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 na茂ve art. He often uses irony, exaggeration and humor.
Na茂ve. Super. is a novel by the Norwegian Erlend Loe. It was first published in 1996 in Norwegian, where it was very popular. The story is narrated by a man in his mid-twenties who suddenly becomes disillusioned and confused by life and therefore quits university.
The narrator becomes fascinated by both modern scientific theories of time and relativity. He reads a book by Paul Davies and also engages in repetitive childish activities such as playing with wooden BRIO children's toys and repeatedly throwing a ball against a wall. In the end, the narrator visits his brother in New York City and returns to Norway with a renewed sense of meaning in life.
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.
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.
莽ok tatl谋. 莽ok huzur verici. ben yazar谋n ilk okudu臒um roman谋 "doppler"den daha 莽ok be臒endim kesinlikle. zamana kafay谋 takm谋艧 bir gencin kendini k枚t眉 hissetti臒i bir d枚nemle ba艧layan roman谋 y眉z眉n眉zde bir g眉l眉msemeyle bitireceksiniz. hayata, iyi insanlara, dostlu臒a, karde艧li臒e ve sevgiye yeniden inanman谋z谋 sa臒layabilir :) ve liste yapmay谋 sevenlere bire bir ^.^
kuzey'in basitli臒inin, bu sade ya艧am felsefesinin her sanat dal谋na bu kadar yans谋mas谋 ne kadar muhte艧em bir 艧ey. kitap hakk谋nda agos'a yazd谋m:
Back in 2006 or so Amazon had this 鈥淟istmania鈥� feature where, youse guessed it, people made lists of stuff to share with others. I鈥檇 waste way too much time browsing those lists but I鈥檇 get recs for some pretty decent books to read that were similar to books I鈥檇 read before. One such book that appeared a lot was Erlend Loe鈥檚 Naive. Super, which I read a few pages of and decided wasn鈥檛 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鈥檒l 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 entertaining so was this pigslop meant to be deep and profound? Because it weren鈥檛! 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 probable autism by showing how he scrapbooks his life in an OCD way like the main character of Mark Haddon鈥檚 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? It wasn鈥檛 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鈥檚 the 鈥�90s too as everyone faxes each other instead of texting/emailing. Nothing worthwhile either so humans have remained boring idiots whatever technology we鈥檙e playing with!
Nowt happens in Naive. Super and it鈥檚 a total crapwad novel. I鈥檇 say this was a case of style over substance but - what style?
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 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:
[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.]
U po膷etku sam bio malo zami拧ljen nad stilom kojim je pisana knjiga, jednostavnim i iskrenim, bez ukra拧avanja i s mnogo listi i nabrajanja. Ali kako sam dalje 膷itao, shvatio sam da gutam tekst i kako mi se svi膽a jednostavno i mo啪da pomalo naivno razmi拧ljanje glavnog junaka pri膷e.
On je dobri膷ina, iskren i pomalo izgubljen, fasciniran i prestra拧en jer ne zna 拧to mu budu膰nost donosi. Stoga odlu膷uje napraviti stanku i razmisliti malo o svemu. Na prvi pogled se 膷ini kako gubi vrijeme razmi拧ljaju膰i o svemu i sva膷emu, ali to je samo lukav拧tina. Jer vrijeme neumorno ide, ili vrijeme ustvari uop膰e ne postoji...i nema straha od nepoznatog, nema straha da mora拧 odmah znati 拧to 啪eli拧 u 啪ivotu, ili da to znanje promijeni拧 tu i tamo.
Moderno dru拧tvo vr拧i pritisak na nas sa pojmom prolaznosti vremena i nevjerojatnom koli膷inom izbora tko i 拧to mo啪emo biti; bombardiraju nas svim mogu膰nostima koje smo propustili (a mogli smo) biti a to uzrokuje nervozu i stres. Loe je na拧ao jednostavan, pou膷an i kulturan na膷in da ka啪e toj modernoj filozofiji da odjebe.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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鈥檛 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 Na茂ve. 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鈥檓 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 hard to fault the brother. People who need a villain in a book will not like Na茂ve. Super because this is a novel filled with nice people. Nice, quirky and not entirely familiar people, but nice people nonetheless.
I was really looking forward to reading 鈥楴a茂ve. Super鈥�. As I started reading, however, the word 鈥榪uirky鈥� kept coming to mind, and then I realized I didn鈥檛 exactly know what quirky means, so I looked it up and saw it was 鈥� unusual in an attractive and interesting way鈥� . It was certainly unusual, quite off-beat, but I didn鈥檛 find it attractive or interesting. I was quite bored and just wanted it to end. This doesn鈥檛 mean it is bad. It just means it isn鈥檛 my kind of book.
- It's different. But in a nice way. Very quirky. - Is the protagonist really dumb, really smart, or really, err, na茂ve? 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 B酶rre. B酶rre'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.
Ovo mi je druga Luova knjiga. Za sada sam zaklju膷ila da Lu voli: - bicikle - obrano mleko - losove - 拧umu - ljude kojima sjajno ide, a onda kvrcnu i odmetnu se - smenjivanje jako kratkih i dugih re膷enica - spiskove
Mnogo mi je 啪ao 拧to N.S. nisam pro膷itala barem onda kada je iza拧la kod nas jer: - sam sada prematora da ozbiljno shvatim du拧evnu krizu od koje osoba postane ful-autisti膷na (i jako simpati膷na u svojoj novoj prostodu拧nosti) u trenutku ali se za mesec dana sve sredi, msm 啪ao mi je zbog spojlera ali realno i nije neki. - pro拧ao je trenutak. Mogu samo da zamislim kako bi '96. godine bilo strava 膷itati o korelaciji izme膽u gravitacije i protoka vremena, ali sada svi pratimo barem po 2 FB stranice o kosmosu i teorije koje nikad ne膰emo uspeti da shvatimo nam cure na u拧i.
Ne mogu ni da ga ocenim. Valjda je super. Samo naivan.
鈥淚 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.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 have enough trouble with useful information, never mind being burdened with what is useless.鈥�
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.
鈥淭he only question that really counts, must be thins one: are things getting better or are they getting worse?鈥�
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.
Izgleda da mom senzibilitetu ne odgovaraju skandinavski pisci. Tako膽e, koliko god ovo bilo na isti fazon kao Valjarevi膰ev stil pisanja, ne verujem da 膰e mi ijedan drugi pisac probuditi ose膰anja kao 拧to to ume Valjarevi膰.
Valio! Dar viena norveg懦 kalba perskaityta knyga, skirta suaugusiems. Jau膷iuosi d啪iugiai ir netgi i拧did啪iai, staiga per臈jusi nuo vaiki拧k懦 knygeli懦 prie rimtesni懦 veikal懦. Ai拧ku, 拧i膮 knyg膮 pavadinti rimta gal ir ne visai teisinga. Bet jos nerasite vaiki拧k懦 knyg懦 skyriuje, taigi dedu sau plius膮. Ir raginu visus, besimokan膷ius norveg懦 kalbos, j膮 perskaityti. O jeigu norveg懦 kalba jums neaktuali, skaitykite lietuvi拧kai. Knyg膮 "Naivus. Super" 2004 metais i拧leido Vagos leidykla. Truput臈lis apie 拧i膮 ironi拧k膮, 拧ypsen膮 kelian膷i膮 knyg膮. Ji pilna mums visiems gerai pa啪寞stam懦 min膷i懦 - apie gyvenim膮, b臈gant寞 laik膮, pasaul寞, meil臋 ir draugyst臋. 膶ia sutiksite keistok膮 veik臈j膮, kuris labai m臈gsta 寞vairiausius s膮ra拧us, sudarin臈ja juos pats ir skaito kit懦 pa啪寞stam懦 sudarytus. 艩tai siun膷iu ir a拧 sav膮j寞 s膮ra拧膮, apie tai, k膮 labiausiai m臈gau vaikyst臈je:
-stebuklus; -kates; -knygas; -ledus; -ryti vy拧nias su kauliukais; -啪urnaliuk膮 "Naminukas"; -laipioti ir u啪strigti med啪iuose; -svajoti; -va啪in臈ti riedu膷iais; -organizuoti gatv臈s vaik懦 be啪d啪ioniuk懦 diskotekas/koncertus seneliams (pasirodymas 寞vyko tik vien膮 kart膮, bet buvo rimt懦 min膷i懦 寞kurti grup臋 "Rokoko 5"); -klausin臈ti senelio - kas tau labiau patinka: ma拧ina ar dviratis, o kod臈l, na kod臈l kod臈l ir t.t.ir pan.; -apgaudin臈ti seser寞 ir pasakoti i拧galvotas istorijas, pvz. kad m奴s懦 pastog臈je gyvena Pep臈 Ilgakojin臈, ir kad a拧 pas j膮 da啪nai lankausi. Ji taip pat galinti ateiti, kai a拧 ten nueisiu. Tereikia 寞sib臈g臈ti ir trenktis 寞 sien膮 viename i拧, antrame auk拧te esan膷i懦, kambari懦. Tada ji pateks 寞 lift膮, kuris nuve拧 pas Pep臋 ir mane... Sorry, sese :) -skambinti bet kaip surinktais numeriais ir pad臈ti ragel寞 (sorry in general); -ra拧yti la拧kus (pana拧ius 寞 拧寞). -keliauti (nepaisant to, kad da啪nai tekdavo vemti ma拧inoje) ir -gyventi.
Juk gyvenimas, kaip sako Erlend Loe knygos herojus ir turb奴t ne jis vienas, yra kaip kelion臈.
"Sit sam i pospan. I imam sme拧ak na usnama." Citat pred kraj, koji opisuje moje trenutno stanje, a njegova druga re膷enica i stanje za vreme dru啪enja sa Luom. Ne radi se o humoru uz koji se smeje拧 na glas, ve膰 o idejama, strukturi re膷enica i na膷ina na koji prenosi misli...
Osim toga, ovaj kratak roman govori o krizi identiteta glavnog mladog lika. Tra啪enje smisla u 啪ivotu i svetu oko sebe, kao i tra啪enju svoje uloge u svemu tome. Jednostavna filozofija (npr. "Pokloni su va啪ni. Mali pokloni su 膷esto bolji nego veliki. A oni koji su srednji su retko ne拧to posebno."), izra啪ena kroz jednostavne i kratke re膷enice, a opet ne拧to 拧to se mo啪e nazvati literatura. Mnogo dobrih stvari u 啪ivotu je jednostavnih.
"Ne 啪elim mnogo toga. Ali, 啪elim da mi bude lepo. 沤elim da 啪ivim jednostavnim i dobrim 啪ivotom sa mnogo lepih trenutaka i mnogo zabave."
To je otprilike i deviza koje se autor dr啪ao pi拧u膰i svoj drugi roman.