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| Author | Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Sonja Härdin |
| Language | Swedish |
| Series | Bert |
| Genre | Diary,Children's,Youth |
| Set in | fictional town ofÖreskoga, Sweden New York City,New York, United States Jamaica |
| Published | 1990 |
| Publication place | Sweden |
| Preceded by | Berts första betraktelser (1990) |
| Followed by | Berts ytterligare betraktelser (1991) |
Berts vidare betraktelser (Swedish:Bert's further contemplations) is a diary novel, written byAnders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson and originally published in1990.[1] It tells the story ofBert Ljung from 1 May to 31 August during thecalendar year he turns 13. The book uses the1989 almanac following theGregorian Calendar. As standard, Bert opens the chapters with the words "Hej hej hallå dagboken!" and finishes with "Tack och hej – leverpastej". Bert writes diary for each day during this calendar year, and most notes depicts what happened yesterday.
Originally, the Berts betraktelser trilogy appeared in the radio programAlmanackan during1989, where one program was done each day during one year, which Sören thought was fitting well for adiary. The stories were supposed to be more daring than before, but criticism was low.
The book cover depicts Bert, running around in his untidy room wearing only underpants, and holding his diary in his hands. In the room are also naked male angels, and clouds. One of the angels wears a cap, anduses bow and arrow, hitting the diary. The other angel plays theviolin, and the music streams into Bert's ear and out comes the words "love", while threeheart symbols appear above Bert's head. At Bert's writing desk is agramophone record, and a photograph of Paulina. Next to the wall is Bert's half-brokenelectric bass. On the floor arePhantom comic books, and two eyes watch out of arat hole.
After Bert and Åke have been jumping next to the fire duringWalpurgis Night, theHeman Hunters demonstrate onMay Day, but are removed after singing "Tupp fick kramp uti magen, sista skiten kom där" ("rooster got cramp out in its stomach, the last shit came there") to the Internationale tune.
On the night between 5 and 6 May, a fire occurs inBert's hometown, destroying the potato warehouse " Arnes potatislager ". The localpolice suspectsarson, and Bert suspects Jörgen Karlsson. Bert also visits hismother's sister Lena's dance institution.Paulina attends dancing courses there, and Bert accidentally drops Paulina into the floor, feeling like he isAdolf Hitler's twin brother.
Bert's school class also visited by the 6th graders from Östbergaskolan, as the classes will merge before the 7th grade, andLill-Erik fears them being communists when their teacher calls them "comrades".
By late May, the 6th graders go to aschool camp, after collecting money, and as Bert walks alone in the evening Paulina appears, and together they walk to a formeropen air dance platform, where a romance between them takes place.
During the 6th gradecommencement at school, Åke launches his own firework in theschool desk. The bench cover catches fire, and the schoolhouse is abandoned. On his way home, Bert meets Paulina, who wants to meet him during summer, and they soon go bathing together.
Åke's father has met a new woman, Hillevi who has Norwegian relatives, and Bert goes sailing with his father and a person called Christer, but turnsseasick.
For Paulina's name day on 22 June Bert crochets a cloth, and as his caveman persona "Milton " he goes out and attaches the cloth to a stone, which he throws into Paulina's window. However, it falls into the wrong apartment, requiring Paulina's neighbour to hand over the present.
Following tradition, Bert and his relatives spendMidsummer in Babbsand, inside a cottage located on an island. Bert's 18 years old cousin Sandra is bathing naked, and Bert notices his father watching it usingbinoculars, blaming it onornithology. When Bert comes home, he finds a letter under the hallway carpet, where Paulina has written a letter telling him to come toLilla Bryggan duringMidsummer Day (when he was Gone).
In July Bert's father's brotherJanne, who lives in an apartment inNew York City in the United States, has invited Bert's family to a holiday inJamaica. But first, they must travel over to New York City, and the journey is done byaeroplane. When Bert hears ofcommunists not being allowed into the US, he turns afraid when he knows his neighbour Olle Collin votes forVPK. The problems turn worse when Paulina's cousinPavel fromCzechoslovakia, aUSSRally state, is visiting Sweden. Because ofpoor US-USSR relations, Bert fears the US sending agents intoSweden and he also fears the US agents seeing Bert with Paulina and Pavel would risk Bert'sentry permit to the US. Bert thinks he sees US agents inside a parkedTeleverketbus. Bert now must shows his support for the US, and calls theembassy of the US in Sweden, singing "Happy Birthday to USA", but the staff takes it for Russian folk songs. Bert bring theflag of the US toMcDonald's, when acigar-smoking man walks by, and the flag catches fire. The local newspaper depicts the event as a youth communist demonstrating outside McDonald's by desecrating and burning the flag of the US. The trip finally occurs, but when theHeman Hunters meet, Åke gives Bert a Swedish-Icelandic phrasebook, as Åke means most aeroplanes on their way to the US have to emergency land inIceland.
When the Ljung family reaches the US, Bert's father wantswaitstaff to fill the glass to the brim (Swedish: "brädd", may sound like the English word "bread") when they eat at a restaurant, and when he says "Fill it up to the bread", waitstaff gives him a bread-piece in the glass. They also visit theEmpire State Building. Then, they visit Jamaica, and during the home trip a drunk man fromFinland is almost thrown off the aeroplane in Iceland. When Bert comes home, he receives postcards from Åke, who visits Norway and when they pick up their car at Bert's grandmother, Bert's father forgets that Swedendrives to the right side of the road since 1967, sending two moped riders into the ditches. Åke returns from Norway, meaning that a civil war between striped and checked people is racing. In late July, Bert and Åke sleep overnight inside aghost house.
In August, Bert spends a lot of time with his friends, before the 7th grade starts, including taking apples from foreign gardens. When bathing naked in the Nöckeln lake, Bert notices Louise being naked. Naked, he and Paulina hug each other. Bert also visits church secretly, askingGod for forgiveness for thinking so much of girls.
When Bert begins the 7th grade, his class is merged with another one from Österbergsskolan. Bert gets a locker next toDödgrävarn, who fills his locker withsnuffboxes, throwing away books taking too much place, Lill-Erik's locker ends up in the 9th graders corridor, and he writes a letter to theheadmaster to continue the 6th grade for another year. Bert's class getsBanan-Boris as chemistry teacher. Banan-Boris takes up awater hose, spraying water at the class. In mathematics Agneta is their teacher, and Åke protests against home work, for "student democracy" and against "fascism", while Jaana throws the mathematics book out of the window. Åke is sent out of the classroom, and proposes occupation for the teachers' staffroom.
During afloorball game duringPE, Jörgen Karlsson and Dödgrävarn in class 7 B start fighting, and after one weekBjörna comes home to Bert, telling he likes Annica, and that Lena in class 7 C has "done it". Björna also tells he has experienced a lot, but Bert realizes Björna "lies too bad" to become a politician.
Bert also gets a visit from Nadja, when he feels down. She gives him a warming hug, but Bert soon falls in love with an 8th grade girl calledIda, but Bert dislikes her being a smoker.
The book ends with Bert doing his homework, and his mother says time has run so fast since his parents came home with him from thebirthing center, and she wants to kiss him. Burt quickly runs into his neighborOlle Collin to play the guitar.
Audio recordings were released to four cassette tapes by theÄnglatroll label in 1993 entitled "Berts majbetraktelser".,[3] "Berts junibetraktelser".,[4] Berts julibetraktelser[5] och Berts augustibetraktelser[6]
The cassette tapes consist of following songs:
Title within bracket refers to song title at the time ofHemliga Byrån's original recording.
