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Vinterviken #1
Vinterviken
Boken handlar om John-John som bor i Alby. En het sommardag stjäl han och kompisen Sluggo en kajak och paddlar från Vinterviken till Brommasidan där de vackra flickorna bor. De ouppnåeliga vackra flickorna. Mitt på fjärden ser de hur en motorbåt kör förbi i full fart och en flicka försvinner i en våg under vattnet. John-John hoppar i och räddar henne. Väl i hennes hus möter John-John den vackraste flicka han någonsin sett, Elisabeth, storasyster i huset.
John-Johns och Elisabeths kärlekshistoria blir en historia som fångar läsaren och slungar den mellan olika världar, orättvisor, lyckokänslor och rasism.
O Bröder & Systrar, man stjäl en kajak, paddlar över Vinterviken, bryter dörren till en av villorna på höjden och möter Kärleken. O Bröder & Systrar, ge mig svar på min fråga Vad är kärlek?
John-Johns och Elisabeths kärlekshistoria blir en historia som fångar läsaren och slungar den mellan olika världar, orättvisor, lyckokänslor och rasism.
O Bröder & Systrar, man stjäl en kajak, paddlar över Vinterviken, bryter dörren till en av villorna på höjden och möter Kärleken. O Bröder & Systrar, ge mig svar på min fråga Vad är kärlek?
367 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
26 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Mats Wahl
74 books19 followersMats Wahl (1945-2025) was a Swedish author. He has published 43 books but also written several plays for the theatre, TV programs, novels and movies. Vinterviken (in English: The Winter Bay) is one of his most famous books, which is also a film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
September 23, 2021
Racism is a tricky one to deal with. Who is Swedish, who is not? John-John definitely is Swedish, and his mother is as Swedish as a "midsommarstång", the traditional Midsummer pole around which Swedes dance to celebrate the longest day of the year - by the definition of his friend.
But he doesn't look "Swedish", according to a never pronounced secret definition. He is brown. His father, whom he doesn't know, is American. "En neger", as John-John says himself, using the insulting language he hears in school and on the streets. Even Italians look different in the poor suburbs of Stockholm in the 1990s, so John-John is exotic.
But he is not the only youth suffering from neglect, abuse and bullying in the glittering beauty of the town on the water. There is Elisabeth, who is rich, goodlooking in all the "right ways", and deeply unhappy in her cold mansion in Bromma. There is Sluggo, who couldn't be more Swedish, or more miserable. There is the failed artist who is a heroin addict, but not a Nazi, and there are the young boys whose only value seems to be that they are blonde and blue-eyed, and they build their violent dogma around their only "privilege".
A brutal story, and yet a story of love and art and creativity. If you are good with words, write! That is advice John-John gets in school. Write at least half a page each day. I can't help thinking that this fractured bit of education will lead him out of hopelessness at some point. And I leave him safely connected by the power of words and love.
A brilliant, harsh young adult novel!
But he doesn't look "Swedish", according to a never pronounced secret definition. He is brown. His father, whom he doesn't know, is American. "En neger", as John-John says himself, using the insulting language he hears in school and on the streets. Even Italians look different in the poor suburbs of Stockholm in the 1990s, so John-John is exotic.
But he is not the only youth suffering from neglect, abuse and bullying in the glittering beauty of the town on the water. There is Elisabeth, who is rich, goodlooking in all the "right ways", and deeply unhappy in her cold mansion in Bromma. There is Sluggo, who couldn't be more Swedish, or more miserable. There is the failed artist who is a heroin addict, but not a Nazi, and there are the young boys whose only value seems to be that they are blonde and blue-eyed, and they build their violent dogma around their only "privilege".
A brutal story, and yet a story of love and art and creativity. If you are good with words, write! That is advice John-John gets in school. Write at least half a page each day. I can't help thinking that this fractured bit of education will lead him out of hopelessness at some point. And I leave him safely connected by the power of words and love.
A brilliant, harsh young adult novel!
December 21, 2021
✎ read for school.
problematic. especially the way women/girls are described.
problematic. especially the way women/girls are described.
December 17, 2020
En klassiker i modern tid. Komplexa karaktärer som slits mellan tro, hopp och kärlek.
October 21, 2014
So... This book. We had to read it in school a while ago, and as many of you know, the books you have to read in school isn't very good. Honestly, our school is so poor, so they chose this books only because it costs like 29 Swedish crowns (which is like 4 dollars).
I mean, seriously. No wonder people who doesn'read often hates reading, if the only time they read books in school they are total crap!
So this book is about a guy names John-John (ridiculous name, right?) and he and his best friend Sluggo (stupid name #2) steals a canoe or anyway some kind of boat. They rescue a stupid girl from drowning and get invited to her house, where John-John of course falls in love with her older sister, Elisabeth. Then some other stuff happens.
The story is not good at all, and the ending is just meh... It all happend so fast. It's not so bad writing, but really not for me. And I hate those WEIRD poems in the beginning. They just makes the book worse. And also, John-John is a total creep. Like his stepdad Skithuvet. And well, he is just weird. If I ever met someone who behaved like him... I would run.
That's about it, I guess. I have read many bad books in school (duh)but this might actually be the worst. As you may have seen, I'm quite generous with my ratings. Then look at this.
***
One awesome character: Hmmmm. Nope. No one that I can remember.
I mean, seriously. No wonder people who doesn'read often hates reading, if the only time they read books in school they are total crap!
So this book is about a guy names John-John (ridiculous name, right?) and he and his best friend Sluggo (stupid name #2) steals a canoe or anyway some kind of boat. They rescue a stupid girl from drowning and get invited to her house, where John-John of course falls in love with her older sister, Elisabeth. Then some other stuff happens.
The story is not good at all, and the ending is just meh... It all happend so fast. It's not so bad writing, but really not for me. And I hate those WEIRD poems in the beginning. They just makes the book worse. And also, John-John is a total creep. Like his stepdad Skithuvet. And well, he is just weird. If I ever met someone who behaved like him... I would run.
That's about it, I guess. I have read many bad books in school (duh)but this might actually be the worst. As you may have seen, I'm quite generous with my ratings. Then look at this.
***
One awesome character: Hmmmm. Nope. No one that I can remember.
April 2, 2024
Think of "The catcher in the rye" but it's set in Sweden in the 1990's... that's what this book is like
There is no real plot. In "Vinterviken", we get to follow John-John Sundberg (who lives in the exact same place as me = cool!!) during his first year of High school (which is the exact same High school I went to = also cool!!). And that's the two main things I appreciated about this book. It is written in a way that makes it easy to read, with lots of dialogues and Walt Whitman-inspired poems introducing every chapter. I appreciate it as a piece of local history, but not so much as a book since... well, there is no real plot. Or, well, there were some interesting and exciting parts, but they were anticlimaxes which just isn't my cup of tea.
2,5 ✰
There is no real plot. In "Vinterviken", we get to follow John-John Sundberg (who lives in the exact same place as me = cool!!) during his first year of High school (which is the exact same High school I went to = also cool!!). And that's the two main things I appreciated about this book. It is written in a way that makes it easy to read, with lots of dialogues and Walt Whitman-inspired poems introducing every chapter. I appreciate it as a piece of local history, but not so much as a book since... well, there is no real plot. Or, well, there were some interesting and exciting parts, but they were anticlimaxes which just isn't my cup of tea.
2,5 ✰
July 16, 2017
For girls and boys in puberty! Liked it so much when I was a kid. Especially some of the poems at the start of a chapter.
April 2, 2018
DNF 60%
November 28, 2021
La reseña decía “una maravillosa historia de amor” y creo que le queda grande esta descripción, es una historia interesante para pasar el rato.
December 7, 2022
En tvåa eller trea. Den var inte jättebra men jag var ju inte dödsuttråkad när jag läste den.
September 25, 2019
Al principio me resultó muy raro, sobre todo en la forma en la que estaba narrado... después, cuando le cogí el truco y comprendí el estilo, la historia me pareció entretenida y las paginas simplemente volaban. En general es una buena historia, que cuenta las tragedias de un muchacho de color en la sociedad de suecia... una sociedad que apenas conozco y que parece ser mas dura de lo que debería en los tiempos que corren.
Le dado un tres, porque merece la pena, aunque como pega pongo dos cosas: el estilo confuso de narración (supongo que en eso tendrá mucho que ver que no suelo leer literatura de sueca, probaré a sustraer algún libro de la exposición de ikea) y en segundo lugar... que todo el conflicto se resuelve en el ultimo capítulo, de forma muy rapida... como si ya pudiera haber mas páginas para esta novela :(
Si hubiera podido elegir... un par de paginas más no le hubiese venido mal.
Le dado un tres, porque merece la pena, aunque como pega pongo dos cosas: el estilo confuso de narración (supongo que en eso tendrá mucho que ver que no suelo leer literatura de sueca, probaré a sustraer algún libro de la exposición de ikea) y en segundo lugar... que todo el conflicto se resuelve en el ultimo capítulo, de forma muy rapida... como si ya pudiera haber mas páginas para esta novela :(
Si hubiera podido elegir... un par de paginas más no le hubiese venido mal.
February 13, 2015
Bra och gripande. Realistisk. Stundtals lite seg fast jag inte förstår varför. Men det var ofta jag valde att göra annat före att läsa denna bok. Eller om det möjligtvis beror på att jag haft mycket kring mig just nu. Boken fick augustpriset 1993 i barn- och ungdomskategorin. Det förstår jag, den känns speciell och jag hade nog gillat mer att läsa den när jag var yngre. En bok som öppnar upp för diskussioner och funderingar. Filmatiserad är den, fick jag reda på igår men jag har inte sett den.
August 22, 2021
i enjoyed this book. i think it was well written and i like john-john and elisabeth.
October 19, 2023
Eins meiner Lieblingsbücher.
July 8, 2017
2,5-ish.
December 7, 2023
Känner mig kluven. Gillar berättelsen i sin helhet och porträtteringen av huvudkaraktären och kärlek. Har däremot svårt för de ”poetiska delarna” och vissa pretentiösa beskrivningar. Vill inte använda ordet pretentiös egentligen, men tycker att de är för svulstiga och kladdar ner en redan stark historia. Men kanske uppskattas det av den tänkta målgruppen?
Ogillar också den ständiga sexualiseringen av alla kvinnliga karaktärer och det abrupta slutet, som inte lyckas knyta ihop alla trådar. Därav minus 2 stjärnor. Boken känns överlag ganska daterad trots att den har relevanta teman. Netflix nya filmatisering är däremot fantastiskt bra, så ändå fint att den får leva vidare…
Ogillar också den ständiga sexualiseringen av alla kvinnliga karaktärer och det abrupta slutet, som inte lyckas knyta ihop alla trådar. Därav minus 2 stjärnor. Boken känns överlag ganska daterad trots att den har relevanta teman. Netflix nya filmatisering är däremot fantastiskt bra, så ändå fint att den får leva vidare…
November 19, 2023
Asså kolla, jag läser ju denna till skolan. Det kändes typ att det inte hände så mycket i boken. Det var även väldigt mycket frågetecken. I början tyckte jag en va ändå bra emn sen blev en ba konstig. Kändes onödigt att ha så många sidor. Men däremot känndes slutet väldigt snabbt och jag har jättemånga frågetecken med saker. Vad hände med Rolf t.ex?? Liksom kommer han va kvar även om han e så hemsk. Sen ba blev Elisabeth o John-John ihop igen på slutet vilket också var oklart
July 10, 2019
Jag kollade på filmen först innan jag läste boken. Det var innan jag visste att det fanns en bok, men filmen har nästan allt som hände i boken tagits bort, så det blev lite förvirrade och läsa boken såhär efteråt man ska ju göra tvärtom. Men boken var jätte bra väldigt spännande och läsvärd! Har du inte sett filmen läs boken först och gör ej samma misstag som jag gjorde.
September 14, 2022
One of the best books I've read so far! I really enjoyed this book from the very beginning until the end.
Vinterviken brought me all kind of emotions at the same time. I felt strongly for the main character, John-John. Life's isn't easy, that's all I can say.
Vinterviken brought me all kind of emotions at the same time. I felt strongly for the main character, John-John. Life's isn't easy, that's all I can say.
March 22, 2025
Well... it wasn't bad at all - I liked the poems at the start of the each chapter and the interesting metaphors in main character's dreams, but it lacked something that would've made it truly awesome. + 1 start for the nostalgia.
September 23, 2019
This was a re-reading, and it wasn't at all as good as I remembered.
December 18, 2020
Har åldrats lite.
June 15, 2021
It was fine. My students didn't like it that much, though.
April 2, 2022
An indirect discussion about race. Interesting read.
October 10, 2022
Varför kan vi aldrig få läsa bra böcker i skolan?
March 13, 2023
this wasn't it for me
April 3, 2023
I'd say it's a pretty good book. It keeps a good pace with a good flow and mostly solid characters with some depth to them.
June 13, 2023
Daterad. Har inte sett Netflix filmatisering men kan tänka mig att den gör sig bra i en modernare kontext. Berättelsen har nåt men håller inte idag.
July 14, 2023
Het is een gewoon boek net als anderen.
January 15, 2024
Lite svårläst men nog är det bra
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews