Naïve. Super

by Erlend Loe, Tor Ketil Solberg (Translation)

It's as if Wallace Stevens had been Norwegian, writing in prose and born fifty years later. Erlend Loe's deceptively simple novel is a highly original meditation on existence and a strange mixture of wisdom and naivety.
Troubled by an inability to find any meaning in his life, the 25-year-old first-person narrator quits his MA course at university in a bid to discover a raison d'etre. He recounts a series of anecdotes, which culminate in a trip to stay with his brother in New York.
He writes lists. He becomes obsessed by time and whether it actually matters. He yearns to get to the bottom of life and how best to live it.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Scandinavian Literature, Novels, Humor, Literature, Philosophy

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Erlend Loe is a Norwegian novelist. He worked at a psychiatric clinic, and was later a freelance journalist for Norwegian newspaper Adresseavisen. Loe now lives and works in Oslo where in 1998 he co-founded Screenwriters Oslo - an office community for screenwriters.

In 1993 he debuted with the book Tatt av kvinnen, and a year later published a children's book, Fisken, about a forklift operator named Kurt. Loe has a distinctive style of writing which is often likened to naïve art. He often uses irony, exaggeration and humor.

Reviews

[Addie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried to send Erlend Loe himself a letter once.
I couldn't find his address so I tried his e-mail. I wrote him a long nice one with loads of questions, but the one he gives in the book is defunct and when I contacted his publisher they started asking questions.

I was too intimidated to make anything up.

I really wish I had. He seems like the sort of person that needs to be e-mailed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming story of a different kind of person! A person who still has a deeply rooted connection to childhood at 25, who refuses to do things that seem meaningless, who carefully thinks twice before making simple choices, but who dares to admit feeling scared when thinking of the "big questions" in life.

Undoubtedly, the narrator seems a bit odd, but I closed the book with a smile on my face and the suspicion that it actually is much more strange to go on repeating regular patterns infinitely without understanding them than to break out and find patterns that make at least temporary sense: like throwing a ball against a wall or making lists of good and important things.

Money is not important. Brothers are.

The simple conclusion makes sense, and I hope the narrator will find good use for his newfound "perspective". It changed mine to read his tale.

[PopiTonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ni malo naivna super knjiga :-D

[Banu Yıldıran Genç · Rating 5 out of 5]

çok tatlı. çok huzur verici.
ben yazarın ilk okuduğum romanı "doppler"den daha çok beğendim kesinlikle.
zamana kafayı takmış bir gencin kendini kötü hissettiği bir dönemle başlayan romanı yüzünüzde bir gülümsemeyle bitireceksiniz.
hayata, iyi insanlara, dostluğa, kardeşliğe ve sevgiye yeniden inanmanızı sağlayabilir :)
ve liste yapmayı sevenlere bire bir ^.^

kuzey'in basitliğinin, bu sade yaşam felsefesinin her sanat dalına bu kadar yansıması ne kadar muhteşem bir şey.
kitap hakkında agos'a yazdım:
http://tembelveyazar.blogspot.com.tr/...

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Back in 2006 or so Amazon had this “Listmania” feature where, youse guessed it, people made lists of stuff to share with others. I’d waste way too much time browsing those lists but I’d get recs for some pretty decent books to read that were similar to books I’d read before. One such book that appeared a lot was Erlend Loe’s Naive. Super, which I read a few pages of and decided wasn’t for me. Cut to the other week, some 10+ years after that encounter, when I happened to see it on a bookshelf and decided, what the hey, I’ll finally read it cover to cover. Mebbe I was wrong? Nope, my instincts was right the first time because this novel suuuuucked!

A boring Norwegian twentysomething, who’s probably on the autism spectrum, had a meltdown and dropped out of college. Now he hangs around an apartment bouncing a ball, repeatedly hammering pegs and making inane lists (hey, like Amazon’s Listmania!). About halfway through his brother gets him to fly out to visit him in America and he makes lists in America. The end.

Whaaat? I know it wasn’t entertaining so was this pigslop meant to be deep and profound? Because it weren’t! The guy is also obsessed with this scientist who writes about space and bangs on about space trivia, so maybe it was trying for a pseudo-philosophical angle, but it completely failed.

And then there’s the pages of rubbish like the printouts of mid-90s library catalogue searches with Norwegian swears - was that meant to be funny? Or just to highlight the main character’s probable autism by showing how he scrapbooks his life in an OCD way like the main character of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? It wasn’t funny, it seemed pointless - it was just another aspect of the book that went way over my head or had no meaning anyway. And you can tell it’s the ‘90s too as everyone faxes each other instead of texting/emailing. Nothing worthwhile either so humans have remained boring idiots whatever technology we’re playing with!

Nowt happens in Naive. Super and it’s a total crapwad novel. I’d say this was a case of style over substance but - what style?

[HaMiT · Rating 3 out of 5]

یه انشا با موضوع حال و روز خود را با زبان ساده شرح دهید
و توی این کتاب یه جوون 25 ساله حال و روز خودش رو به صورت ساده بیان میکنه
جوونی که شور و اشتیاقش رو نسبت به خیلی چیزها از دست داده و همه چیز براش بی معنیه، خودش رو در جهان ناچیز میبینه و ذهنش درگیر مفهوم زمان شده
یا خودمون همچین آدمی هستیم یا توی اطرافمون این آدم ها رو میبینیم
نویسنده روی ارتباط با دیگران اصرار داره و فکر میکنه ملاقات با انسان های مناسب میتونه کمی از این وضعیت رهاییمون بده
برای من که همچین چیزی زیاد جواب نداده یا مرهم موقتی بوده.. نمیدونم

[EMMA · Rating 2 out of 5]

اولین کتاب است که از ادبیات نروژ میخونم، نمیدونستم انتظار چیو داشته باشم!
نویسنده همش خواسته فیلسوف بازی دربیاره ولی خیلییی مصنوعی انجامش داده همین باعث میشه بره رو مخ و ادم بخواد نویسنده رو پیدا کنه و یکی بزنه زیر گوشش بگه تموم کن این بازی همه چیز دانی را!!!!
******
در طول کتاب اسم شخصیت اصلی کتابو نمیفهمیم، اهمیتی داره اسم‌ها واقعا؟
شاید با اسم ادم میتونست یه تصویری از قیافه طرف داشته باشه ولی بدون اسم یجورایی تصور کردن سخته.
میدونید یجورایی شخصیت اولو درک میکنم یه ادم علاف بیکار که افسرده شده و همش داره در مورد مفهوم زندگی فکر میکنه دز مورد مفهوم زمان و خیلی چیزای دیگه. قبلا منم بیکار و علاف بودم همش در مورد این چیزا فکر میکردم. واقعا راست گفتن بیکاری دشمن انسانه!!!!
مثلا نشستیم کلی فکر کردیم خب بعدش چی؟ فایدش چیه بجز
اذیت شدن خودمون؟

زندگی ‌‌پوچه بنظرم،هرکی زودتر به این مفهموم برسه و قبول کنه و سعی کنه ازش عبور کنه بنطرم برد کرده.

راهکار چیه؟
قبول کردن پوچی زندگی
ادامه دادن با توجه به اینکه زندگی بی معنیه
لذت بردن از لحظات
لحظه را زندگی کردن نه در لحظه زندگی کردن!

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, rounded up.

I first heard of this slim, quick read as it was listed as one of the top ten books favored by current US Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg - and that he had actually learned Norwegian in order to read it in the original language! I figured something that had impelled that kind of a commitment must be something special - and indeed, there is a lot packed into this deceptively simple little tome. It has been called a Norwegian The Catcher in the Rye and that is rather an apt description, although the unnamed protagonist is a bit older (25), and not quite so disenchanted by life.

Here's an interesting New Yorker article about both the book and Mayor Pete's obsession with it: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...

[Fun fact: on p. 48 of this edition, the narrator muses about the Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, and whether her boyfriend is 'cool'. Her boyfriend at the time was a relatively unknown actor named ... Ryan Reynolds.]

[Jurica Ranj · Rating 5 out of 5]

U početku sam bio malo zamišljen nad stilom kojim je pisana knjiga, jednostavnim i iskrenim, bez ukrašavanja i s mnogo listi i nabrajanja. Ali kako sam dalje čitao, shvatio sam da gutam tekst i kako mi se sviđa jednostavno i možda pomalo naivno razmišljanje glavnog junaka priče.

On je dobričina, iskren i pomalo izgubljen, fasciniran i prestrašen jer ne zna što mu budućnost donosi. Stoga odlučuje napraviti stanku i razmisliti malo o svemu. Na prvi pogled se čini kako gubi vrijeme razmišljajući o svemu i svačemu, ali to je samo lukavština. Jer vrijeme neumorno ide, ili vrijeme ustvari uopće ne postoji...i nema straha od nepoznatog, nema straha da moraš odmah znati što želiš u životu, ili da to znanje promijeniš tu i tamo.

Moderno društvo vrši pritisak na nas sa pojmom prolaznosti vremena i nevjerojatnom količinom izbora tko i što možemo biti; bombardiraju nas svim mogućnostima koje smo propustili (a mogli smo) biti a to uzrokuje nervozu i stres. Loe je našao jednostavan, poučan i kulturan način da kaže toj modernoj filozofiji da odjebe.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a satisfying read. Nothing happens, in the most fascinating way imaginable. Just as I wrote that last sentence I remembered the feeling of watching My Dinner with Andre for the first time. This novel gave me a similar feeling--happy to be alive, happy to be literate, happy to have time to read and to think. It's that kind of book.

[Matthew Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naive Super is probably the most influential book I've read in terms of my own writing.

This is a brave book. Dialogue is just discarded for the most part. The unnamed narrator is almost anti-protagonist. He is a nice guy. There aren't many books purely about nice guys. There are, however, countless good works about nice guys battling against adversity. The interesting thing about Naive Super is that the adversity is the character's own doing. The adversity is his depression. Almost like a quarter-life crisis.

I suppose this is a short book about the feeling of not knowing what to do any more. The worrying feeling that barely anything is happening in your life. Ultimately, what is the point? What is important? What is going wrong?

What makes this book so good is the dry humour of the narrator. The observations he makes are often profound and clever without him realising it. The narration is also deceptively simple. You will find no detailed descriptions in this book. The sentences are always short and direct.

In this sense, I would not recommend this for everybody. Not an awful lot happens in this book, but the points made by the narrator are often sublime and at times quite heartening, when you know you have been/are in the same place as this character.

In terms of my own writing, I found this book really intriguing. It's almost like a minimal novel which appeals to me. There are not many characters. The main character is flawed but he is fully aware of that. The drama is in the everyday life, not from landmark moments. The narrator is not a unique character. I feel that he is someone that a lot of readers can relate to and very easily put themselves in his exact same position.

In short: a funny, clever, moving and ambitious short novel that you could easily read in the space of two days. Excellent.

[Sussu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book many a time before, and it has yet to fail me. It's a simple book on the surface, but for me it's a way to climb out of a hole whenever existing gets to be a bit too much. It's not a magic cure, but it makes life tolerable again.

[صان · Rating 5 out of 5]

مهدی اینو بهم معرفی کرد، و خیلی خوب موقعی خوندمش.
قصه‌ی پسر ۲۵،۲۶ ساله‌ایه که یهو از خودش می‌پرسه دارم تو زندگی چیکار می‌کنم، ماجرا چیه و اینجور سوال‌های اگزیستانسی. بعد مواجهه‌ی این آدم رو با این سوال‌ها می‌بینیم. خودشو ایزوله می‌کنه، شروع می‌کنه از اول فکر کردن درباره همه چی. خوشی‌های زندگیش چیه، دوستاش کین، دنبال چیه، جهان به این بزرگی ما چقدر نقطه‌ی پرگار نیستیم توش و این حرف‌ها. می‌شینه خونه‌ی برادرش که رفته سفر و سعی می‌کنه خودشو سرگرم کنه. با یه دوچرخه می‌چرخه، یه توپ می‌خره و از ساده‌ترین چیزها برای پیدا کردن خودش استفاده می‌کنه.

موقع خوندن این کتاب خیلی افسرده بودم. بینش وقفه افتاد، چون نمی‌تونستم خودمو جمع کنم و متمرکز شم روی خوندن یک کتاب. منم، به دلایلی دیگه، داشتم افسردگی رو تجربه می‌کردم. برای همین وقتی دوباره رفتم سراغش خیلی تونستم با کتابه دوست شم، خیلی فضاشو تصور کردم، خیلی تخیلم توش گَشت و واقعا باهاش بهم خوش گذشت.

یک خاطره نامربوط. یادمه این کتاب رو یکی دو فصلشو خونده بودم و کنار گذاشته بودم. بعد یه مدت طولانی شاید یک ماهه، رفته بودم سر یه فیلم‌برداری‌ای که خیلی دل خوشی ازشون نداشتم. نتونسته بودم با کسی دوست شم و ساعت‌های طولانی فیلم‌برداری رو باید بیکار می‌موندم. روز اخر بود که با خودم اینو برداشتم که از بیکاری شدید مجبور شم بخونمش. درست همون روزی که با اکراه رفته بودم سر صحنه، یهو حس کردم همه چی داره خوش می‌گذره. حس کردم می‌تونم با آدم‌ها ارتباط برقرار کنم و می‌تونم حرف بزنم و باهام مهربونن و با خوشحالی نشستم پشت یه دیواری لب یه بالکنی و اینو خوندم. خیلی بیکار بودم، چون توی صحنه‌های کمی قرار بود حضور داشته باشم و تقریبا کلشو خوندم، تا آخراش پیش رفتم. اون شب خیلی خوب گذشت فیلم‌برداری، درست برخلاف تصورم. از اون شب یاد گرفتم که همه چی به اون شکل بد که توی ذهنم تصور می‌کنم ممکنه پیش نره. قبل رفتن فکر می‌کردم قراره ۸-۱۰ ساعت خیلی بد داشته باشم. ولی در نهایت خوش گذشت و شب خاطره‌انگیزی شد برام.

لحن نویسنده هم توی این کتاب جالبه. انگار که ذهن خیلی دقیقی داره شخصیت و همه چیز رو لیست می‌کنه و این لیست‌ها بهش حس خوبی می‌دن. یه مقداری مثل دان تیلمن (اگه اشتباه نکنم؟) رمان پروژه‌ی رزیه. که البته شخصیت اون کتاب سندرم اسپرگر داره. اینم یجورایی اون مدلیه نحوه‌ی ارتباط برقرار کردنش و سِیر الگوریتمی فکرهاش. از کارهایی که می‌کرد خوشم میومد، چیزهایی که خرید تا باهاش خودشو سرگرم کنه، تمرکزش رو کار فیزیکی، توپ‌بازی، دوچرخه سواری، و دوباره پیدا کردن معنای زندگی و لذت‌هایی که باید رفت دنبالشون. و در نهایت رابطه‌ای که با یک شخصیت دیگه شکل می‌ده.

خیلی کتاب خوش‌خون و جذابی بود، توجه نویسنده و شخصیت به چیزهایی بود که عرف نیست و همینش جذاب بود. به من هم در نهایت کمک کرد که به زندگیم و لذت‌هایی که دنبالشم یه نگاهی دوباره بندازم. منم یه روز وقتی داشتم میومدم خونه از یه لوازم التحریری یه توپ شیطونک قدیمی خریدم که وقت‌هایی که هیچ کاری ندارم بزنمش به دیوار و برگرده تو دستم و صد بار این کار رو تکرار کنم.

[Nelly Aghabekyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simplicity's best and simply the easiest - and this book is an exact example for this. There's no need to try hard and make things more and more complicated when there's an easier way to solve the problems: just stay ignorant to them. Be childish. Ask simple questions which always have answers, and do not spend forces on finding answers to questions that don't even make sense really.

This book is naive. This is why it's super

[Anita Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, this is the sort of novel that could only happen in a relatively benign place like Norway where a grown man playing with a little boy doesn’t inspire the need in every passerby to call Chris Hansen, and to a person who has a brother with an empty apartment. The protagonist is the most earnest character an American like me can possibly hope to read. With so many novels so sickeningly drenched in irony, the protagonist in Naïve. Super is completely devoid of it. And because he is not self-referentially hip in his depression and his attempts to make meaning of his world, it is tempting to write him off as simple, possibly stupid. It means something when, confronted with earnestness and a complete lack of irony, it is tempting to dismiss it as lacking intellect. I’m too tired to discuss what that means, but believe me when I say the protagonist is not mentally retarded or otherwise lacking in intellect. He’s just finding himself in a manner that does not involve utter self-destruction and the delivery of oh-so-clever one-liners. That having been said, in the midst of such simplicity, this is a deeply funny book.

The protagonist begins the novel explaining that he has two friends, one good and one bad, and his brother, who is less friendly than him, but a good guy nonetheless. One has to agree that his brother is a good man, because he permits his 25-year-old brother, a man who rather enjoys spending hours playing with Brio toys and making seemingly pointless lists, stay in his apartment in exchange for just giving him his messages. When his brother returns from his trip, he realizes the protagonist is having a gentle nervous breakdown combined with a mild existential crisis, and cares for the protagonist, including taking him on a trip to New York. Perhaps the brother senses that brutally beating the protagonist at croquet was what initially made the protagonist feel like there was no purpose to life. Even so, it’s hard to fault the brother. People who need a villain in a book will not like Naïve. Super because this is a novel filled with nice people. Nice, quirky and not entirely familiar people, but nice people nonetheless. You can read my entire review here.

[Behzad · Rating 5 out of 5]

سالها پیش تو یه مجله راجع به این رمان خوندم و طبق تمجیدی که ازش کرده بود برام جالب شد.
تازگیا داشتم بهترین رمان های نروژی رو سرچ میکردم که به این برخوردم و خوندمش.
رمان ساده ایه.
ساده شروع میشه. نثر ساده داره و اتفاقاتی که توش می افتن ساده و روزمره هستن. ولی طرز برخورد راوی با جهان پیرامونش زیبا و بی سابقه و متفاوته. انگار که یه کودک داره همه چیز جهان رو برای اولین بار میبینه و لمس میکنه. مثل توصیفی که خود راوی در بخشی از کتاب ارائه داده: ماهی ها، همه چیز رو فقط چند ثانیه به یاد میسپارن و بعد از یادشون میره. بنابراین، همیشه همه چیز رو برای اولین بار تجربه میکنن.
ایدۀ فهرست هایی که در جای جای رمان اومده بود جالب بود و خوشم اومد.
کلا ارزش خوندن داره و خیلی خیلی خیلی تند خونده میشه.

[this is shin · Rating 1 out of 5]

به پیشنهاد آقای کتابفروش خریدمش و واااااقعا نمیدونم چرا همچین چیزی پیشنهاد داد
یک بار یکی بهم گفت هیچ وقت به توصیه کتاب فروش ها گوش نده اونا کمتر از خیلیا کتاب میخونن واقعا
کما که من این حرف رو قبول ندارم ولی انگار واقعا باید بهش عمل کنم چون تا حالا کتابفروش ها چیز خوبی بهم معرفی نکردن و این یکی هم که خیلی بد بود بنظرم
ینی شاید هم مشکل از فهم منه
واقعا نمیفهمیدم اصلا این داستان برای چی نوشته شده,هدفش چی بوده واقعا؟؟؟نه در طی سیر داستان ازش لذت میبردی نه اخرش اتفاق خاص و تلنگری بهت بود
واقعا خوندنش ملال آور و وقت تلف کن بود

[Paul Ataua · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading ‘Naïve. Super’. As I started reading, however, the word ‘quirky’ kept coming to mind, and then I realized I didn’t exactly know what quirky means, so I looked it up and saw it was “ unusual in an attractive and interesting way” . It was certainly unusual, quite off-beat, but I didn’t find it attractive or interesting. I was quite bored and just wanted it to end. This doesn’t mean it is bad. It just means it isn’t my kind of book.

[Brendan Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I like about this book:

- It's different. But in a nice way. Very quirky.
- Is the protagonist really dumb, really smart, or really, err, naïve? I'm still not entirely sure.
- The protagonist makes a lot of lists. He likes lists. I like reading them.
- The sentences are so short.
- The protagonist is uncertain about many things. So am I.
- It's funny. He gets overwhelmed a lot, so he buys a Brio hammer-and-peg to help. When he hammers he doesn't feel so overwhelmed.

This leads to a number of funny situations.

My favorite is when he's asked to watch a young boy named Børre. Børre's father hears the hammering and asks if the protagonist is doing work around the house. The protagonist says he's just hammering to keep from feeling overwhelmed. The boy's father nods.

- It's a very simple book. But it's also a very good book.

[Ivana Nešić]

Ovo mi je druga Luova knjiga.
Za sada sam zaključila da Lu voli:
- bicikle
- obrano mleko
- losove
- šumu
- ljude kojima sjajno ide, a onda kvrcnu i odmetnu se
- smenjivanje jako kratkih i dugih rečenica
- spiskove

Mnogo mi je žao što N.S. nisam pročitala barem onda kada je izašla kod nas jer:
- sam sada prematora da ozbiljno shvatim duševnu krizu od koje osoba postane ful-autistična (i jako simpatična u svojoj novoj prostodušnosti) u trenutku ali se za mesec dana sve sredi, msm žao mi je zbog spojlera ali realno i nije neki.
- prošao je trenutak. Mogu samo da zamislim kako bi '96. godine bilo strava čitati o korelaciji između gravitacije i protoka vremena, ali sada svi pratimo barem po 2 FB stranice o kosmosu i teorije koje nikad nećemo uspeti da shvatimo nam cure na uši.

Ne mogu ni da ga ocenim. Valjda je super. Samo naivan.

[Arash Rad · Rating 2 out of 5]

کتاب من رو یاد انشاهای دوره دبستان انداخت
تابستان خودرا چگونه گذراندید

[Riri · Rating 2 out of 5]

نمیدونم.
شاید تو ترجمش یسری بخش ها پریده .

[Раде Станишић · Rating 1 out of 5]

Најрадије бих дао 0.
Не знам због чега су људи генерално одушевљени овом књигом, али за мене апсолутно ништа у њој нема. Радња је предосадна, понека мисао или идеја се назире али не држи пуно и све је некако разбацано. Има неких занимљивих идеја али то је само на неке тренутке и уопште не увлачи у неко размишљање или дубиозу.

[Girish · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I don't want all that much. But I want to be fine. I want to live a simple life with many good moments and a lot of fun.”

This book is 5 stars due to the deeply personal way in which the book managed to connect with me.

Coming of age (Bildungsroman) is a genre to denote YA. But what happens when a adult is in search of meaning to the concept of life and finds it back in principles of childhood?

The 25 year old narrator of this funny and deep meaning book (overtly weird) quits university and goes to his brother's house to think things over. He is obsessed with time, makes and exchanges lists over fax, finds joy in throwing ball, plays with hammer and befriends a kindergarden kid. The thinking process - seems almost mundane and yet, the ideas, were resonating with your once anxieties. Over the course of the book, he finds a girlfriend, appreciates his friends (even the bad one), bonds with his brother and realises that he(the narrator) is a good person.

“I have enough trouble with useful information, never mind being burdened with what is useless.”

When I completed engineering, I knew so much - but did not know what to do with it. I even knew Vanilla came from vanillin whose organic formula is meta-methoxy para-hydroxy benzaldehyde. I panicked at the thought of forgetting something critical when I needed to know it the most. Happy to say 14 years since, it has never been a problem.

“The only question that really counts, must be thins one: are things getting better or are they getting worse?”

All through, you believe whatever happens, happens for the good. Not based on facts, but the thought is comforting. And I found this question at my heart when things were swaying or cloudy.

The book's obsession with lists is contagious. In one of the best ideas - the author prepares the list of things that used to fascinate him as a kid and compares it with a similar list now. As a dad, I realised I was rediscovering my childhood throuhg my daughter's and got inspired by her fascination with what is obvious and boring to us.

I am not going to recommend this book to anyone. However, It will feature in my list of good books that has the power to seed ideas.

[KK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prijala mi je. Bas mi je prijala...

[Dragana Milošević · Rating 3 out of 5]

Izgleda da mom senzibilitetu ne odgovaraju skandinavski pisci. Takođe, koliko god ovo bilo na isti fazon kao Valjarevićev stil pisanja, ne verujem da će mi ijedan drugi pisac probuditi osećanja kao što to ume Valjarević.

[Justė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valio! Dar viena norvegų kalba perskaityta knyga, skirta suaugusiems. Jaučiuosi džiugiai ir netgi išdidžiai, staiga perėjusi nuo vaikiškų knygelių prie rimtesnių veikalų. Aišku, šią knygą pavadinti rimta gal ir ne visai teisinga. Bet jos nerasite vaikiškų knygų skyriuje, taigi dedu sau pliusą. Ir raginu visus, besimokančius norvegų kalbos, ją perskaityti. O jeigu norvegų kalba jums neaktuali, skaitykite lietuviškai. Knygą "Naivus. Super" 2004 metais išleido Vagos leidykla.
Truputėlis apie šią ironišką, šypseną keliančią knygą. Ji pilna mums visiems gerai pažįstamų minčių - apie gyvenimą, bėgantį laiką, pasaulį, meilę ir draugystę. Čia sutiksite keistoką veikėją, kuris labai mėgsta įvairiausius sąrašus, sudarinėja juos pats ir skaito kitų pažįstamų sudarytus.
Štai siunčiu ir aš savąjį sąrašą, apie tai, ką labiausiai mėgau vaikystėje:

-stebuklus;
-kates;
-knygas;
-ledus;
-ryti vyšnias su kauliukais;
-žurnaliuką "Naminukas";
-laipioti ir užstrigti medžiuose;
-svajoti;
-važinėti riedučiais;
-organizuoti gatvės vaikų beždžioniukų diskotekas/koncertus seneliams (pasirodymas įvyko tik vieną kartą, bet buvo rimtų minčių įkurti grupę "Rokoko 5");
-klausinėti senelio - kas tau labiau patinka: mašina ar dviratis, o kodėl, na kodėl kodėl ir t.t.ir pan.;
-apgaudinėti seserį ir pasakoti išgalvotas istorijas, pvz. kad mūsų pastogėje gyvena Pepė Ilgakojinė, ir kad aš pas ją dažnai lankausi. Ji taip pat galinti ateiti, kai aš ten nueisiu. Tereikia įsibėgėti ir trenktis į sieną viename iš, antrame aukšte esančių, kambarių. Tada ji pateks į liftą, kuris nuveš pas Pepę ir mane... Sorry, sese :)
-skambinti bet kaip surinktais numeriais ir padėti ragelį (sorry in general);
-rašyti laškus (panašius į šį).
-keliauti (nepaisant to, kad dažnai tekdavo vemti mašinoje) ir
-gyventi.

Juk gyvenimas, kaip sako Erlend Loe knygos herojus ir turbūt ne jis vienas, yra kaip kelionė.

[Ali Heidaritokaldani · Rating 4 out of 5]

کلا من از کتاب‌هایی که بدون فلسفه‌بافی‌های آن چنانی امیدبخشند لذت می‌برم و عجیب است که زیاد بهشان برنمی‌خورم؛ کتاب‌هایی که روزنه‌ی تازه‌ای به روی زندگی باز می‌کنند و خواننده را با خودشان هم‌راه می‌کنند. رمان اَبَر ابله، اثر اِرلند لو، نویسنده‌ی نروژی، از این دسته است.
اولین جمله‌های کتاب تکلیف خواننده را روشن می‌کند که با چه شخصیتی قرار است روبه‌رو شود. می‌گوید: «من دو دوست دارم، یک دوست خوب و یک دوست بد. و البته برادرم هم هست. شاید او مثل من خون‌گرم و صمیمی نباشد، ولی خوب است»
داستان از این قرار است که پسر جوانی همه چیزش را رها می‌کند تا در آپارتمان برادری که به سفر رفته به خودش بپردازد. این هم یک‌جور سفر است و شاید اسمش را "یک ادیسه‌ی ذهنی" بتوان گذاشت، سفری به دنیای اشیا و معدود آدم‌های دور و نزدیکش.
یکی از دل‌مشغولی‌های جالب راوی علاقه‌اش به فهرست‌برداری است که حُکم نوعی تنظیم معنا و مفهوم برای زندگی را برایش دارد و شاید، همان وجه ذهنی توصیه‌ی عمل‌گرایانه‌ی برادرش باشد: نقشِ مهمی که بازی و تفریح در زندگی دارد و عملا زیاد جدی‌اش نمی‌گیریم. در نتیجه، لذت بردن هم کار شاقی می‌شود.
اَبَر ابله فصل‌بندی‌های کوتاهی دارد، از این شاخ به آن شاخ زیاد می‌پرد و خیلی خوب نوشته شده. جایی راوی می‌گوید: «گاهی وقت‌ها به ماهی‌های قرمز غبطه می‌خورم. ظاهرا دامنه‌ی حافظه‌شان فقط در حدِ چند ثانیه است. محال است بتوانند سلسله‌ای از افکار را پی‌گیری کنند. آن‌ها همه‌چیز را برای اولین بار تجربه می‌کنند. هر بار. و مادامی که از نقص و معلولیتشان بی‌خبر هستند حتما زندگی برایشان داستان بلند خوب و خوشی است. یک جشن. شور و هیجان از سحر تا غروب.»

[Nikola Jankovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sit sam i pospan. I imam smešak na usnama." Citat pred kraj, koji opisuje moje trenutno stanje, a njegova druga rečenica i stanje za vreme druženja sa Luom. Ne radi se o humoru uz koji se smeješ na glas, već o idejama, strukturi rečenica i načina na koji prenosi misli...

Osim toga, ovaj kratak roman govori o krizi identiteta glavnog mladog lika. Traženje smisla u životu i svetu oko sebe, kao i traženju svoje uloge u svemu tome. Jednostavna filozofija (npr. "Pokloni su važni. Mali pokloni su često bolji nego veliki. A oni koji su srednji su retko nešto posebno."), izražena kroz jednostavne i kratke rečenice, a opet nešto što se može nazvati literatura. Mnogo dobrih stvari u životu je jednostavnih.

"Ne želim mnogo toga. Ali, želim da mi bude lepo. Želim da živim jednostavnim i dobrim životom sa mnogo lepih trenutaka i mnogo zabave."

To je otprilike i deviza koje se autor držao pišući svoj drugi roman.

[merixien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herkesin sevebileceği bir kitap değil. Yer yer sıkıcılaşabiliyor, bazı noktalarda “ben ne okuyorum?” Diye de sordurabiliyor ama adındaki “naif”liği okuyucuya geçiriyor.
25 yaşında hayatında sıkışmış, okulu bırakmış ve zaman kavramına fazlasıyla takılmış bir gencin hayatındaki belli bir zaman dilimi ve bol bol listelerini okuyorsunuz.

“Asla karşılaşmayacağız ancak bilmeni istediğim bir şey var. Benim zamanım senin zamanınla aynı değil. Bizim zamanımız aynı değil. Peki bunun ne anlama geldiğini biliyor musun? Bu, zamanın var olmadığı anlamına geliyor. Bir kez daha söyleyeyim mi? Zaman maman yok. Yaşam ve ölüm var. İnsanlar ve hayvanlar var. Düşüncelerimiz var. Evren var. Ama zaman yok. Keyfine bak. Şimdi kendini daha iyi hissediyor musun? Ben daha iyi hissediyorum. İşler iyiye gidecek. İyi günler.”