Do you remember the witch Sabrina and her feline companion, Salem? Now imagine that Sabrina is a slightly blasé, twenty-something-year-old corporate careerist who gets caught up in a criminal scandal with a magical origin, and instead of a male cat, she has an obese - and very touchy - pug on hand.
Lennart Malmkvist and the peculiar pug Buri Bolmena appeared in bookstores in November, being at the same time the debut of the author, Lars Simon, when it comes to Polish-language editions of his work. Quirky – or should I say quaint? – the title and a nicely made cover with a cute doggy on the front and an intriguing description on the back undoubtedly arouse interest at first sight What do we really find inside?
I need a magic teacher … or a visit to a therapist
First of all, it should be clearly stated that we are dealing with a novel that to some extent belongs to the sub-genre of fantasy called urban fantasy . So we will not visit any fairy-tale lands, and the main character will not find a gate – or a wardrobe – to an alternative reality. Here, magic and other unrealistic elements are much more subtle, and represent a hidden but integral part of our modern world.
For this reason, the title Lennart Malmkvist experiences the collision with the magic side of reality quite strongly and at first thinks what each of us would probably think in his place: I think I have something wrong with my head! It is hardly surprising for him, because inexplicable and seemingly accidental supernatural phenomena are accompanied by completely tangible, stressful events. His bizarre but kind neighbor is murdered, Lennart loses his job after ruining an important presentation, becomes the guardian of a fat pug completely against his will, and a colleague from the company disappears after spending the night together and starts harassing him with disturbing calls. After all, there’s more than enough to get nervous, right?
Sorcerers also call the police from time to time
Without revealing details, I can therefore write that a large part of the novel is primarily about dealing with life’s vicissitudes and about getting used to mysteries, new situations and experiencing the impossible. The clearly fantastic themes take on importance only at the end of the book – but nothing wrong with that, because Lennart Malmkvist and the peculiar pug Buri Bolmen are doing quite well on a detective and moral basis.
I admit that I started reading with some anxiety. The description loaded with peculiarities and the surprisingly “funny” cover made me suspect that I might be dealing with another young adult of low-flight or with one of the “crazy” Scandinavian novels that simply throw more and more quirks at the reader by testing how long it will hold and basing its value on a quick and easy shock value . Fortunately, I was completely wrong!
Both everyday and unusual problems of Lennart and his thoughts about them managed to engage me to some extent, because they touch on many topics, especially for young people who try to find themselves in urban reality and define their attitude to issues such as family, career and broadly speaking understood responsibility. All this, however, is only a background, because the title character is constantly struggling with an increasingly complicated and dangerous criminal puzzle. Its solution will depend not only on his own health and life, but also on his relatives, and maybe even the good of the whole world!
It is this plot that constitutes the main strength of the novel, as it is surprisingly well planned and realized for a work that does not belong to the genre of classic crime novels. It keeps the reader tense and constantly fueling the urge to know the final answers. In addition, the author skillfully places the clues. They are not so obvious that we will be able to predict the ending from the middle of the book, but neither are they so confusing that the solution seems unbelievable and made us completely confused.
It’s… colorful and fun in cool Sweden?
Another thing that immediately catches the eye as soon as we turn the first few pages is the author’s distinctive style. From beginning to end, our reading will be accompanied by irony, interwoven here and there with biting remarks and somewhat absurd events or observations. This is the tone of both the narrative and most of Lennart’s internal monologues, and thus the lion’s share of the book. However, I consider it a huge plus of this position. The way of writing Lars Simon is absolutely not boring, and the way of thinking depicted in this way lifts the spirit in a way – after all, there are no such adversities or such people that you cannot silently mock yourself about, or situations so difficult that they cannot be funny from some point of view. These jokes are really successful – reading,
You don’t have to make any special effort to “squeeze the ridiculous” out of a text with such a gallery of intriguing characters. In addition to Lennart, we have the good-natured but bizarre Bury Bolmen, who ultimately inherits the protagonist’s shop with “magic” junk, a plastic ring obtained from a promotional packet of cookies and dog accessories with a bowl decorated with the inscription “sweet pug” at the head. A “motherly” neighbor of Italian origin, compulsively cooking and easily moved. A friend of the main character of a computer hacker who spends his nights at World of Warcraftand says goodbye to people with the phrase “may the Force be with you.” The police commissioner and the local police commissioner seem ineptly playing “good cop and bad cop.” And this is just the tip of the iceberg… a mountain on the summit of which is undoubtedly the snappy – literally and figuratively – Bölthorn the pug.
Where was the spoiler alert when i needed one …?
The very publication of the book Lennart Malmkvist and the peculiar pug Buri Bolmena cannot really be faulted. The cover, although soft, is nicely printed, quite durable and visually accessible. Inside, we will not experience typos, translation errors or any other defects. However, it is not entirely perfect, as I have to point out two things at this point – one, perhaps insignificant, the other – quite the opposite. The first slip-up, the smaller one, concerns the title of the novel. For some reason the name of Mr. Bolmen is not changed here (… peculiar pug Buri Bolmena ), which is not in accordance with Polish grammar, nor with the interior of the book, where this name is changed each time ( Bury Bolmen). The second “but” concerns the description of this work, which can be found everywhere, from online bookstores to the back side of our copy. Unfortunately, this description, apart from encouraging us to read, will very effectively present us with almost all the twists and more important events on more or less one hundred and fifty initial pages, which is a lot. This, in turn, further strengthened the impression in me that although I read and read, I still cannot get out of the introduction. For the whole novel – and this is my only real objection to the content itself – is written in such a way that it is very clearly visible that it is the first part of a planned series, not a single work. Of course, the whole thing is closed so competently that we will not run out of a properly guided climax in the finale and a sense of that we have reached the end of a certain stage of the story being told. Nevertheless, while reading it, we will quickly learn that many of the announced events or plans by Lennart Malmkvist for the future do not have a chance to fit into the pages that are still to be read. For a long time, therefore, we will (rightly) expect a certain dissatisfaction. However, I believe that anyone who reaches for this title will ultimately be as infatuated with it as I am, and with me, will impatiently await the publication of the next volume. For a long time, therefore, we will (rightly) expect a certain dissatisfaction. However, I believe that anyone who reaches for this title will ultimately be as infatuated with it as I am, and with me, will impatiently await the publication of the next volume. For a long time, therefore, we will (rightly) expect a certain dissatisfaction. However, I believe that anyone who reaches for this title will ultimately be as infatuated with it as I am, and with me, will impatiently await the publication of the next volume.
