Welcome to Litsy!

Mattis lives happily with his sister Hege, enjoying nature in the Norwegian woods. The only trouble is other people: they taunt him with the name 'Simple Simon' and he can't keep a job. This is a partly a character study about not fitting in, but not entirely. There's something about how he looks for signs in nature and with people that was fascinating, like the odd way Mattis does it made me more aware of how I do a version of the same thing.

#KeepLitsyPositive

A view of all my TBR stacks together. I see them all the time, but they're an important reminder of alternative ways I could be spending my time when I'm addicted to news coverage.

The protagonist, Mattis, is a 37 year old man living with his sister who has taken care of him since they lost their parents as young. Mattis probably has a light version of what we today know as Autism or Aspergers, but at the time the book was written this was not a formal diagnosis.

We get the narrative through Mattis, and this is done brilliantly so that the reader is drawn into a slightly confused mind. ⬇️

Thank you @BarbaraBB for this gem of a book!
Mattis has learning disabilities. The townsfolk call him simple but he's a complex character: endearing, boastful, irascible and acutely sensitive to the meaning of birds flying over the house. He doesn't get why the "strong, clever ones" like his carer-sister don't care about these things, busy fretting about money. Then a newcomer arrives and Mattis must make sense of new patterns. A wonderful book!

This kid flipping me the bird lmao! She‘s hilarious 😂

For Mattis, people never see what is important--the flight of a woodcock, the straight wake of a row boat, the joy of being treated like a man. Instead, they only seem to be annoyed, busy, or just too clever. They don't sit on humps or rocks and their hands are never confused. The story of Mattis's summer in a cottage by a lake is fraught with emotion, like a duck swimming--seemingly calm and deliberate, yet a whirlpool of confused fury below.

Hege cares for her "simple-minded" brother, Mattis, living a monotonous life of endless knitting on a small landholding outside of town. Life seems poised to continue on, unchanging, forever. Then Jørgen arrives and destabilizes everything.

The novel is told from Mattis' perspective with spare and deceptively simple language. The author is able to show the heartbreaking differences of the siblings. The novel is open ended, but likely dire.

Read this book! It is one of the best books I read in a long time. It is the story of Mattis, a simple man who lives with his sister. His thoughts are so beautiful, you have to love him and become part of him. Read this book!
#1001books

One of my favorite authors, Tarjei Vesaas, has two books with #silhouettesoncovers. I 🖤The Ice Palace, and I'm looking forward to reading The Birds next year sometime🔜.

One of my top 3 favorite books of all time. Heartbreaking.