2017 Reading Challenge discussion

Simple words, short sentences and the wisdom of innocence make these ten stories little nuggets to think about as you fall asleep and remember how the world looked to you when you were one metre fifteen tall.

To six year old Arvid, in 1950's Norway, mostly it looked set in its ways, inexplicable, but not unduly worrisome (except for the Cuban Missile Crisis, which precipitated four days of silence, because after all, what's the point of talking when the world's about to end?). Fragments of adult conversation break off from the main dialogue and create puzzles in his head. A robust adult who everyone calls Fatso when he's not present mustn't be called Fatso when he is.

For non-Norwegians, these stories would also "do" for "A book that was originally written in a different language". And for people born in the early 50's, they're a sweet trip back to when the world revolved around parents, siblings and schoolmates.