Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion? by Johan Harstad

But as is so often the case with books that I’ve truly loved, it’s hard to go back and objectively critique it. The book is extremely well written, it’s funny, and it’s affecting without being trite.

As I read it, I talked about the book incessantly, reading bits aloud in bars, and generally recommending it to every third person I met on the street. Won over almost immediately by just the title, I picked up the book on a whim and then spent the next few days delightedly underlining each wonderful sentence or clever bit of dialog until I realized that if I didn’t stop, I’d soon have underlined the whole book. Norwegian author Johan Harstad’s Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion? was, without a doubt, one of the best books I read last year. The next thing he remembers is waking up face down in the rain, in the middle of a dirt road in the Faroe countryside, with 15,000 kroner in his pocket. Depressed and hopeless, he follows his friend’s band to a music festival on the Faroe Islands. The simplicity of Mattias’ world is upended in short order, however, when Helle leaves him for another man (someone who “wanted to be seen in the world”), and he loses his job at the now-bankrupt nursery. Nothing more.” Instead of seeking recognition for his talents (he’s a wonderful singer, for instance) or trying to distinguish himself in an impressive career, Mattias instead hopes to blend into the background, “to vanish into the commotion out there, to be number two, a person who made himself useful instead of trying to stand out, who did the job he was asked to do.” Idolizing Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, Mattias only wants to “be a smooth running cog in the world. He loves his job as a gardener at a local nursery-so much that he often comes in early to just sit in the quiet of the garden alone. He loves his girlfriend, Helle, who he has dated for twelve years. When we meet 29-year-old Mattias, the narrator of Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?, he is happy and satisfied with his life. She has an interest in all things Scandinavian, which is one reason why it makes sense that she’d be writing about this book.

_Today’s post is by Larissa Kyzer, a regular reviewer for Three Percent and L Magazine. Why This Book Should Win: Reasons 1-5 listed below. We’ll have a variety of guests writing these posts, all of which are centered around the question of “Why This Book Should Win.” Hopefully these are funny, accidental, entertaining, and informative posts that prompt you to read at least a few of these excellent works.Ĭlick here for all past and future posts in this series.īuzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion? by Johan Harstad, translated by Deborah Dawkin As with years past, we’re going to spend the next two weeks highlighting the rest of the 25 titles on the BTBA fiction longlist.

Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion? by Johan Harstad