fuckthisshit's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Heart warming and absolutely hilarious. Feel good rating is completely off the charts
dorothy_gale's review against another edition
3.0
FANTASTIC SWEDISH VERSION OF FORREST GUMP. fantastic [fan-tas-tik] adjective. : conceived or seemingly conceived by unrestrained fancy : so extreme as to challenge belief. And not in a good way. Whoever wrote the "quirky and utterly unique" description hadn't read or watched Forrest Gump. Unfortunately, I was not among the 65% of Goodreads peeps who could suspend disbelief and give it 4 or 5 stars. It had 4 stars for the first 40% where I lost interest, then dropped to 3 stars for the remainder. It used the same formula as FG, jumping from the present back to the past to tell stories of the main character's scrapes with significant world events/people. Only this book was heavy on the foreign leader name-dropping, repetitiously. I admit I was sucked in by the enticing title (I have a soft spot for old people). I'm writing this review when only 80% complete and am only half-interested, waiting impatiently to find out what happens after Swedish Forrest finally figures out he doesn't need a bus and can walk to his final destination. The elephant's appearance was amusingly synchronistic, given it's my third book this past week to have one. My final rating: 3.4 stars, which is below the 3.82 that 224,586 others averaged. It reminded me (again) to stick to my selection criteria: to read a book of 3.8, it would need over one million raters (indicating popularity likely caused by word-of-mouth buzz).
adidooo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
monicarobotin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
ikon_biotin_jungle_lumen's review against another edition
5.0
The most thoroughly enjoyable book I’ve had the pleasure of reading in years. After catching on with the absurdity about 30% of the way in, I laughed my way through to the end. The style feels antique (in a classic way), which is quite appropriate.
The English translator has done a spectacular job. I cannot attest to whether anything was lost in translation since my limited Swedish vocabulary was borrowed from a cooking muppet. That being said, the book has excellent pacing, charming narrative style, and is entirely consistent with itself. What more could one ask for?
The English translator has done a spectacular job. I cannot attest to whether anything was lost in translation since my limited Swedish vocabulary was borrowed from a cooking muppet. That being said, the book has excellent pacing, charming narrative style, and is entirely consistent with itself. What more could one ask for?
bookitalum's review against another edition
2.0
I only finished this book because I can’t stand leaving things unfinished, but I knew within 1 or 2 chapters that this book was not for me. If you start it and dislike it, just stop reading. It doesn’t get better.
beelzebean's review against another edition
2.0
TL;DR review: Skip the book, watch the film instead.
I could say a lot about this book but I will sum up my review with the main thing I disliked about it: way too much plot. It’s a shame because I love whimsy and It had so much potential, but the excessive amount of plot and the unlikeable main character made the book quite boring and unendearing.
I will also say that I did not like the portrayal of women in this book.
UPDATE:
I watched the film and actually enjoyed it to some extent. It had the charm of a foreign film and even though Allan was still a one dimensional character, he was a little bit more likeable. The film also cut out a lot of the excess plot.
I could say a lot about this book but I will sum up my review with the main thing I disliked about it: way too much plot. It’s a shame because I love whimsy and It had so much potential, but the excessive amount of plot and the unlikeable main character made the book quite boring and unendearing.
I will also say that I did not like the portrayal of women in this book.
UPDATE:
I watched the film and actually enjoyed it to some extent. It had the charm of a foreign film and even though Allan was still a one dimensional character, he was a little bit more likeable. The film also cut out a lot of the excess plot.
memequeensopsop's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bekahwright's review against another edition
4.0
Favorite quote:
“Now you can see how sensible it is not to start out your day by guessing what might happen. After all, how long would I have had to go on guessing before I guessed this? “ -Alan Karlsson
“Now you can see how sensible it is not to start out your day by guessing what might happen. After all, how long would I have had to go on guessing before I guessed this? “ -Alan Karlsson