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Jayaprakash Satyamurthy's Reviews > The Brothers Lionheart

The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren
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bookshelves: childrens-fiction, fantasy

A strange if charming little book. It begins with the tragic deaths of two young brothers who are then reunited in the land of Ningiyama, where the world is still as it was in the age of sagas with many adventures to be had. However, the boys discover that not all adventures are worth having as they find themselves facing increasingly evil foes and long odds. The end of the story took me by surprise and I'm not sure what to make of it. Despite what a one-star review on this site claims, the ending actually was foreshadowed earlier on and the world after Ningiyama was named by the elder brother Lionheart. Still, it's a strange way to end a children's story and I'd like to know what an actual 10-year old reader (the suggested lowest age on my copy of this book) would make of it.
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Reading Progress

January 2, 2012 – Shelved
January 2, 2012 – Shelved as: childrens-fiction
January 2, 2012 – Shelved as: fantasy
Started Reading
January 3, 2012 – Finished Reading

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Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)

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message 1: by Valerie (new)
04 jan. 2012 07:34

Valerie Scandinavian art tends to be a bit odd. I remember in enthnomusicology being told that a lot of rollicking Scandinavian songs translate out with lyrics like "the cow fell off the roof and fractured her clavicle, and Granny's looking a bit peaky herself".


message 2: by Jayaprakash (new) - rated it 3 stars
04 jan. 2012 08:49

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy Heh, that's great! I listen to a lot of Scandinavian extreme metal music and some classical composers from the region, like Sibelius and Nielsen (two of the finest 20th century symphonists) and there is an certain sensibility in the mix of light and shade that is unexpected.


message 3: by Isabelle (the Book Dutchesses) (new) - rated it 4 stars
03 nov. 2014 19:01

Isabelle (the Book Dutchesses) I read this books years ago, probably around the age of 10 and I loved this book. To answer your question, the ending of the book gave me hope that there's always a next 'adventure' so even at a young age I really liked the ending.


message 4: by Emmanuelle (new) - rated it 5 stars
19 avr. 2015 21:09

Emmanuelle Maupassant I also read the book as a child, and the ending is what most stayed with me: the notion of continuing adventures beyond death - and the infinite of the unknown. Those final sentences still give a shiver of something unexplainable.


message 5: by Harleigh (new) - added it
21 juin 2017 18:16

Harleigh Beck I grew up with story and the ending never bothered me when I was little because we knew they got be together on the other side. Rusky finally finds his own courage and rescues Jonathan. When they jump and Rusky shouts "I see the light Jonathan, I see the light" still gives me goosebumps to this day and I'm now 30! The one thing I have always loved about Sweden, is that Swedish children's stories don't shy away from the nature of reality. The brothers Lionheart approaches the subject of illness, death and fear in a fantastic way that children can understand. People from other countries who dislike this story do so because they are unfamiliar with Swedish culture which is understandable! This story is one of the most influential stories of my childhood 👍


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