Travel the World: Sweden: I Need You More Than I Love You

Ardelius, Gunnar. 2008. (November release). I Need You More Than I Love You And I Love You To Bits. Translated by Tara Chace. Frontstreet Books.

Not quite poetry, not quite a novel, I NEED YOU MORE THAN I LOVE YOU... is a verse novel of sorts about the joys and sorrows, ups and downs, of young love, of first love. Told from both the male and female perspective, it has a little bit of everything emotionally speaking. It does share quite a bit of the couple's intimate moments, and because of this 'adult nature' of the work, it may not be appropriate for younger teens. But for older teens, it has its rightful place.

Here is the first piece,

Her foot slides over and then back, cautiously
stroking the toes of his left foot. His head quivers
when he glances up and catches her gleaming
eyes, as wide as fie kronor coins. He blushes,
noting the soft tug at his heart.

And here is another a bit further on (p. 37)

My taste has changed. The love songs on the
radio have started describing how everything
really is. I'm not sure I can deal with being
happy, it feels like I'm made out of play dough.
I don't want to be in love like that, like all the
other boring people. Our love is different. It's
about us.

Anyway, it's a nice enough book. These two young lovers are ordinary folks who do ordinary things. They're in and out of love and confused at times. Sometimes they're fighting with their parents. Sometimes they're at odds with the world around them. Sometimes nothing seems to be going right. Sometimes it does.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews