Becky Hunter’s Reviews > Eldsjäl > Status Update

Hello, first-act guns! I’ve been waiting for your third-act reappearance.

At this point, whether this ends up a 3-star review or a 5-star review all hinges on the ending. I’m praying Axel lands it solidly.

It’s tempting to rush right on through to the end, especially now that I’m only having to look up a few words per chapter, but I need this to last until I can get my hands on the Swedish edition of Backman’s latest.

Another satisfying sentence to read from the future, regarding Sweden: “Det förlovade landet, populärkulturens vagga för varje österbottning.” (“The promised land, cradle of popular culture for every Ostrobothnian.”)

Glimpse of a stereotypically Finnish worldview: ”Den segaste och djupaste vänskapen, den man brutit ett helt liv, klarar av tystnaden.” (The toughest and deepest friendships, the ones that last a whole life, can handle silence.)

Taking my time to learn the new words— in the event that someone wants to have a conversation in Swedish with me about what happens behind-scenes in Finnish community theater, I could now almost do it. If only I weren’t so shit at pronunciation.

Fun passage here about the mixed feelings that come with being something of a local celebrity—if Axel ever has time/interest to write another book, now he could include a bit about being something of an international celebrity

New summer Swedish project!

It’s embarrassing how much I paid to have this shipped from Finland, but I was driven to it by post-Eurovision depression.