Not that long ago, my fiancée's father told me a story about "Fritiof Nilsson Piraten". While, I had heard his name before, I can't say I knew who he was, or why I would care about him. During my last trip to the library (a.k.a. my moment of bliss), I happened to run into Piraten's book, and immediately recognised the book "Bombi Bitt och jag", which also happened to be the first book released by Piraten.
Bombi Bitt och jag is a good-humoured little tale about Eli ("jag") and his somewhat older friend, the impish Bombi Bitt, and their adventures in the rural parts of Scania around the turn of the twentieth century. Among other things we get to follow the boys when they try to empty the lake of a stingy farmer from fish, when they join a racist cult, when Bombi Bitt exacts vengeance on a rude German and when Bombi Bitt engages in fraud at Kivik Market. Overall, the stories are short, sweet and interesting. I really liked the surroundings of the story, and it felt nice reading a classic taking place close to home. I have not read Tom Sawyer myself, but I have understood that Bombi Bitt och jag is similar to that book.
There was one part of the book which was surprisingly racist (even for being a book written by someone from Scania). Moreover, the surprisingly explicit thing that occurred didn't really move the story forward in any matter, which made it feel even more strange. That part of the book thus became less enjoyable to me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed Bombi Bitt och jag and will probably be reading some of Piraten's other books in the future, such as "Bock in Örtagård" and "Bokhandlaren som slutade bada"