Appelsinpiken
I picked up a copy of Jostein Gaarder's highly acclaimed Sophie's World completely randomly off a book swap shelf at the office a while ago. I loved Sophie's World, so I had high expectations when I followed on with The Orange Girl. This book loses out on the philosophy and meaning-of-life musing of Sophie's World to focus on a more character-driven story of a boy who finds a letter from his long-deceased father, setting him off on a series of adventures to discover the secret of his father's connection to the "Orange Girl".
Since the philosophy and meaning-of-life musing is what appealed to me in Sophie's World, I was a bit downhearted to not find it here. But the story is captivating and well told, and, importantly, very unique. I projected myself into the protagonist's position, and enjoyed the journey I was taken on.
It's interesting to think that Norway came in with an erudite and philosophical writer, while I had a tough time with Sweden coming up with anything other than hard-boiled crime and detective books. Who knew that two bordering countries with a long, shared history could have such different literary landscapes?
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