي نظيفة وافكارها غير معقدة ولغتها سهلة (وهذا ليس تقليلا من شئنها)

[Bára Jelínková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nádherná šílenost, nechápu jak autor na tohle přišel, ale musím říct, že mě to fakt bavilo 🙂

[Abdulaziz · Rating 2 out of 5]

اعتقد أن نجمتين كتقييم منصفة..
الكاتب كلما وصل لدرجة تجعلك تردد في نفسك: ها هي لحظة جمال الرواية.
حتى تصدم بالواقع وأن الرواية فيها من السطحية وبعض من التفاهة.
كل الشكر للمترجم الممتاز 👍🏽

[D U N Y A · Rating 2 out of 5]

في الروايات المترجمة والكتب بشكل عام، إذا لم تكن الترجمة جيدة لا يمكنك الاستمتاع بالقراءة، خصوصاً عندما تكون ترجمة حرفية في معظم الجمل فإنها تفقدك متعة الاستمتاع بالنص. وإلا فما الغرض من قراءة نسخة مترجمة إذا لم تكن متقنة بالقدر الذي يغنيني عن قراءة النسخة الأصلية؟

رواية لليافعين، الترجمة غير جيدة، القصة جميلة وتحمل عمق لطيف لكن الحبكة ربما تحتاج للمزيد من العمل. لكن بشكل عام بما أنها مقدمة لليافعين ربما أتجاوز ذلك. لكن أعيد أن الترجمة فعلاً غير موفقة، مضت مدة منذ أن قرأت كتاب مترجم بشكل غير متقن وها أنا هنا أستعيد ذاك الشعور.

——-
"أشعر أحياناً أن حياتي ليست سوى سلسلة من اليقظات. في الواقع أتساءل إن كان لبقية اليوم وجود، أم أنه مجرد وهم اختلقه عقلي الذي يستيقظ باستمرار."

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

seeing a mention of nz unexpectedly: exciting!
seeing the entire book set in nz unexpectedly: unsettling
not in a bad way though, i just didn't know! as for the book itself, i think it was a really good plot, such a fun thing to explore, i just kept getting taken out by how much i didn't like the main character. i just know that if he was real i would not be able to listen to him for more than 30 seconds at a time, but that's classic for kiwi boys (maybe he reminds me of boys i went to school with or something). grandad and tenzin were funny as hell though

[ابجدية · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية خفيفة جميلة، تتناول فكرة التقمص الروحي، والسعي الحثيث من قبل بعض القوى نحو تخفيض عدد السكان في العالم،
ف "جورج" الطالب في الثانوية يتفاجئ ذات ليلة بدخوله في مغامرة مع جده المتوفي وصديقته في الثانويه، و راهب تبتي قادم من جبال التبت في الصين، لتبدأ المغامرة باحثين عن المنارة التي اخترعها ذات زمن "نيوتن" لتسهيل عمليه التقمص الروحي، ليدمرها أملاً في انقاذ كوكب الارض، فيما يلاحقه أخرون يأملون الحصول عليها لاستخدامها في اهداف اخرى، فياترى كيف تكون الخاتمة..!
رواية تصلح گ فاصل ترفيهي يستعيد به القارئ شغفه للقراءة،
ثلاثة نجوم ونصف تعانق صفحات الرواية ⭐⭐⭐⚡

#ابجديه

[Hanan Almahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was not what i expected it to be it is a fast read but I was hoping for more than what was given the translation is so good with out a doubt but the over all story was senseless to me it did not spark any adventure I felt it had more potential than what it gave may be for the translation or the story it self I will nit reread this book one time is enough for me

[Shaza Mouawad · Rating 3 out of 5]

الرواية ممتعة، بعض الاحداث غير مبررة، كان من الممكن للحبكة أن تكون مقنعة أكثر حيث أن اغلب الأمور والمشاكل المعقدة التي يواجهها بطل الرواية تنتهي وتظهر الحلول بسهولة مفرطة، تصلح الرواية لتكون فيلم مغامرة
الترجمة ممتازة

[علي الشهري · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب جميل و خفيف و فيه إطالة نوعاً ما.
الفكرة جميلة و جديدة و هذه ميزتها.
قد لا تفهمها في البداية و لكن أضمن لك الاستمرارية إن تركتها تأخذك.
العجيب فيها هو الحوار بين أعضاء الجسد ربما لن تعرف إلا في نهاية و سوف تصدم لماذا

[Alaa Khaled · Rating 3 out of 5]

حبيت أسلوبه في الكتابة مختلف وجديد عليا ،،
أمتعني ذلك الأسلوب بحق !
أعتقد إني هاحب أقرأله تاني..

لكن القصة والحبكة لم تعجبني، لم أكن مهتمة بالأحداث ولا حتى متحمسة للنهاية ، تحملت الرواية فقط من أجل الأسلوب !

وشكرًا للمترجم على هذه الترجمة الجيدة

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nakonec jsem knížku dočetla, ale nemám z toho radost. Nevím, jestli je to překladem, ale jak kdyby ději chyběla energie, i když se tam děly objektivně nervy drásající věci. Každopádně zajímavá myšlenka s tématem reinkarnace a světlem na konci tunelu.

[Raomer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book, just need a few pages to get into full gear!

[Zahra'a · Rating 3 out of 5]

مغامرة ممتعة سلسة ، ترجمة لا بأس بها، النهاية سريعة بسيطة مقارنة بأحداث الرواية، الخلاصة: استمتعت و سأقرأ للمؤلف المزيد قطعاً

[Reem · Rating 3 out of 5]

مسليه لا أكثر من ذالك .

[Sandra4444]

I liked the overall idea, but I wasn't too fond of the overall execution of the book.

[Sakinah Al Taleb · Rating 1 out of 5]

ممل ،،

[أماني العازمي · Rating 4 out of 5]

غريبة فعلاً، خيال علمي فلسفي روحاني، يحق على التفكير بالروح، الموت، الأنا، وعلاقتهم بالجسد، والزمن،، الأحداث تشوق في النهاية،

[Basma Alsaffar · Rating 2 out of 5]

البداية مشوقة، والسرد ممتاز، والحبكة بنص الطريق تخليك تفكر ان الشي اللي خلف كل هذه الاحداث كبير ومبهر، لكن للاسف النهاية باهتة وطفولية وغير مقنعة ابداً

[المجتبى الوائلي · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية لطيفة..

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad that I had a chance to read The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse, because I liked it very much. It's one of the funniest books I've read.

The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse is a book for young adults, but I'm sure that adults will also find it entertaining and amusing. It's a unique and a bit different kind of a combination of young adult themes, philosophy, mysticism, mystery elements, action, humour and colourful characterization. This kind of humorous and weird young adult speculative fiction books are unfortunately rare (I wish there were more books like this one).

Here's a bit of information about the characters:
- George Larson is an eighteen year old teenager with raging hormones. He's interested in soul music. He's also interested in girls and tries to act normally in front of his friend, Kaisa. His life changes, when he finds out that he has to do something to save the world.
- Kaisa is a Finnish exchange student and the object of George's feelings.
- Tenzin is a monk from Tibet. He's a fascinatingly "weird" character.
- George's dead grandfather is an interesting character, because has come back to life as a coffee addicted zombie.
- These characters make a weird road trip around the lower part of New Zealand's beautiful South Island.

As a Finn I was delighted to read about Kaisa, because she's a Finnish character. It's a bit difficult to find Finnish characters in speculative fiction books, so it was nice to read about Kaisa.

It's a bit difficult to describe what kind of a YA book The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse is, but I think it's possible to say that it's like a weird and original combination of Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole novels, Terry Pratchett, fantasy and science fiction. Fredrik Brounéus has a good and slightly twisted sense of humour and his prose is pleasantly sharp and witty. He writes enthusiastically and humorously about the characters and the happenings. The dialogues between the characters are entertaining and humorous (for example, the dialogues between George and Tenzin are very funny).

I like the author's quirky and sarcastic sense of humour (he shows talent for writing comic science fiction). The footnotes are interesting (to be honest, they're amazingly amusing) and they offer lots of fun to the reader. I enjoyed reading how George talked to himself, because his comments and thoughts were funny. The letters from "Brain" to "Me" and from "Me" to "Brain" were also enjoyable and added nice weirdness to the story.

Although The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse is comic science fiction, it also contains a bit of philosophy. The philosophical conversations and observations add depth to the book.

One of the best things about this book is that the events take place in New Zealand. I've always been fascinated by New Zealand, because it's a beautiful country, so it was refreshing to read about the different places. I think it's possible that this book may inspire readers to visit New Zealand.

There are beautiful black-and-white illustrations in this book. The illustrator is Tony Tarasiewicz.

This book may be a bit difficult to find in the northern hemisphere, because it was published in New Zealand, but if you manage to find a copy, you should read it. It's a delightfully funny reading experience, so I'm sure that it will appeal to several readers who like humorous books. By the way, if you like funny YA adventure stories, this is a perfect book for you.

The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse is good and harmless fun for speculative fiction readers. It's perfect escapism for a couple of days (or for a couple of hours, if you can't stop reading it ;)), because it's a funny, exciting and fast-paced book. I hope that Fredrik Brounéus will write more young adult books, because he writes charmingly quirky prose (because I enjoyed reading this book, I'm currently thinking of reading his children's thriller in Swedish).

This book is good entertainment!

[Tsana Dolichva · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse by Fredrik Brounéus is the first novel published in English by the Swedish author who now lives in New Zealand. I didn't realise until I started reading, but it's actually a YA book. Obviously I missed the main character's age in the blurb... that or I forgot the blurb to a greater extent than I usually do.

This was an engaging read. George is an ordinary teenager who wants to be a famous musician and get the girl. Then a spider communicates with him and he starts to have weird dreams in which his recently deceased grandfather visits him to drink coffee and smoke. When his mother finds a cigarette butt and some ants spell out SOS, he starts to really freak out. Things don't get less weird from there.

The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse might have a long title, but it was a pretty short novel. Most of the story is taken up by George and associates gallivanting around New Zealand on a quest given to him by a monk (and also, like, the universe). The writing style is well paced and quirky, with several conversations occurring between various body parts of George's. The style also felt quick to read (which may just be me) so that it felt like I was turning pages quite quickly. It also made me giggle at times.

In terms of weird happenings, the plot is the sort where it's not easy to guess what's going on until someone explains it to the main character — and the monk spends a lot of time not explaining anything. But this does add to the tension and excitement. And confusion, both for the George and the reader, but not in a bad way. It kept me turning the pages despite some of the odder plot twists.

I want to mention the ending because it was sort of unusual. It definitely fit with the story and it wasn't a surprise per se, but looking back, it was pretty, well, un-Hollywood. I want to say un-USian, but given that there are yanks in the story in opposition to George, that's less specific. What I'm trying to say is that the Swedish/New Zealish author wrote a story that probably would not have been framed the same way if it had been written by a yank. (The portrayal of the bad guys notwithstanding.) I would be interested to hear if anyone else who's read The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse feels similarly.

I have to say there were a few plot-y revelations that I felt sceptical of, but overall it was a fun read. I would recommend The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse to readers looking for a slightly unconventional and humorous YA novel. It's a quick read and I think fans of adult quirky books will also enjoy it. Oh, also, there are a few illustrations scattered throughout, if that's your kind of thing.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog.

[PJ Swanwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Metaphysical twist broadens appeal of clever YA thriller
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Fredrik Brouneus' new young adult novel is short on preaching and long on sassy dialog and rollicking action. Built on a framework of Buddhist reincarnation principles, the book is both simple and profound. Throw in zombies, romance, and a smart-mouth hero with a wicked wit, and you've got a metaphysical thriller that both delights and inspires.

Spiritual/metaphysical content: Medium. In New Zealand, 18-year-old George meets a Tibetan monk named Tenzin who helps him "stretch his brain" to contain the spiritual truths he must rediscover in order to succeed at his mission. Brouneus employs concrete, accessible metaphors to clarify complex concepts such as reincarnation, suffering, and impermanence: Existence is a long, bumpy road trip in which your soul drives its car into the ground and then moves to the next, aeon after aeon. Death is merely a pit-stop to refuel and switch cars before hitting the road again. When we die, "we will be recycled as atoms and molecules -- immortal parts of the big LEGO box Mother Nature has to play with." The concepts are basic, but the metaphors are a perfect introduction to metaphysics for the novice seeker or zombie-obsessed teenager.

My take: Nonstop action drives "The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse." However, George's guide, Tenzin, provides welcome pacing and colorful characterization as he teaches George how to make decisions based on spiritual principles. Some plot twists may ask readers to stretch their brains a synapse too far, such as connecting jingoism, prayer and the Internet. But the way Brouneus weaves character and action into a cohesive story that spans centuries makes such missteps merely a pothole that you speed past. Zombies, romance, hilarious asides, a little bloodlust, and plenty of relevant cultural references appeal to younger readers, while the spiritual and metaphysical theme satisfies those seeking a more profound experience. Read it as a YA thriller or a short spiritual novel; either way, you'll be glad you did.

For more reviews of spiritual/metaphysical novels, see Fiction For A New Age.