What do You think about Naïve. Super (2005)?
Naive. Super was the book that started my newly found interest in reading.I read this book in a time where I really needed to something to cheer me up, or at least to take my thoughts away from the dismal situation I was facing. And let me tell you, Naive. Super did that to an extend that made me quite sad when the book ended.The premise of the novel is that a guy around my age just suddenly collapses in desperation and finds his life completely lacking of anything. He then takes this situation even further and literally gets rid of practically everything he has, to a point where he is left with two friends (one of whom we find out to be nice, and the other not so much), his brother's apartment and a handful of things you need to living.And from there on, the story goes through different things one can find enjoyable in life regardless of the situation. This includes a ton of lists, and a ball, and I cannot tell you how much I could relate into these simple yet heartwarming and wise thoughts of the main character while reading this book. The only thing that left bothering me was the inclusion of an infant, whereas it could have easily been replaced by something much more appealing like a corgi! A corgi instead of the useless baby would have made this book perfect, and it could probably have offered better wisdom as well.Naive. Super is a superb feel-good book and deserves to be revisited sometime, anytime you need to detach your mind from your worries.
—Olli
Easy to read, fun, simple, yet insightful. The protagonist is a young adult who suddenly hits the great wall of meaningless in his life and takes some time off to contemplate his existence; someplace that I find myself from time to time, while not a self-help or motivational book, it certainly did show me that I don't have to be all negative about such situations and that there is a better way to cope with it.As a tribute to the book, the list of things that used to excite me when I was a child (some if not most still do):- spending summers at my grandparents summer cottage- riding a bike from dawn till dusk- exploring places, climbing trees- pretending to be different animals- playing hide-and-seek- playing action figures with my friend- building different things from Lego- building hideouts- grandma's cooking (especially her meat dumplings)- going to the sea with my parents- cats and kittens- visiting museums- parties my parents used to have with their friends, with us kids meeting as well- kites- encyclopedias on every possible thing- collecting dinosaurs, I always liked predators more- skipping school due to illness and watching cartoon network for whole day instead- summer cottage fireplace- rummaging through attics\storerooms\basements at home, my grandparents' or at their summer cottage- watching ants- playing war - going to the zoo- Ligo holiday- seeing first snow and running out to play with it- the smell of soldering iron when my dad worked at home- chocolate eggs- learning how to read and that feeling when the book captivates you (Lord of the Rings was the first book that I felt really excited about)
—Benjamin
TODO + read to get accustomed with new wave of Norwegian lit+ story of withdrawal from society, of understanding one's way in the modern society+ protagonist is a late bloomer, college student about to drop out, no plans, only a thorough misunderstanding of the why+/- similar, but not as good as Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano, many other Japanese manga about coming of age, The Glass Bead Game of Hermann Hesse, The Alchemist of Paulo Coelho... The competition is simply too good. But this one is a reasonable writ on the topic, matches well the title, and reflects both modern society and the Nordic culture- the writing is immature in parts+/- the love story left un-developed+ the side-story about brotherly love is touching+ some of the side-stories are good, several could reflect Norwegian view of the world+ the uncertain voice and the first-person writing fit well
—Michael Scott
