Tuesday 17 April 2018

Rikinkeltainen taivas - Kjell Westö

'What's happened in the book?' Daniel asked me many times while I was reading this.
'Nothing much,' I responded, every time.


I downloaded BookBeat on my phone mostly so that I could listen to more Finnish books (looking at you, Audible) and this was the first book I picked up, mostly because it's one of my mum's recent favourites and also rather popular otherwise.

Rikinkeltainen taivas ('Sulfur-Yellow Sky', free translation) is Helsinki-based author Kjell Westö's seventh novel. Like his previous works, the original text is in Swedish ('Den svavelgula himlen') but I read the Finnish translation. The book is set in Helsinki and spans from the 1960s to the present day. It's the story of the Narrator (he never gets a name, how cool is that? Fight Club feelings.) meeting the wealthy Alex and Stella Rabell and their lives both together and apart. And honestly, that's all that really happens in this book - the rest of it is just life.

It's a little weird, granted. There's no real drama arc or really anything else. However, Westö writes these characters so real and genuine, I found myself really enjoying the real life of someone who doesn't even exist. This is because you rarely get a real person you don't even know telling you about their life this honestly.

I didn't give this a full 5/5 because... well. I hear a lot of people say this wasn't Westö's best work and I feel like he can probably do a little better still, and I want to leave some space for that. Maybe he could do all this, but also have something happen in it?

I hope one day I'll be able to read Westö's works in Swedish (don't laugh at me for this, mum!). Sometimes in this book people specifically speak Swedish and sometimes Finnish, and that just doesn't really translate.

2 comments:

  1. NOW LIFE IS WORTH LIVING WITH THE HELP OF EDWARD JONES FINANCE

    Hello Every One, My Name is Trevor Cohen and life is worth living comfortably for me and my family now. I really have never seen goodness shown to me this much in my life as i am a struggling Dad with three kids and i have been going through a serious problem as my son encountered a terrible accident last week, and the doctors states that he needs to undergo a delicate surgery for him to be able to walk again, and i could not afford the bill for his surgery then i went to the bank for a loan and they turn me down stating that credit score was bad, from there i run to my father and some of my friends but they could not help, then when i was surfing through the net i came across a loan lender EDWARD JONES who provides loans at an affordable interest rate of 2% and i have been hearing about so many scams on the internet but at this time, in my desperate situation i had no choice than to give it a try and surprisingly it was all like a dream, i received a loan of $85,000.00 and i payed for my son surgery and thank GOD today he is okay and can walk. I could in turn start something profitable with the remaining amount and i said to my self that i will shout loud to the world of the wonders of GOD to me through this GOD fearing lender EDWARD JONES and i will advise anyone in genuine and serious need of loan to contact this GOD fearing Company via: Jonesloanfinance@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Are you tired of seeking loans and Mortgages, have you been turned down constantly By your banks and other financial institutions,We offer any form of loan to individuals and corporate bodies at low interest rate. If you are interested in taking a loan, feel free to contact us today, We promise to offer you the best services ever. Just give us a try, because a trial will convince you.What are your Financial needs?Do you need a business loan?Do you need a personal loan?Do you want to buy a car?Do you want to refinance?Do you need a mortgage loan?Do you need a huge capital to start off your business proposal or expansion? Have you lost hope and you think there is no way out, and your financial burdens still persists? Contact us (infoloanfirm8@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete