The Ballad of a Broken Nose

by Arne Svingen, Kari Dickson (Translator)

Bart is an eternal optimist. At thirteen years old, he’s had a hard life. But Bart knows that things won’t get any better if you have a negative attitude. His mother has pushed him into boxing lessons so that Bart can protect himself, but Bart already has defense mechanisms: he is relentlessly positive…and he loves opera.

Listening to—and singing—opera is Bart’s greatest escape, but he’s too shy to share this with anyone. Then popular Ada befriends him and encourages him to perform at the school talent show. Ada can’t keep a secret to save her life, but Bart bonds with her anyway, and her openness helps him realize that his troubles are not burdens that he must bear alone.

Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Music, Childrens, International, International Literature

214 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Подходящая книжка, чтобы с детства приучать читателей к скандинавской литературе. Главный герой — чудесный мальчик, занимается боксом и поет в туалете, готовится участвовать в концерте и мечтает о велосипеде… Вы спросите, где тут скандинавская литература. Ах, ну да:
живет наш герой в трущобах с пьющей мамой и соседями-героинщиками, из которых «90% — очень добрые». Поэтому лучший друг будет предостерегать его от наркотиков, ласковая мама — зависать до утра в баре и забывать купить еды, а бабушка станет руководителем субботнике, потому что бабушки всегда всех выручают. Мне пришлось объяснять сыну, что такое «кома», «передозировка» и проч., в общем, простор для разговоров о важном!)

Как во всех хороших детских книжках, добро все равно победит, даже если подарок на день рождения будет украден у какого-то нерасторопного горожанина.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family troubles, school troubles, and money troubles make Bart's life less than ideal. Now he's maybe made friends with a cute girl, but unfortunately she's outed him both as being poor and as being able to sing opera, something he only does alone in his bathroom. Everyone is looking at him, and he doesn't like it. Nor does he like it that his mother is gravely ill and that so many people including his grandmother are seeing through the lies about his home life.

This book was very hard for me to read. I've found myself, now that I am a mother, being increasingly upset by books about kids with unreliable parents. Parents who are absent, or uncaring, or abusive, or addicted. Kids shouldn't have to lie for their parents. They shouldn't go to bed hungry, and pretend they aren't, so that their awful parents feel better about themselves. But I know that it happens, and I understand that there might be kids who read this book and see some of their own situation in it, and are cheered or inspired. So there's that. But for me a lot of it was too upsetting. Bart has so much against him, from his mom's issues and their poverty, to being bullied at school, and wanting to sing but having terrible stage fright. Things came out all right in the end, not like totally fairy tale all right, but definitely good things came his way, which was great. But it also left me, an adult, with a lot of unanswered questions.

[Lamiya Goycayeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Paltarlarımın hamısı artıq balacalaşıb. Bu həmişə belə olur. Amma bir gün bunun mənim də başıma gələcəyi ağlıma gəlməmişdi".

13 yaşlı Bart valideynlik edən uşaqdır. Vaxtından əvvəl böyümək məcburiyyətində qalıb. Bunun bir çox səbəbi var: onu tək böyüdən xəstə anası, kasıblıq, yaşadığı gecəqondu kimi darısqal həyatı, tez-tez dava-dalaş salan narkoman qonşuları, məktəbdəki yadlıq... Bütün bunlara baxmayaraq o, gələcəyə ümidlə baxır. Çünki problemlərdən qaçış vasitəsi kimi musiqiyə sığınıb.

Bir onu bilirəm ki, insanın düşdüyü vəziyyət, yaşadığı şərait nə qədər ağır olursa olsun, ürəyini həyəcanlandıran, qəlbini titrədən bir məşğuliyyəti, həvəsi varsa, həmin insan həyatdan dördəlli yapışacaq.

[Mustafa Rushan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avni Doşinin "Yanıq qənd" romanını oxuyurdum... ağır tempdə davam edən bu romanın ortasında kəsməli oldum... Klubu kitab təqdimatına dəvət eləmişdilər... Kitabdan xəbərsiz getmək istəmirdim... çox çəkmədi bitirdim...
Başa düşdüyüm qədər kitab yanq-edaltdır... Uşaq ədəbiyyatı deyil... romanın baş qəhrəmanın yaşına (13) baxanda belə qərar verirsən...
Bart yaşı az olsa da, promlemlər burulğanındadır... anası demək olar ki, alkaqolik və işsizdir... atası bilinmir... onu heç anası da tanımır... məktəbdə az da olsa bulinqə məruz qalır... istəksiz boks məşqlərinə gedir - boksa yanaşması xoşuma gəlmişdi....
- Boks elə bir idman növüdür ki, mütləq vurmalısan. Sən isə vurmursan.
- Amma mən yaxşı müdafiə oluna bilirəm. (Amma özümü yaxşı müdafiə edirəm) Yanaşmasına dünyanın ehtiyacı var...
Bartın yeganə özünü qorxmadan-çəkinmədən reallaşdırdığı yer tualetdir... Operanı çox sevir... Mənə isə opera maraqlı gəlir... səsi də pis deyil... Ancaq tualetdə oxuyur... Ancaq orada qurdlarını tökə bilir...
Yadıma gəlir, oxuduğum məktdəbdə volkmen gətirməyə icazə yox idi... mən isə musiqidən ötrü sözün əsl mənasında "ölürdüm".... hava kimi, su kimi bir şey idi mənim üçün... xərcliyimi yığıb albomlar alırdım... sonra öyrəndim ki, anam hamısını tullayıb... bir çamadan... Hə, çox sevirdim... bir çarəm qalırdı... gizlin tualetdə qulaq asmaq... Bart kimi...
Romanın ən xoş tərəfi nikbinliyidir... Oğlan problemlər içində üzsə də, həyatdan küsmür... olduğu kimi qəbul edir... dəyişdirməyə çalışmır... O deyir: "Mənim müsbət cəhətim odur ki, həyatda hər şeyin yolunda olmadığını qəbul edə bilirəm"... vacib məqamdır...
Düzdür mənim ətrafımda bu cür ailələr yoxdur... elə bilirəm, bizim cəmiyyətdə bu cür ailələr azdır... amma bu cür düşünən insanlar var... hər nə qədər ana alkaqolik olsa da, oğlunu çox sevir... bu Bartın xoşbəxtliyidir... o da olmasaydı...
Tərcümə də yaxşı idi... Vüsalə və Aytən xanımı təbrik edirəm... mənə çatışmayan yeganə şey: mətnin şirinliyi idi... dilimizin şirinliyini burada duya bilmədim...
Günorta tədbirdəyik... buyurun gəlin... imzalatmağa...

[Murad Cəfərov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mence, bunu qeyd etmek lazimdir. Duz mayin 1den oxumaga basladigim bu kitabi mehz indi avqustun 22-i qutardim. Niye bu qeder cekdiyini hec ozum de bilmirem, amma bunun kitabla hec bir elaqesi yoxdur. Kitab o qeder sirin ve umid dolu idi ki, oxuduqca Bartin fikirlerini, onun ozu ile, etraf muhit ile mubarizesini sevmemek mumkun deyil. 13 yasli birinin dilinden danisildigi ucun kitab sade cumlelerden, fikirlerden, tesvirlerden ibaret idi, ancaq bezen ele yerde ele fikirler deyilirdi ki, dusunmeden davam etmek mumkun deyildi. Men kitabi sevdim, dusunurem ki, basladigim muddetde ara vermeden oxusaydim, kitabi bundan daha cox seve bilerdim.

[Əliəkbər Ağazadə · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 məni öz yeniyetməliyimə aparan möhtəşəm kitab idi.

[Hamid Babayev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çox minnətdaram əməyi keçən hər kəsə bu kitabın kəşfi üçün!

2000ci illərdə təkrar-təkrar çəkilən standard 6.5 imdb balı olan filmlərdə olan klişelərlə dolu idi, söz yox, amma yenə də o filmlərə hər dəfə necə oturub baxıramsa sona qədər, kitabı da səhər başladım indi bitirdim. Ağıllı yazılan çox şey var idi ❤️

[Kovaxka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Az Egy törött orr balladája talán jobb cím lett volna, de másba nem tudok belekötni. Illetve a borító sem tetszik. Valószínűleg nem vettem volna meg, ha nem @AeS ajánlja, de a sorozattal egyébként is jó a tapasztalatom. A skandinávok meg a hollandok valahogy nagyon ráéreznek az ifjúsági és egyben érzékenyítő témákra, ez a regény is hibátlan, akár kötelező irodalom lehetne. Van ebben a regényben minden, ami elkeserítő: drog, alkohol, szegénység, hiányzó apa, hazudozás, lepusztult környezet, mégis sugárzik az optimizmus a tehetséges bár szorongó főszereplő és más pozitív karakterek révén. Jó arányérzékkel megírt, fontos mondanivalójú, szeretnivaló történet.

[Rebnelug · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Nə üçün axı həmişə rəqabət olmalıdır? Olmazmı ki, biz sadəcə əlimizdən gələni edib hamının bəyənəcəyinə ümid edək? Bu cür suallar sakitcə beynimdə fırlanır. Əgər bunları bərkdən desəm, yəqin, mənə bir şillə çəkərlər…”

“Mənim müsbət cəhətim odur ki, həyatda hər şeyin yolunda olmadığını qəbul edə bilirəm…”

[Chinara Ahmadova · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Səs tonları şəffaf şüşə qırıntıları kimi yerə tökülür və mən musiqinin ağciyər və qarnımın dərinliyindən çıxdığını hiss edirəm. Sanki iki nəfərəm: qulaq kanallarını zədələyən mən və anaları qürurlandıran mən. Zənnimcə, bu iki şəxs, əslində, heç vaxt bir-biri ilə görüşməyib."

Norveç cəmiyyətinin alt qatlarından gələn bir kitabdır "Sınmış burunun nəğməsi".

Bart adlı 13 yaşlı yeniyetmə çox kasıb şəraitdə anası ilə gecəqondu tərzi birotaqlı mənzildə yaşayır, məktəbdə dostları yoxdur və bullinqə məruz qalmaqdan özünü qorumağa çalışır. anasının varını yoxunu qoyduğu boks dərslərinə getsə də, bundan zövq almır, döyüşə bilmir və gizli marağı olan opera musiqisindən zövq alır və hamıdan uzaq tualetdə oxumağa davam edir. Amma onun həyatı sinif yoldaşı Ada ilə yoldaşlığı başlayanda dəyişir.

Kitab dostluq, ana və övlad sevgisi, bullinq, özünü axtarma mövzularında bir çox məsələlərə toxunur, sosial statusu aşağı olan yeniyetmənin bundan utansa da, başını dik tutmağa çalışması, ailəsinə və həyatına qarışanlara dərs verməyə çalışması və bütün bu dəlixananın içində daxilindən gələn o musiqi sevgisini qorumasından bəhs edir.

Bütün kitab boyunca əsl yeniyetmə oxuyuruq - nə az, nə çox. Bartın bütün çətinliklərə baxmayaraq, öz pozitivliyini qoruyub saxlaması, bütün çətinlikləri olduğu kimi - azaldıb şişirtmədən qəbul edə bilməsinə qibtə etdim. Dili çox sadə olsa da, elə nüanslarla qəlbə toxunurdu ki, yeniyetmə Çinarəni xatırlamamaq mümkün deyildi. Son səhifələri isə göz yaşlarım ilə islatdım.

Kitab mənə bir az Patrik Nessin "Bədheybətin səsi" kitabındakı ailə dramını xatırladı - çətinlikdən keçən ümid dolu bir ana, həqiqəti bilib uşağa təskinlik verməyə çalışan bir nənə və həqiqətlə üz-üzə bir uşaq. Əminəm ki, bu kitabdakı Bart ordakı bədbin və həssas Konnora çox şey öyrədə bilərdi.

Oxuyun oxutdurun. Əminəm, dərinliklərdən gələn xatirələrinizə toxunacaqdır. Kitabı dilimizə qazandırdığı üçün Parlaq imzalar nəşriyyatına, tərcüməçilərdən əziz Vüsalə və Aytənə, və Norveç ədəbi cəmiyyətinə təşəkkürlər!

[Sema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitabı bir oturuşda bitirdim.
Bart obrazı indiyə qədər oxuduğum ən realist obraz ola bilər. Həyatındakı hərkəsi, ailəsini, özünü olduğu kimi qəbullanan Bart-ın düşüncələrində olmaq, onunla birlikdə yavaş-yavaş baş verən o xırda dəyişiklikləri dadmaq çox maraqlı idi.
13 yaşında olmasına baxmayaraq tez böyümək məcburiyyətində qalan Bart kimi uşaqlar həmişə məni məyus edir. Kitab isə necə lazımdısa elə də bitir. Lap elə həyatda olduğu kimi.

[Aysel Ibrahimova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Məni ruhən öz uşaqlıq illərimə qaytardığı və xatirələrimi canlandırdığı üçün uşaqların dilindən yazılmış kitabları sevirəm. Bu minvalda çoxlu təsirli kitab oxumuşam: Şeker Portakalı, Delifişek, Badam və s. Bu kitab isə məndə gözlədiyim təsiri buraxmadı. Amma hərbir halda olduqca maraqlı və axıcı üslubda yazılmışdı, saatlar içində tək oxunuşda bitirdim.

[Tatyana Naumova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ну так себе

[sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have serious issues with this book, which I will quickly enumerate below.

1. Fat Shaming. The mom's weight serves only as a plot point to shame and humiliate fat people in an entirely upsetting and inappropriate way. The story would have actually worked better, I think, without her being fat, and the treatment of her weight is unapologetically shameful.

2. The casual racism at play in comments made when a member of the class suddenly announces he raps. These lines are appalling and completely not useful for plot, characterization or anything else in the book. They are just there being awful.

3. The un-nuanced and negative stereotypical portrayal of public housing.

Aside from those major issues I found the book to be mediocre with a real lack of developed characters.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I can’t promise that I’ll never embarrass you. But I can promise that I’ll never be a mass murderer.”

Bart’s honesty and introspection sold this for me. He knows his life is complicated, with no friends at school and an alcoholic mother with diabetes, but he has a kind of realistic optimism that I found incredibly relatable.

The power of small kindnesses is on full display in this book. From Ada, a friendly classmate, to the opera singer who welcomes Bart into his hotel room, to Geir, Bart’s addict neighbor. There are many examples of kindnesses that just smooth some of the bumps on life’s road, and the combination of reality and optimism also kept this from getting too dark. Ultimately I found this a positive story, despite the disappointments and struggles of Bart. Everything was just right in balance.

[Nigar Makhmud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitabı “Dartanyanlar” klubu olaraq səbirsizliklə gözləyirdik və gözləməyimizə də dəydi. Hələ kitabın müəllifini şəxsən tanımaq və söhbətləşmək başqa bir zövq idi. Bunun üçün də “Parlaq imzalara” minnətdarıq. Kitaba gəldikdə, movzusu daha dərin və düşündürməyə sövq edən bir əsər idi. Baş qəhrəman Bartdan öyrənməli o gədər şey vardı ki. Hər yetişkin belə güclü xarakterə malik deyil və hər kəs həyatda belə çətin vəziyyətin öhdəsindən hər zaman gələ bilmir. Müəllif çox incə şəkildə oxucuya insandakı ən vacib dəyərləri və keyfiyyətləri, həyat yolunda düzgün hesab olunan istiqamətləri çatdırır. Beləliklə “imzalı” kitabım kitabxanamda layiqli yerini tapdı. Oxuyun və Oxutdurun.
Bu Arne Svingen-dən ilk kitabım idi. Mən artıq dilimizə tərcümə olunacaq növbəti kitabın həyəcanındayam.

[I_ty_toje · Rating 3 out of 5]

Небольшая, качественно закрученная и раскрученная в своем развитии книга.
Подросток из неблагополучной семьи занимающийся боксом, но мечтающий петь.
На мой вкус автор безмерно перебрал с сентиментальностью, желание выжать жалость и даже слезу из читателя сквозит сквозь всю книгу. Получились "розовые сопли" в чернушной атмосфере.
При этом отмечу что у книги немало неоспоримых достоинств - достаточно неожиданное сочетание увлечений и бекграунда героя, легкость языка, хорошая насыщенность событиями.
Если сделают близкую к тексту экранизацию - смотреть это будет невозможно. Слишком предсказуемо, слишком грустно, слишком скучно.

[Farin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right from the first page, the story felt like a real escape.
a place that was both familiar and totally unique.
Bartosz’s loneliness and quiet struggles felt so real that I couldn’t help but carry them with him, feeling the weight of his world myself.
This book reminded me that even in the darkest times, hope can still shine through. It doesn’t shy away from the messy, complicated parts of life.

"𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓮, 𝓪𝓽 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝔂.
𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓾𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓼."

That honesty and understanding of life’s gray areas is what makes his story so powerful to me.

[Princess Consuela Bananahammock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Så himla fin, grät till å med lite, vill krama om Bart <3 sånt liv

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много приятна и жизнеутвърждаваща детска книга за проблемите на едно момче с живота, училището, бокса, операта, съседите и лошия късмет.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up with an obese, alcoholic single mother in a public housing riddled with drug addicts and garbage is surprisingly not Bart's greatest challenge. He has been asked to sing fo the end of year performance at his school. Alone in his bathroom he can belt out beautiful notes that reverberate against the tiled walls. But, around others he loses his vocal talents.

I rated The Ballad of a Broken Nose four out of five stars. I really enjoyed the storyline. I loved the interesting relationships between Bart and his family and friends. I loved how those relationships developed and changed over time. I was also satisfied with how well the storyline wrapped up nicely. This neat ending is also the reason I scored the book four out of five stars. I wish there were some unanswered questions that kept me thinking about the book and the characters after I finished reading.

I would recommend using this book with older school children, junior high or high school. This is because of the mature content: alcoholism, drug addiction, family hospitalization.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ballad of a Broken Nose is about a boy named Bart who has had a difficult life so far. His mom has some medical issues (overweight and an alcoholic), they live in public housing, he didn’t really have any friends, and his mom wants him to be a boxer but he would like to be an opera singer are just some of the many story lines interwoven into this book. Life was status quo, for Bart, until the school decided to put on an end of the year talent show. Bart became friends with one of the popular girls in his school Ada. She learned that Bart could sing opera and her inability to be able to keep a secret volunteered Bart to close out the show.

Even though this is an international book that was originally written in Norway, the book works great for American audiences because the challenges the main character faces are challenges children from all walks of life also face. This book might be a little challenging to “get into” because majority of the characters are considered flat characters where the reader only learns about them a little. Even the main character, Bart, didn’t seem all that developed in the story, in my opinion. Additionally, readers might be let down with the way the story ends because most of Bart’s conflicts are still not solved. The plot line about his mother, missing father, even his grandma, and his housing situation, do not have a resolution. Additionally, we don’t know where his relationships with Ada and even opera are going to go. The book took you on a journey of Bart's life and I feel at the end it didn’t have as strong of a finish as I would like. There are just too many unknowns for me in this book. The author might have intended for the readers to assume or infer what would have happened if the book continued, but I am one that needs to know. This book could be used for students in grades 5-7.

[Melissa Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ballad of a Broken Nose was originally published in Norwegian in 2012. Written by Arne Svingen, and translated by Kari Dickson. This book is about a thirteen year old boy named Bart. Bart lives in a public housing t in Norway and is "raised" by his alcoholic mother. Bart ends of taking care of her more than she takes care of him. He is embarrassed of where he lives and even says that he might have been raised by wolves. The only time he says it is okay to live in the housing projects is as long no one at school finds out about it. Bart is a passionate boy who loves boxing and opera. He wants to pursue both dreams in boxing and opera. Bart comes upon some struggles as he is pursuing his dreams. He has serious stage fright, and he does not know how to punch.

If this book is read with students there has to be a discussion on public housing. The way the book is written it has some stereotypes of housing projects and people who live in them. A discussion about stereotypes, and believing a single story, could help students understand how this author sees housing projects one way, but not every housing project is the same. We do not want students to have one opinion of housing projects because there could be students in the classroom who live in housing projects as well. The conversation would have to be handled with care.

This book was found on the Batchelder Award page and would be recommended for ages 10-14.

[თამარი ჩიხრაძე · Rating 5 out of 5]

ჩემს ცხოვრებაში არიან ადამიანები, რომლებიც მათთვის ნაბოძებ ბოროტებას სიკეთით აბრუნებენ უკან. უბრალოდ სხვანაირად არ შეუძლიათ. ზოგჯერ ვფიქრობ, რომ ეს ცუდია, რადგან მათთვის გულის ტკენა მარტივია. ბარტიც მსგავსი ადამიანია. როცა უღალატეს არ მოინდომა სამაგიეროს გადახდა(მე გადავუხდიდი ან არ დაველაპარაკებოდი მაინც), პირიქით, სიმშვიდეს გრძნობდა. ჰო, მართალია, რეცენზიაშიც ხომ წერია, რომ ბარტი ოპტიმისტი იყო.
...
მე ახლა 17 წლის ვარ. 13 წლის რომ ვიყავი, აღარც კი მა��სოვს რა ხდებოდა ჩემს თავს, მაგრამ კრებული მაქვს. ლია სტურუას ლექსები, სადაც ყოველდღიურად ვწერდი რას ვგრძნობდი, ვუსმენდი, რა გავაკეთე დღეს, რა დავხატე ან სკოლაში რა ხდებოდა. დასკვნა ისაა რომ ძალიან ტრაგიკული ცხოვრება მქონია. 😃 სევდიანი ვყოფილვარ და ვაჰ, მგონი მაგ ასაკში ყველა ესეა, მაგრამ ყველას არ შეუძლია უარყოფითი კარგით შეცვალოს. გააკეთოს რამე სასიამოვნო, დადებითი. მაგალითად, ბა���ტიმ, რომელიც საერთო საცხოვრებელში ცხოვრობდა დედასთან ერთად, გადაწყვიტა მოეწყო შაბათობა, თუმცა ფიქრობდა რომ არავინ მოვიდოდა ამ დღეს სადარბაზოს დასალაგებლად...
ჩვენ ხომ არ ვიცით რა გველის მომავალში?! ამიტომაა "ნებისმიერი გამოწვევა ხელგაშლილებმა რომ უნდა მივიღოთ" და შემდეგ მივხვდებით - "ცხოვრება სწორედ იმიტომაა მშვენიერი, რომ არასოდეს იცი, მომავალში რა მოხდება. ყოველი დღე საჩუქარივითაა. როცა გახსნი, მაშინღა ნახავ, რა გერგო". ბარტის ყველაფერი კარგი ერგო სიკეთის ნაცვლად. შეიძლება ერთ დღეს მოგვადგეს ვიღაც და დაგვცინოს იმის გამო რომ ვუსმენთ ოპერას, არ გვაქვს კეთილმოწყობილი ბინა ან ვერ ვფლობთ ველოსიპედის ტარებას, მაგრამ იცით რა? არაუშავს. გავა დრო და ისინი მიხვდებიან რომ ეს ყველაფერი მეორეხარისხოვანია და ჩვენც გავიაზრებთ, რომ არაფერია შეუძლებელი თუკი ჩვენ მოვინდომებთ.
სწორედ ამ იდეოლოგიით ვაპირებ ვისწავლო და შემდეგ ვასწავლო სხვებსაც. ამიტომ არ უნდა დავივიწყო "ბალადა გატეხილ ცხვირზე" იქამდე, ვიდრე მოსწავლეები არ მეყოლება და მათთვის დამატებით საათებზე წიგნის წაკითხვას არ გადავწყვეტ. 😌🌲

P. s. უკვე სტუდენტი ვარ. Goodreads-ის რევიუებში ხშირად ვწერდი ჩემს აბიტურიენტობაზე, ახლა კი უკვე უნის მოლოდინში ვარ. 👏

[Terry Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunning novel. From the first pages I loved Bart, who lives in a rough part of Norway (note: this book is a work in translation) and whose only joy is singing opera at the top of his lungs in his bathroom, which is the only "private" part of the apartment he shares with his alcoholic mother. Bart befriends Gier, an addict who lives in the same building, and who despite his many flaws is a great friend to Bart. Bart's journey of self-discovery and the many moments of human compassion that illuminate this gorgeous novel make it one of the best middle grade books I've read this year.

[Judit Rozsonits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harmadik Magasfeszültség-kötet, amit olvastam, harmadik megerősítés arra, hogy az összes kötet kell nekem.
Nektek is.
Érthető stílus, egyszerű, köntörfalazásmentes megfogalmazás, és úgy kiüti az embert lelkileg, mint más semmi.
CSAK AJÁNLANI TUDOM!

[Lilli Gilliam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rubbish! Absolute rubbish! I found this to be a very stupid book! It was VERY boring at the beginning, I hate Ada, and there are a lot of swear words. No thank you! Not my cup of tea!

[Malin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Bart is about to turn thirteen. He's named after Bart Simpson, because it seems his mother wanted him to be tough and clever and able to handle himself. This is also why she's signed him up for boxing lessons. He dutifully goes to practise several times a week, and one of these days, he may actually start hitting. His boxing coach suggests he may want to try out for some other sport, which Bart can understand, as except for having a pretty good guard, Bart is pretty dreadful at boxing. He refuses to give up, however.

What Bart is actually rather excellent at is opera singing. The downside is that he can only sing well without an audience. This means he mostly sings locked in his tiny bathroom, since Bart lives alone with his morbidly obese, mostly unemployed mother (who is clearly an alcoholic) in a tiny one-room flat, where privacy isn't easy to come by. Bart and his mother live in an old building where the hallway floors are covered in old rubbish, broken syringes and other unpleasant things that make it very clear that Bart can never actually make any close friends, because God forbid one of them ever wanted to come round to his after school one day. He's not exactly a bullying victim, but pretty firmly on one of the lower rungs of the social ladder.

Bart's life takes a turn for the more dramatic when Ada, the pretty, popular and persistent girl he sits next to at school (it's not that she likes Bart THAT way, she has a boyfriend in another town, besides, she's so well-liked and popular their differing social statuses pretty much span a galaxy) figures out that not only does Bart enjoy listening to opera, but he sings it as well. Since he's unable to sing in front of others, he makes her a recording, but forgets to make her promise not to share it with anyone else. It turns out that Ada is pretty bad at keeping secrets. First, she shares the recording with the entire class, and Bart's enthusiastic teacher won't stop nagging until he agrees to perform at the end of year school performance. Then, she unexpectedly shows up on his doorstep and stays for dinner. Sadly, the next day, most of the school knows that Bart lives in a terrible wreck of a building and his mother is an overweight shut-in.

Then, on the very day he turns thirteen, Bart wakes to find his grandmother bearing sad news. His mother, who went out the evening before, has been hospitalised and needs an operation to get better. His grandmother will have to stay with him until his mother recovers. It's at this point Bart break down and tells his grandmother the truth (which she's been pretty aware of for a long time) about his rather dismal living situation, and having unburdened himself, immediately feels like things might actually start looking up. Ada keeps wanting to spend time with him, trying to figure out ways to help him overcome his stage fright (including managing to sneak him into the hotel room of his music idol, Bryn Terfel, when the opera singer is in Oslo about to perform). Bart may even have managed to track down the man who might be his father, after all these years.

This is a book my colleagues and I decided to read out loud to our eighth graders this term. I have read other books by Arne Svingen, a hugely popular YA and middle grade Norwegian author before, but this book is by far my favourite. It's impossible not to love Bart fiercely, because he stays so achingly optimistic despite all the sad and horrible things in life. His mother is dangerously obese, clearly partially disabled, barely works and comes home drunk several nights a week. They live in a tiny, crowded one-room flat in a building full of junkies and society low lifes. He makes very sure to keep everyone at school at a safe distance, desperate to hide his dismal home situation.

Bart and his mother constantly lie to his grandmother about the true state of affairs, claiming his mother has a steady job and healthy finances. His mother refuses to take any handouts from the grandmother. Opera singing is his secret escape, but after just a few weeks of getting closer to Ada, all his secrets are out in the open and unless he overcomes his stage fright and puts on the performance of a life time at the school performance, he'll go from anonymous nobody on the fringes of the school yard to favoured bullying victim for the whole school.

Bart spends much of his free time searching the web for the father he never met. Unfortunately, all his mother would tell him is that the man is called John Jones, and that he's an American. It's obvious that his parents didn't spend long together, and naturally, there are a LOT of search results for such a common name. However, Bart steadfastly keeps searching, occasionally sending off e-mail enquiries in the hopes that THIS time, he's found the right man, the John Jones who is missing his Norwegian teenage son.

As someone who grew up with an alcoholic father (who thankfully gave up drinking more than 30 years ago now), parts of this book hit very close to home for me, and I had to actually read the last few pages of the book to assure myself that everything was going to turn out well in the end. Very perceptively, one of my students observed yesterday, when I was asking them how they thought the story would continue and end (we're now about halfway through), that the book has to end on a happy note, because what we've read so far, has been really rather sad and bittersweet and the story won't work unless things turn around and get better for Bart in the second half of the story. While I have read the whole book, my class as of yet have not, and I thought that was a very mature (and entirely correct) observation, which shows this kid has a very good grasp of how narratives are structured. I'm honestly not sure I was as insightful a reader (or in his case, listener) when I was in my early teens.

All the way throughout reading this book, I kept comparing it to About a Boy by Nick Hornby. I remember being surprised at how much darker and more serious the book was to the delightful movie adaptation. Bart, unlike the Marcus of the book (and film) doesn't befriend someone as cool as Will (Hugh Grant's character), although he does strike up a friendship with one of the heroin addicts who live in his building, and who mobilises many of the fellow residents to show up and take part in a day of volunteering to clean up the hallways and back yard of the building in honour of Bart's birthday. They even get him a bike (with the serial number neatly filed away) and a brand new bike lock they actually paid money for(!). It's not exactly the same as the expensive trainers Will gifts Marcus, but in many ways, a lot more touching.

I'm so glad we decided to read this to the students this term, and I'm also happy that my class seems to mostly be enjoying the book as much as I do. This book has now been translated into a number of different languages and has been nominated for multiple awards, both in Norway and internationally. So if you're looking for a quirky, bittersweet and very heartwarming read, I can very much recommend this one.

Judging a book by its cover: This book comes with several different covers, but this is the one we use on one of the editions we're reading to the pupils in school, and thus seemed appropriate. The boxing gloves and the microphone are both very relevant to the plot, and nothing on the cover gives too much away about the story.

[Angie Fehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Thirteen year old Bart has had the kind of childhood that forces one to grow up quick. In addition to managing his school work, he also juggles boxing lessons, assisting the apartment building super, and taking care of his mother who is obese, a bit of a hoarder, only sporadically employed, and unsuccessfully hiding a growing drinking problem. Though her mothering leaves something to be desired --- Bart's often stuck eating crackers or other snack foods in place of balanced meals --- she is a kind soul who does honestly care for her son. She's just got some stuff she needs to work out in her head.

Bart's main passion in life is opera music. He dreams of one day being a famous opera singer himself, and secretly has the talent, but his stage fright is so bad the only place he can sing is in the bathroom with the door locked. He takes boxing lessons because he gets the impression that his mother would prefer to have a "tough guy" kind of son. She even named him after Bart Simpson because she said the cartoon boy seemed like someone who could easily take care of themselves in life. (Bart doesn't tell his mom he has pretty much zero natural talent at the sport).

Making an impulse decision one day, Bart decides to share his secret love of opera with friend Ada, in the strictest confidence, of course. Well, not surprisingly, the secret "mysteriously" gets out. Now Bart is simultaneously trying to fend off bullies and dodge requests to be in the upcoming school talent show!

Poor kid is just emotionally exhausted all the time, but he's trying to make the best of the lemons life has handed him. Growing up in Norway, Bart's never known his American dad, only having stories to go by... so, with the help of a trusty search engine, he sets out to finally track him down. He also pushes his neighbors to work toward a building clean up. Sure, it's pretty squalid low income housing with people shooting up in the hallways and stairwells, but Bart convinces them that collectively their little community can do better!

After Ada's initial blabbing of the opera secret, Bart sees that pursuing his dream may be his main ticket out of the depressing life situation he's currently stuck in.

It all sounds a bit heavy for a middle-grade / YA read, I know... and at times it can have that undeniable feel of "well this just got real, didn't it!", but what keeps things on the light end is Bart's sweet soul and his sense of humor, the two combining to create an inspiring sense of optimism for readers! Bart's not unaware of his hardships, he just accepts them as reality and tries to roll with it all the best he can. Who can knock that message! Though I wasn't 100% content with the ending here, I did quite enjoy getting to know Bart and his social circle and I love that the story leaves you with this reminder to unashamedly love what you love and make the most of your life.

[Bibliotekstanten · Rating 5 out of 5]

För mig är norska Arne Svingen "pappa" till Hubert. Killen som köper sex vita möss på väg till skolan och en annan gång blir av med alla sina kläder efter ett bad och stjäl en tants klänning. Också precis innan skolan ska börja. Roligt, lättsamt och väldigt bra böcker att prata om i klassen åk2-åk4.

Alltså tänkte jag: "En rolig bok" när jag plockade med mig Svingens nya Balladen om en bruten näsa hem.

Bart är snart tretton år. Han är liten till växten och har en gravt alkoholiserad mamma på 200 kg där hemma. Hemma är en etta socialen står för så grannarna är narkomaner och "fifflare". Bart vet inte vem hans pappa är, han är mobbad i skolan och får äta salta pinnar till middag och vatten till frukost. Missär! Hela Barts liv är missär, men Bart är obotlig optimist. Han beskriver sitt hem och sin mamma: "Mamma är mjuk som en kudde, och lägenheten är mindre än ett slott" (s. 31), han tänker att negativitet inte åstadkommer så mycket och som en blek liten maskros blommar han.

Det här är en helt sjukt bra bok. Svingen är otroligt skicklig i sitt sätt att beskriva Bart och hans omöjliga liv, som möjligt. Eftersom boken riktar sig till 10-12-åringar finns också ett optimistiskt slut. Skönt!

Balladen om en bruten näsa är jättebra! Läs den!

Det nedan är från bloggen Carolina läser. Bra summering:

Det är just Barts förnuftiga saklighet som gör att den här boken är så bra. Jag älskar den, faktiskt. Precis hur jävligt Bart har det (för det har han) skrivs mig aldrig på näsan, utan det förstår jag allt mer av ju längre jag läser i boken. Till exempel att Bart tränar boxning, fast han inte vill, bara för att hans mamma tycker att han måste kunna försvara sig. Han är usel på boxning, och kan inte ens slåss när det verkligen gäller. Eller det att han och hans mamma bor i ett hus där man dagligen trampar på bortslängda kanyler i trapphuset, i en lägenhet bestående av ett rum, som dessutom är belamrat med tidningshögar och skräp. Eller att mamman, som är så kärleksfull och ungefär tusen gånger i veckan berättar för Bart att han är hennes finaste kille, inte klarar av det där med att leva så bra. Bart får hjälpa henne upp i soffan när hon dråsar in i lägenheten frampå småtimmarna. Ibland får han mat, ibland får han leva på munkar eller salta pinnar. Eller luft. ("Jag säger inte att salta pinnar är äckliga, för de är faktiskt väldigt goda. Men det är lite svårt att bli mätt på salta pinnar. De är väldigt salta och består av mycket luft. Jag får i alla fall ont i magen innan jag blir mätt.") Eller det faktum att Bart varje morgon innan han går in på skolgården drar ett djupt andetag för att klara av det. ("Jag måste bara dra i mig lite extra syre innan jag går in på skolgården. Man kan inte se fram emot allt här i livet.")