El perro que corría hacia una estrella

Joel Gustafsson #1

by Henning Mankell

El perro que corría hacia una estrella, excelente novela del escritor sueco Henning Mankell, es una narración poética inteligente y comprometida sobre un joven cuyo retrato no será fácil borrar de nuestra memoria. Joel, que vive con su padre en un pueblo perdido del norte de Suecia, sueña con inmensos océanos y lejanos países para encontrar, durante los duros y fríos inviernos, experiencias que lo inicien en la vida y lo fortalezcan para afrontar su propio destino. Aunque son muchas las preguntas que Joel se hace, son pocas las respuestas que obtiene: en la soledad, la única arma es la imaginación. Por eso su sueño más importante es ése en el que, por las noches, busca a un perro que va camino de una estrella.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery, Sweden, Audiobook, Swedish Literature, Middle Grade

183 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Henning Mankell was an internationally known Swedish crime writer, children's author and playwright. He was best known for his literary character Kurt Wallander.

Mankell split his time between Sweden and Mozambique. He was married to Eva Bergman, Swedish director and daughter of Ingmar Bergman.

Reviews

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t expect a mystery/thriller here!

It’s 1956 and this shortish story starts with a dog heading for a star … it’s probably a Norwegian elkhound thinks 11 year old Joel Gustafson. Joel lives with his ex sailor father, Samuel, now a lumberjack, in Sundsvall, a little town in Northern Sweden. His mother is long gone and Joel doesn’t know where she is. He’s a loner and dreamer with a good imagination and has quite a responsibility for one so young. For reasons which become apparent as the novel progresses, Joel haunts the streets at night.

This is a beautifully written coming of age story as Joel goes on a journey of self discovery. There are some wonderful descriptions of the North Swedish winter which makes a perfect backdrop to Joel’s experiences. It’s sad and moving at times and it’s clear that Joel can be a very sweet and innocent boy who is prepared to acknowledge his mistakes. It’s thoughtfully and sensitively told and seems to capture the perspective of the young boy perfectly.

I enjoyed it and will probably read the follow up books at some point.

A charity shop purchase for the bargain price of 50p!!!

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet coming-of-age story about 12 year old Joel in the mid 1950s small town Sweden.
I really enjoyed the setting because the weather is just so different to my own and really makes an impact on how people live. Also Joel is quite a sweet, innocent child, and it was nice to read a book without the usual teen-angst, drugs etc. I think his biggest crime was "borrowing" a bike from a store one night (and then taking it back ;0 ). A great book for younger children.

[Franco Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro infantil para adultos. En partes se me hizo un poco aburrido, pero en general es una gran historia, con personajes profundos y conmovedores. Un fiel retrato del universo de la niñez.

[Leland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novel by Swedish writer Henning Mankell is the first of several books about Joel, a 12 year old growing up in a remote part of Northern Sweden with his father. It is followed by a second book, Shadows in the Twilight and most recently, The Boy Who Slept in the Snow (also known as When the Snow Fell).

This book is not very similar to other works by Mankell, except that it is highly sensitive and insightful of character and setting (traits which make even the grisly murders and detective work of the Wallander series so interesting). In A Bridge to the Stars, Joel's father is a moody and difficult character who relies on his 12 year old son to do much of the domestic work in their home as well as go to school and be a normal kid. Joel is fascinated by his father's tales of working as a sailor, though they now live far from the sea and his father works as a lumberjack in the forest. Joel is also trying to deal with the absence of his mother, who he learn is absent not because she is dead, which Joel could understand, but because she couldn't be a mother and wife. Joel learns some important lessons about his father, and how friendship can mislead us to do things we regret. He learns that true friends often come to us from unlikely places. A Bridge to the Stars is a memorable coming of age story set in the remote north woods of Sweden, and is a sensitive study of late childhood from a very talented writer.

This was not by any means my favorite of Henning Mankell's works, but it is certainly one I will remember and someday perhaps revisit. Mankell has been made famous for his Kurt Wallander series of police procedurals set in Skane in the south of Sweden. But he has more recently written some wonderful (less-genre) fiction which deals with the realities of life in Sweden and Southern Africa. Secrets in the Fire is a work of remarkable thought and sensitivity, and, like A Bridge to the Stars, told through the eyes of an intriguing young character. (Frequently, these books are classified as Juvenile Fiction but I would say this one would be of equal or greater interest to an adult.) In any event, these books represent a captivating layer in the larger body of work Mankell has created. Mankell's ability to see the world from the perspective of a young character is what makes this such a powerful book, and it should be read by any who aspire to tell stories from the perspective of the adolescent.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nary a brutal murder to be found, but instead the story of a young boy struggling to figure out the world. Between school bullies, his absent mother, and his taciturn father, it's not easy. It takes place mostly at night, as Joel sneaks out at midnight in order to find a dog he believes is making it's way to a star, so the book has a dreamy quality, harshly contrasted with the asshole behavior of the real people he finds himself among during the day.

[J.A. Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story. There’s no real action, but the writing is so wonderful you can’t help but be drawn in. It’s almost like entering a magical wonderland that is so gripping and full of anticipation. But in reality, you are wandering through the mind of eleven-year-old Joel.

The story follows Joel’s adventures after he spots a dog running outside his house one night. For reasons known only to him, he decides the dog is trying to get to a star, and Joel needs to know why. So begins a fun adventure, filled with nighttime wanderings, the invention of a secret society, theft, a series of dares with a sinister accomplice, plots to kill and scare, and a near death experience. It's a treat.

I recommend this book. It’s perfect for a lazy, grey, wet Sunday afternoon. Will definitely bring a smile to your face.

[Julia EP Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Hunden som sprang mot en stjärna” av Henning Mankell är ytterligare en bok jag hittat bland våra klassuppsättningar i källaren. Jag är inte någon expert på Mankell, men minns att jag själv läste hans ungdomsböcker i mellanstadiet och högstadiet.

Boken handlar om Joel 12 år som har så många tankar och funderingar, men ingen att dela dem med. Han undrar varför hans mamma Jenny stack, om han kommer vara sist i klassen med att få en cykel och om pappa Samuel kommer lämna honom ensam. Genom hela boken vill jag bara ta hand om Joel, låta honom ställa alla svåra frågor och försäkra honom om att han är ett barn och således inte behöver ta hand om sig själv. 💔

Om du gillar ”coming of age”-romaner som ”Räddaren i nöden”, ”Perks of being a wallflower” och ”En komikers uppväxt” är det här en perfekt bok för dig. Så mycket hjärta i den här berättelsen!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A coming of age tale. Joel is 11 years old with a vivid imagination in the 1950s in a village. His father is a sailor now a lumberjack in Sweden. The mother abandoned them and Samuel is bringing up Joel.

Set at the end of winter the story follows Joel’s midnight adventures. He meets Tore a wealthy spoilt boy and two eccentric characters. In the end he begins to grow up and accept reality.

Interesting young adult story.

[Parinaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

گاهی کودکان بهتر از یک بزرگسال مسائل را درک می‌کنند. آن‌ها می‌توانند با تخیل کودکانه‌شان مشکلات را تجزیه و تحلیل کنند و با دید کودکانه‌شان به مشکلات جهت دهند، همین تجزیه و تحلیل‌هاست که آن‌ها را به عملی یا گفتاری وا می‌دارد که منِ بزرگسال با ادعای فهم مسائل، از گفتار و عمل کودک وا می‌مانم.
کتاب سگی که به سوی ستاره‌‌ای می‌دود هم کتاب بزرگسال است و هم کودک. در آن هم جملات و تحلیل‌های کودکانه‌ی یک کودک را می‌بینی و هم کنش‌ها و انتخاب‌های عاقلانه‌ی یک کودک را. داستان یک پدر و پسر، دنیای ذهنی جوئل و کارهایش. درکنار این‌ها، داستان فضای بی‌نظیری دارد و در یک گوشه‌ی سرد دنیا اتفاق می‌افتد و پسری که در آرزوی دیدن دریا به سر می‌برد و به دنبال سگی‌است که به سوی ستاره‌ای می‌دود.
کتاب، خستگی ذهنی‌ای برایت باقی نمی‌گذارد و با یک دنیا حس خوب تمامش می‌کنی.

[Lorena Coppola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es war eine ganz süße Lektüre für zwischendurch.
Die Entwicklung zwischen Vater und Sohn hat mich berührt aber trotzdem passiert sehr wenig in dem Buch.

[Samane · Rating 1 out of 5]

به نظرش او تنها کسی – بله، تنها کسی ـ است که مادر ندارد. البته تنها بودن گاهی می‌تواند خوب باشد. مثلاً برای یک مدل هواپیما یا یک دوچرخه که هم ترمز چرخ عقب و هم ترمز چرخ جلو دارد. ولی اینکه تنها باشی و مامان نداشته باشی اصلاً خوب نیست. به نظر جوئل مادر نداشتن از عینک داشتن هم بدتر است، حتی ازلكنت زبان داشتن. مادر نداشتن بدترین چیز است. تنها مادری که اجازه دارد دور از بچه اش باشد، مادری است که مرده باشد.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joel, a small boy whose mother has abandoned him and his father, lives near the Arctic Circle. His father is a silent lumberjack. Joel has fantasies about a dog he sees at night. He imagines the dog is traveling to the stars. He forms a secret society to follow him. And he sneaks around at night in the little town where he lives. When he finds his father and the local barmaid together, he believes his father is about to abandon him, too. He befriends a rich boy who has just moved into the justice's house with his father, and under his influence, plays mean tricks on a handicapped woman. Joel is dared to climb the local bridge, and does so. When he gets stuck his new friend finds his father, who rescues him and all is well. Hogwash

[Noella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het verhaal gaat eigenlijk over een 11jarige jongen die alleen woont met zijn vader. Zijn moeder is weggegaan toen hij nog heel klein was. De jongen worstelt met zichzelf en met zijn situatie en trekt zich graag terug in een fantasiewereld waarin hij op een schip zit. Hij fantaseert ook dat hij een geheim genootschap opricht dat op zoek gaat naar een hond die hij op een nacht vanuit zijn raam zag lopen.

Ik vind eigenlijk dat het boek meer de fantasie van een 7-8 jarige weergeeft, maar de jongen in het boek moet wel bijna 12 zijn om enigszins te kunnen verantwoorden dat hij vaak alleen thuis is, en verschillende huishoudelijke taken moet doen, zoals koken, vuur maken en gaan winkelen.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting, but what I needed. I found it our community library and checked it out thinking it was a crime novel. Turned out to be a coming of age story, just exactly right for escaping to another place while sheltering in place. Evidently this is the first of a series of four.

[Paul Servini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I warmed to this story despite having misgivings at first. The highly-strung, very imaginative Joel is painted very well.

[maram · Rating 2 out of 5]

"من يكون الرابح عندما لا يربح احد؟"

[SilverNediya · Rating 4 out of 5]

پیرنگ و شخصیت‌ها پرداخت خوب یداشت
سگ خیلی جالب توجه بود

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Кучето, запътило се към далечна звезда” (изд. „Емас”) е първата от общо четири книги, в които шведският майстор-белетрист и драматург Хенинг Манкел ни разказва за нелекия живот на едно младо момче. Когато се срещаме с него за първи път Юел Гюстафсон е едва на единадесет, но детството си отива преждевременно, когато живееш сам с баща си насред заснежената северна пустош, а майка ти си е тръгнала. Дните му са кратки и безрадостни, а нощите... Понякога те носят утеха, а друг път са изпълнени с неспокойни сънища. През една от тия неспокойни нощи Юел се събужда и зърва през прозореца си силуета на бягащо куче на фона на звездното небе. На къде бяга животното? Каква е далечната му цел? Юел не знае, но нещо го кара да последва среднощния скитник и да започне свое собствено бягство. Пътуването му може да го отведе навсякъде... Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":

https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Taaya]

Abgebrochen. Die Story ist einfach unglaublich langsam. Joels Vater scheint depressiv zu sein und vielleicht soll der Leser durch dieses Leid zumindest halbwegs mit Joel mitfühlen können? Aber leider finde ich es so nur langweilig. Wenn Joels überaktive Fantasie nur wenigstens genutzt werden würde, um richtige Geschichten zu erzählen und nicht nur für kurze Blurbs ohne Spannungsbogen.

[Jycel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Henning Mankell se le conoce por sus novelas negras protagonizadas por el inspector Wallander. Yo no había leído nada de él, pero es precisamente porque éste título se distancia tanto de lo que normalmente escribe, por lo que me vi atraída por "El perro que corría hacia una estrella" (que es el título traducido al español). Se podría clasificar en el género juvenil.

Joel tiene 11 años y vive, junto a su padre, en un pequeño y perdido pueblo de Suecia, donde siempre hace frío y donde sus días se parecen aburridamente unos a otros. Es por eso que Joel sueña con el mar, con las estrellas, y con vivir aventuras. No siempre entiende el mundo que le rodea, pero intenta adaptarse, aunque la mayor parte del tiempo acabe resignándose.

Me han encantado las relaciones que Joel va forjando con las personas de su entorno, muy especialmente la relación con su padre y con una de sus vecinas. Es enternecedor, sin dejar de ser realista, la manera en la que el protagonista se da cuenta de que está dejando de ser un niño, y de cómo quiere y a la vez no quiere dejar de serlo, porque no quiere permitirse dejar de soñar. Y me he visto arrastrada por esta sed de aventuras por la que todos pasamos en algún momento de nuestra infancia/adolescencia.

También se palpa la sensación de frío permanente y de cómo éste influye en el carácter de las personas y en el tipo de relaciones que tienen, me gusta cuando un libro logra transmitir este tipo de sensaciones.

[M.J. Fiori · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was 85% through this book when I put it down for good. I never stop in the middle of books. This book was simply THAT BAD.

I started reading the book in the mistaken belief that it was a Kurt Wallender mystery. In fact, it is one of a series of coming-of-age tales with an 11-year-old boy, Joel, at their center. Joel lives with his dad in the far, cold north of Sweden, eats boiled potatoes every night for dinner, wonders about his absent mom, and wanders the streets at the witching hour as part of a 'secret society' he has invented to embrace his quest after a mysterious dog. That's it. Maybe this is delightful in Swedish, in Sweden, where many readers find that it evokes and brings to life their innocent backgrounds in humble, rural (wintry) surroundings. Maybe it's a translation problem (the prose is so workaday, so uninspired, that its shortcomings could only be made up for by brilliant plotting ... of which there is no trace here). In short, I found it all boring as hell. The Catcher in the Rye, this is not. Not recommended to anyone who is not from Sweden, and recommended to very few Swedes.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's easy to see that this was originally a foreign book, translated into english. I found the wording interesting and fresh---not written in the usual way. On the back cover, however, the discription is a little too overdone: "If he hadn't seen that solitary dog, nothing might have happened. Nothing of what later became so important that it changed everything. Nothing of what was so exciting at first, but became so horrible..." I never discovered the horrible part---and although I am ashamed to admit that because of that I was a little disappointed (am I morbid? =) I still enjoyed reading this book. At the end of the book, we are given a glimpse into a book that follows these same characters, further along in the story. I liked reading about Joel and about Sweden. Sweden has always been a mysterious place that I would like to encounter. Maybe because it's so far away!

[Lyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

من از میزان رای‌ای که این کتاب داره خیلی ناراحتم. اول فکر کردم در پایان قراره ناامید شم، اما نه. اینطوری نیست. بهتون قول می‌دم ناامید نمی‌شین. آه، بهترین سفر دریایی عمرم بود. از جوئل و بابا ساموئل خیلی ممنونم که دوباره لایرای پونزده ساله رو به من برگردوندن. اطمینان دارم تا به انتهای کتاب رسیدم، تو صدای قطره‌های بارون شیروونی اتاقم حل شدم و رویای موج‌ها رو دیدم و همراه بابا ساموئل رو عرشه‌ی کشتی‌ها، تو دریاهای گرم و شرجی، ملوانی کردم. من در حالیکه فرمون کشتی رو تو دستم داشتم، به دستورهای جوئل گوش می‌دادم که بهم فرمان می‌داد رد سگی که به سوی ستاره‌ای می‌دوئه رو گم نکنم.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting departure for Mankell. This is the inaugural story about Joel Gustafson, an 11 year old boy living in northern Sweden with his father. Mankell captures the thoughts and feelings of this young boy lyrically in this meandering saga of one winter's events. I suspect we will see Joel grow into a man over the years.

Audiobook. The Australian accent was distracting for Mark, but overall a pleasant experience.

[Eva · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember having to read this in school, and maybe that's what ruined it for me. I was twelve years old at the time, and when I read what the main character was thinking, I just found it really odd. "I don't think like that!", I thought.
I think this book is definitely better suited for adult readers than children. I don't think I'll give it another try, but I'm still glad that so many people seem to like it.

[Novel Destination · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Bridge to the Stars" by Henning Mankell was a surprise to me. I didn't know he had a YA series about a young boy growing up in the mid-1950's in Sweden. A coming of age story that also dealt with parental death, alcoholism, school and societal pressures, I enjoyed it enough to order up the three books that finish the series about Joel.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy looks out on a Swedish winter night and sees a lone elkhound running toward a star. He follows it on subsequent nights and lives partially in a dreamland and partially in reality. Wonderfully written and poignant.

[Petya Kokudeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Вече не знам дали ще мога да погледна към звездите, без да се сетя за Юел и кучето...

Едва ли има друга детска книга, в чийто главен герой да се виждам т��ка досущ отразена, мене си. Прозаичен повод за харесване на книга вероятно, но ...хич не ми пука:)

[valerie cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mankell writes so eloquently from a child's point of view. Coupled with his descriptions of icy winter weather, this is another hit for me. Although the novel is largely character-driven unlike his thrillers, he has matered this style. Lots of things going on in the story in a poetic style.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bettie.booklikes.com/blog