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Post by Claire on Apr 2, 2017 21:48:59 GMT 1
Hi all our Spring read is A Pony in the Luggage by Gunnel Linde. I think this may be the first time we have done a book by an author who isn't British, American or Australian! Correct me if I'm wrong (which let's face it isn't that unlikely lol) It's an easy book to find in paperback. But if you can't get hold of a copy post here and I'm sure we can arrange a copy to be lent out.
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Post by garej on Apr 3, 2017 11:21:04 GMT 1
I recently received a copy. Fingers crossed that I will finish it (unlike The Last Baronet).
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Post by trixiepony on Apr 4, 2017 11:00:20 GMT 1
I can rememberer reading it, its just a case of finding were I put it.
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Post by brumby on Apr 6, 2017 1:37:10 GMT 1
My copy has arrived so ready to get started when Claire gives us the nod! If I start too soon I forget what its about
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Post by kunuma1 on Apr 6, 2017 10:49:44 GMT 1
I'm going to get hold of a copy and join in, I'm currently trapped at home, ten days so far and counting, and the k9's and I are going totally stir crazy - anything will help to take my mind off real life!!
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Post by Claire on Apr 6, 2017 19:12:29 GMT 1
Kunuma - I'll quickly read my copy and send it on to you with another couple of books I have for you. Hopefully will alleviate the craziness a tad!!
Ready to start reading everyone, and we can start discussion in a week or so time - it's a short one!
As this is written by a Swedish author, a couple of points to consider may be whether or not the book translates well, if there are any oddities you don't understand and how the book compares to one written in English.
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Post by kunuma1 on Apr 12, 2017 16:46:51 GMT 1
Kunuma - I'll quickly read my copy and send it on to you with another couple of books I have for you. Hopefully will alleviate the craziness a tad!! Ready to start reading everyone, and we can start discussion in a week or so time - it's a short one! As this is written by a Swedish author, a couple of points to consider may be whether or not the book translates well, if there are any oddities you don't understand and how the book compares to one written in English. Thanks Claire, I'm still under house arrest and much more of this and I'll be teaching the dogs to read to keep them sane!! I've forgotten what the outside world looks like!
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Post by tintin on Apr 12, 2017 17:11:27 GMT 1
Well this reminded me of two things
1) When I was Primary School age - the sort of book that would have been on Jackanory, or read to us chapter by chapter in the last part of the school day with us all sat in a semi-circle round teacher. It sort of belongs in that group of slightly fantastical books with Stig of the Dump, the Borrowers, Fattypuffs and Thiniffers that kind of thing
2) It reminded me of the old Whitehall Farces - hiding something with ever more desparately unbelievable ploys and excuses, except it was a miniature pony rather than a glamorous lady completely innocently in her underwear. It was about as believeable, although in some places similarly giggle inducing.
It was very well written though and the characters were believable and interesting even if their activities were incredible and/or annoying. The contrast between the aunt's postcards and what was actually happening was a clever, and quite adult piece of humour.
Not really me, I either like things pretty realistic or OTT fantasy. Also Nicholas was a bit of a brat and a little of him went a long way. I also felt sorry for poor Danny shoved in the wardrobe, the trunk and the observation platform of the railway carriage.
Not really a book for those who suffer from vicarious embarrassment either
In conclusion not my sort of thing, but very well done
A very prosaic question on the issue of it being Swedish - were the outlandish sandwich fillings meant to be funny, or were they satirising the Danes or is this actual Swedish tastes?
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Post by Claire on Apr 13, 2017 19:43:09 GMT 1
A very prosaic question on the issue of it being Swedish - were the outlandish sandwich fillings meant to be funny, or were they satirising the Danes or is this actual Swedish tastes? Haha yes I had similar thoughts reading that part! Very good summing up of the book. Agree on many counts however internet on a go-slow at the minute so I will come back later on to add my full comments.
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Post by susanb on Apr 22, 2017 16:34:56 GMT 1
Here I am, late to the party....sorry! I met with friends over Easter weekend, and just got to read the book today. I'd agree with tintin's assessment...this is one I would have probably got a huge bang out of if I'd read it at the right age .... 7 or 8 maybe. It is still charming though, and the characters are well drawn. I noticed that tintin called the pony Danny, is that his name in the UK edition? In the US edition he is Ben, I wonder why the change? Either name would be completely normal here (does anyone know what he was called in the original Swedish?) I have to say that the author can't have spent much time around ponies. Even though this pony might be the size of a St. Bernard, there is no way that he would be able to jump in and out of a trunk the way a dog would, or that he'd tolerate being shut up in a wardrobe for long. And he clearly has NO IDEA of the volume of the pony droppings the children would have been picking up. Re the translation, I didn't notice any words that seemed odd, but some sentences were a bit choppy/short. I'm not sure if that was a lost-in-translation issue though, or if Swedish books for children don't usually contain complex sentences. Given the age of the book, I'd guess the former. At least in the US, older books asked more of their readers than more modern books.....even revised editions of older books (the Jean Slaughter Doty Summer Pony/Winter Pony pair; post 1959 revisions of the Nancy Drew books) had dropped the reading level of the text considerably.
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Post by ginslinger on Apr 24, 2017 20:04:59 GMT 1
I think the author is a she. I got it today.. and read it. I think it is quite fun as a children's book though it has to be regarded as a fairytale... and I agree with tintin that it was very reminiscent of the end of the day reads at junior school - like the Haunting of Wilberforce Pike, or The Roald Dahls or my favourite at the time "Gobbolino the witches cat"
My copy says that it wasn't for sale in the US for copyright reasons and I wonder if there was a different translator? The UK one is Anne Parker. The name of the pony in the original is Lill-Klas Pompiliam af Klampenborg. Klas is a short form of Niklas which is Nicholas and I think lill is little. Claus is not a common name in English speaking countries and to have Nicholas and Nicky for boy and pony would have been too confusing so I suspect the translator(s) just chose a name that could be given a pet form
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Post by ginslinger on Apr 25, 2017 0:27:23 GMT 1
I too was anticipating a flood issue when they said they would flush the dung down the loo. And I imagine even small horses have the capacity to cause a certain amount of flooding themselves. Not the sort of thing that could be mopped up with a hanky. As for the sandwich fillings I think that may be a Swedish thing. I read (way after the rest of the world) "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and it was strangely detailed on the sandwich front. It was very odd - a taut and complex thriller that suddenly and occasionally got so obsessed with trivial domestic that I thought it must have some great significance to the plot - but it didn't and it must just have been a quirk that sandwich fillings got as much attention as some significant characters. This was written before I was born but there was certainly a lot less variety in food back then. Certainly when I was a child spaghetti was hoops in a tin and the only pasta we ever had was macaroni. Certainly practically up to the eighties. My sister liked liver sausage I didn't really. Of course it might be because it was a trip abroad and things were different for the children but I don't know if Denmark and Sweden are as different as all that. I will ask Scandi friends.
I did like the way the children were with each other...the competitiveness but able to unite against the grown up world and the grudging admission that the other could be worse.
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Post by brumby on Apr 25, 2017 11:48:44 GMT 1
Interesting discussion about this book, the thing I noticed about the sandwiches was not only the weird fillings but the fact that they opted for the Golden Packet 6 sandwiches each? ? Surely they must be smaller than what I'm thinking? Here in Australia a sandwich is two slices of bread with filling! I'm afraid I struggled with this book (lucky it was short) I took two sittings to read it because it was plain dull, didn't bond with the characters or even the pony. Couldn't find a lot to like but am still pondering over those vast quantities of sandwiches!
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Post by tintin on Apr 25, 2017 12:37:51 GMT 1
I'm loving this :-) The reviews are making me smile more than the book did!
I can just imagine when they came to sell him - "good to shoe, box, clip, trunk and cupboard"
I think Ginslinger is right, best to take it as a fairy story as it requires so much suspension of disbelief - particularly on the sanitary front
I am irresistibly reminded of a TV programme we used to have in the UK called "What the Victorians Did for Us". A splendidly eccentric academic cycled round the country demonstrating the marvels of Victorian technology. In one episode he addressed the water closet, promoters of which in Victorian days had competitions to persuade sceptical potential customers of its power by flushing away such things as apples and gravel. Perhaps the hotel was blessed with Victorian plumbing?
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Post by darkhorse on Apr 26, 2017 21:48:45 GMT 1
I didn't feel the book suffered through translation, in fact I thought it was well-written. But I found it a bit silly and unrealistic. I prefer a more down to earth pony story. I agree with Susan that I probably would have loved it as a child however. I did like the characters. I thought the kids were quite resourceful and even though they were up to no good, they did give some heed to poor Auntie's feelings. Auntie was the best character and, like Tintin, I enjoyed the letters to the parents. Not a book I'd go back to but glad I read it.
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Post by ginslinger on Apr 27, 2017 15:46:13 GMT 1
Interesting discussion about this book, the thing I noticed about the sandwiches was not only the weird fillings but the fact that they opted for the Golden Packet 6 sandwiches each? ? Surely they must be smaller than what I'm thinking? Here in Australia a sandwich is two slices of bread with filling! Couldn't find a lot to like but am still pondering over those vast quantities of sandwiches! Yes, I think it is meant to be smaller than you imagine. A sandwich is basically anything shoved between bread isn't it? If I were at home and making myself lunch and put stuff between 2 normal slices of bread I would say I had had a sandwich regardless of how many sections I cut it into (to fit my sandwich box for a packed lunch or into fours to try and con my inner pig it was more food), however at an afternoon tea a sandwich would be a third or quarter of the above 2 slices and filling. Each section would still be one sandwich. If you buy ready made sandwiches here it is usually that a sandwich is two slices and filling halved and in a pack and if you are in a café they might give you the option of soup and half a sandwich which would be the equivalent of one slice of bread halved with filling however if you get three of those in a packet it is a triple pack not a one and a half pack...
When I went to Italy they sold sandwiches as individual sections don't know if big quarters or small halves as crust cut off while in France they were a great lump of baguette. I have a vague memory is that Scandinavian sandwiches are open and on little rolls so it could mean six of those tiny little rolls you used to get at some parties -bridge rolls? Or six sandwich quarters. It does seem that it is meant to be quite a lot of food but even allowing for the fact of it being a not-realistic children's book six full sized sandwiches would be over the top. I don't think anyone could take all that bread at one time.
To get back to the book, Aunt Tina made me smile. When I was in my mid teens my uncle was a project engineer and several times had a company flat in London and my Aunt whose own children were grown and gone would take either my sister or I up with her at half term and take us to concerts and museums and exhibitions but she was never so foolish to take both of us together and she never missed anything... there would have been no horse smuggling on her watch.
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Post by Claire on Apr 27, 2017 21:06:40 GMT 1
Just realised I haven't added my thoughts! Well I liked it to some extent. Found it quite amusing but I'm with those who feel it's the sort of book aimed more at a young age group, a bit too unrealistic for adults. One of the best elements of the humour was the farcical quality, it was almost like a bedroom farce for children with the pony being stuffed in cupboards and the like rather than the elicit lover! I'm also another big Auntie fan, I did feel sorry for the poor old stick and the contrast between what she thought was happening and what really was going on (as seen from the letters) was quite funny. At one point I almost thought she had the game sussed when she spotted the picture of Anna winning the pony at the zoo. But nope, the poor dear STILL didn't manage to put the clues together. I liked the brother and sister dynamic between Nicholas and Anna. As my brother and myself had about the same age gap as the pair (and I was the eldest) I feel it was a very realistic portrayal, squabbling at times but banding together in the common cause. I thought the translator did a superb job. I've read some truly dreadful translations and this one felt smooth and easy to read. If not for the references to the other countries, it could easily have been a British story. Going back to the sandwich/food subject - reminds me of a long running argument between my Dad and the rest of our family. My dad would call 2 slices of bread with filling between them then cut in two as one sandwich, the rest of us would call that 2 sandwiches! Whichever a pack of 6 seems a helluva lot for one child - unless they were the 'posh' sandwiches cut into 4 little triangles...? Re. the weird fillings, did anyone else spot another even weirder food related item - when Anna buys a box of cat tongues made of chocolate (page 74 in the UK paperback edition). What on earth....? I'm sure not real cat tongues but why would anyone want to make cat tongue shaped chocs?!! Maybe this was actually something lost in translation! And so to the other contentious matter of the horse poo! I for one gave the author brownie points for even mentioning it. In a non-realistic kid's book of this sort I expected the subject of horse droppings to be completely swept under the carpet...groan...sorry couldn't resist the pun. All in all quite a fun read but I agree with darkhorse that it's not one I would re-read again and again.
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Post by ginslinger on Apr 27, 2017 23:53:08 GMT 1
Oh I thought they might be a variant of the "langue de chat" biscuits you can get in France and Goggle now tells me that this is so. The biscuits are long thin ovals I think of some sort of sponge but too thin and cooked to be spongy - if you haven't had them the nearest thing I can suggest is that you know if you are baking sponge cakes and a bit drips on to the tray and is crispy when cooked, well it is like that done deliberately. I can't say I am over keen but I haven't had any for many years. Apparently other countries have chocolates made in similar long thin shapes and call them cat's tongues..or have the biscuits but coated with chocolate so no real cats were harmed... . I wonder if there is an English pony book that bamboozles in translation... the heroine sits down to a hearty meal of toad in the hole with bubble and squeak and followed by spotted dick. When I lived in France I used to be amused by the efforts of Marks and Spencer to translate various English delicacies. Hot Cross Buns were explained as sweet spiced bread rolls with fruit and trifle was desert with custard and fruit.
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Post by Claire on Apr 29, 2017 0:18:18 GMT 1
the heroine sits down to a hearty meal of toad in the hole with bubble and squeak and followed by spotted dick. Thanks for the info about the cat tongues - I think that explains it. I have not heard of the biscuits or the chocolates, and though I haven't been to France I am quite widely travelled so surprised I have never come across them before. The cakes sound a bit like the sponge finger things you can buy for putting in trifles over here. I have to smile when I think how often our discussions on here evolve into talking about food!
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Post by kunuma1 on May 9, 2017 15:54:37 GMT 1
Well - that was an interesting bedtime read!! Still trying to get my head around a Danish Zoo which turns it's dead animal exhibits into rugs! Really hope the writer just had a strange imagination and that wasn't based on fact. I found myself wondering if the original story had involved two children winning an animal such as a monkey or a squirrel - it would have made a lot more sense than a pony in the ensuing circumstances.
I did notice the preoccupation with sandwiches as someone else mentioned, and rather revolting ones at that, but at least the humans got to eat, the poor pony must have been extremely thin after surviving for several days on a bag of hay and carrots!
On the plus side I did like the funny little illustrations which reminded me of the Thelwell or St Trinians ones.
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