Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
I realise the whole revenge for hire has been done before, but I thought it was a fascinating and inspired idea for a Jonas Jonasson novel. I absolutely adored the previous books by the author, so grabbed at the chance of reading Sweet Sweet Revenge Ltd. Lo que más destaco es la pluma del autor, me gustaba mucho su forma de narrar pues la mayor gracia de la historia estaba ahí. Junto a su humor negro, el sarcasmo o las pequeñas críticas a la sociedad que iba intercalando en la narración. Además, era su forma de escribir lo que volvía el absurdo de las situaciones en algo coherente dentro de su propia historia. No tengo problema con las situaciones ridículas o casi imposibles mientras estas tengan sentido dentro de la misma lógica del libro y aquí desde el principio se da a entender que son posibles.
Jonasson's writing is irreverent everytime: to him, there is nothing sacrosanct. So the plot line is a mad caper that leaves you laughing but realizing just what is being flagged around the madness. The character sketches, including the most minor ones in the plot and how they relate to one another bring out in the best possible way how cultures clash but can also connect people. Amidst the hilarious tone from the scenes that unravel you will end up thinking about what is it that drives people to make judgements about others different from you. They say an elephant never forgets. The same goes for the self-proclaimed count in Dumas’ classic adventure novel. Revenge is rarely as beautiful as when the practitioner is not in a hurry. Edmond Dantès waited 24 years. In my new novel, one of the main characters fantasises about planting a hedge next to his neighbour’s plot, with the intention of letting it to grow until it obscures the sun for the neighbour’s carrot bed. He’d have to wait 500 years, but all good things comes to those who wait. Jonas Jonasson certainly seem to take pleasure in writing farces, comedy of errors that happen to somehow work out. Kevin and Jenny get their revenge on the cynical, opportunist Victor – who has no redeeming character at all. I enjoyed the fact that the young couple was assisted by the owner of Sweet Sweet Revenge, Ltd. A man who, like Victor, has little redeeming qualities except that his not a fascist. To me, the best parts were by far the dialogues. My favourite ones between Ole and Hugo. Those were the bits where I laughed the most. And the scene between Victor and the American whose name I already forgot. And the fact that there are different parts in the Bible which can be interpreted and used as it fits the situation. Hah!
Categories (# of Posts)
Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri on writing in Italian and the solitude at the centre of her new novel Tenía muchas ganas de leer al autor, sobre todo por "El viejo que saltó por la ventana y se largó", pero por distintos motivos siempre lo posponía. Así que cuando vi este nuevo libro lo tomé como mi oportunidad. Cattle (cows and goats), clubs (the fighting kind) and jam. Three items which often appear in this book :-P It took a bit to get into the book, in that of nearly all the characters who appear, there is a lot of history explaining how they came to the current events in the book. When you compare it to the first book of the author, it wasn't nearly as funny at first either. It didn't have that LOL quality either throughout the book. Paintings by the deceased artist, Irma Stern, play a significant role in this revenge plot. I did not expect that I would not only be entertained but that this book would inform me. I had not known that Irma Stern was an actual painter of now valuable works of art. Thanks to Google, I was able to view her paintings on the internet. I was also introduced to artists whose work was destroyed mainly by Hitler's contempt towards Impressionism but was able to view a few paintings that remained.
What though did put me off at times was the convenience in the plot points that seemed too hard to miss. Whenever the characters were in a fix, the convenient route was apparently taken for their exit and it did not sit well. Kevin and Jenny were the only ones who were highlighted throughout the book and they did stand out well. Victor, the nemesis unfortunately felt rushed up in a lot of places and his character could have been given a bit more shade to add fun to him. Jonas Jonasson’s books are just different. You can tell from just the title of his first novel, “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared,” a book that has sold millions of copies worldwide. Who would like this? If the quotes above appeal to your sense of humour you will love this book. If you like your to be serious I would give this a miss. I have always enjoyed books by Jonas Jonasson, so I was excited about reading this new work of his. Much like his other books, Sweet Sweet Revenge, Ltd is quirky but with a heart. A bunch of lovable, bumbling characters, with seemingly nothing in common, come together for a grand story.
Wrap Up
It is certainly a comedy (loosely speaking) of errors from start to finish. Featuring the most (literally as there is FAR too many of them) eccentric and outrageous cast of characters -who I’m sorry, some opinions were utterly abhorrent, making it extremely hard to invest in them (Tw/ mild racism and homophobia) which even if this was their ‘personality’ or the writers intention, was nevertheless extremely uncomfortable to read.
Furthermore,having very recently read the second book of the 100 years old man, the introduction of Maasai, Kenya etc didn't have the effect it would had if I haven't read said book. On the other hand, I liked the inspiration of the author to connect his story with the history of art,painting, art auctions, Irma Stern and so on.See on vana hea Jonasson: peadpööritav, tempokas, ülevaatlik ja kokkuvõtlik oma lihtsas sõnastuses, piisavalt vaimukas ja humoorikas. Ja nagu ikka, tõlkija peab suutma paadis püsida (suutis, muidugi suutis!). Overall, this was an entertaining read despite its issues, and my disappointment in it might have stemmed more from my high expectations than anything else. A comedy of errors that missed the mark for me, but still good enough to pass a few hours. Then we have the most bonkers plot (if you can call it that) and one I won’t even attempt to explain. Certainly it was fun here and there, but otherwise it’s ‘quirkiness’ very soon rubbed off and what was left was a silly, sluggish mess.
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