MADreads

One Swedish dairy farmer missing two fingers + one beige librarian

September 3rd, 2009 Molly - Central

= true love forever.  Or at least a good go at it.  The dairy farmer missing two fingers is named Benny and the beige librarian is named Shrimp and they are the stars of the wacky romance in translation Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti.

I will call this a romance, even though on the spine of the copy I checked out from the library, there was a “literature” sticker.  I do find that curious - is it “literature” because it was written in Sweden and that makes it more literary than if it were written in the States?  Because this book is an all-out romance.  We’re talking meet (not so) cute, an awkward first date, lots of crazy sex, lots of tender moments, lots of will they make it or are they just too different?  Hope hope hope.  Want want want.  Sigh sigh sigh.  You get the picture.  It’s a romance.  A really good one.

Even though Benny and Shrimp are living in modern day Sweden, the feeling of this book is very similar to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  The community is small and rural, the characters are oh, so quirky, and opposites attract when it comes to the couple in question.  The book is not written in letters, but in alternating chapters.  Shrimp’s chapters are decorated with a star and fleur-de-lis pattern and Benny’s with little cows.

You may learn a lot about dairy farming.  Unless you already know a lot about dairy farming, this being Wisconsin and all.  Regardless, it is a reminder to us all that it takes a lot of hard work to run a dairy farm.   Hard, hard work that never really ends.  You will not learn so much about being a librarian.

I know I say this several times a year, but I haven’t said it yet:  this is my favorite book of the year.  It’s everything that the cover blurb says it is, offbeat, charming, and fun.  And it really makes your heart hurt.

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction, Romance