Kalin’s review of Братята с лъвски сърца > Likes and Comments

I read the other day (but have not verified) that Lindgren intended for the entire story to be understood as a fever dream. Jonathan dies and Karl, who will also soon die, dreams that they meet in the afterlife. The light Karl sees before Nangilima is the last fading light he experiences before he dies for real.

But it was still written to help dying children not to be afraid of death.

My gut/heart reaction to the fever dream interpretation is that it's too mechanistic, and ultimately, too cruel to be true. Pity Astrid cannot comment herself. ;)