[LISTENED TO: August 2017] Adventures with Waffles
I saw this book in the library and the title sounded interesting. The blurb on the back when enticing as well, so I grabbed it for our family road trip.
I had no idea that the book was a translation of a Norwegian story (Vafflehjarte) nor that it had already been translated into English as Waffle Hearts (a much more accurate, and frankly much more satisfying title). I gather from a little research that Waffle Hearts is a British translation and Adventures with Waffles is an American one (although they both have the same translator, Guy Puzey).
The story is about Trille and Lena, two kids who live next door to each other in the village of Mathildawick Cove in Norway. Their village is small and there are only 9 kids in their grade. Lena is the only girl. The bully Kai-Tommy wishes she weren’t in their class. But Trille feels that Lena is his best friend (he hopes it is reciprocated, but is unsure). She is wild, she is spontaneous, she is dangerous. And she is a lot of fun.
As the book opens, Lena and Trille have tied a rope between their houses and Lena attempts to shinny across–with disastrous results. It is only through Trille’s quick actions that Lena lands on a mattress and not the ground. Lena, ever excited (she loves yelling “smoking haddocks”) gets mad at him, as if it was his fault. But her temper is short-lived and they are soon off on some new adventures (after their parents scold them).
The book is quite charming and feels timeless. There is no time frame given except that the book takes place after World War II (we know this because it references Trille’s Auntie Granny surviving the Nazi invasion). It seems almost too idyllic to be fully contemporary (there’s no mention of anything more modern than radios), and yet given Auntie Granny’s age it can’t be set too much earlier than 2005.
Trille and Lena get up too all manner of trouble and Trille’s father is exasperated but strangely understanding about everything.
In addition to Lena, Trille’s best friend is his grandpa (who calls them Good Old Trille Lad and the Girl From Next Door). Grandpa encourages their crazy stunts and even helps them out with some of them. Like when Trille’s parents go out for the night and explicitly say that they kids can’t ride in Grandpa’s sidecar. Well, not only does he let them ride in the sidecar, but on their journey into town he plays along that they are being set upon by pirates and he drives recklessly as well.
The adventures they get up to are based on stories they hear from everyone around them. When Auntie Granny describes having to hide their radios during he Nazi occupation, Trille and Lena decide to play WWII and hide everyone’s radios (without asking them); later hearing about Noah’s Ark, they try to get all of the local farm animals aboard Trille’s Uncles fishing boat (that goes as well as can be expected) and when they try to sled down the biggest hill in the village–well, its pretty exciting.
So what does the title have to do with anything? Well, Trille’s Auntie Granny makes waffles, the best waffles in the world (and boy do I ever want her recipe). Whenever there is a crisis, or even a happy time, those waffles are a part of the scenery.
The story begins in midsummer with the village bonfire. It progresses through fall (and the dreaded start of school), and then winter (Norwegian winters sound pretty harsh) and then back into spring and the following year’s bonfire.
There’s a subplot that Lena doesn’t have a father. That is handled so interestingly–both bluntly (Lena posts an ad for a father in the local store) an sweetly (the way her mom deals with that).
But the story isn’t all happiness and silliness. There is a pretty sad middle section of the book. I was quite taken by surprise by the sadness (although if I had read the blurb more carefully I wouldn’t have been). There are some really tender moments and real heartbreak–something Norwegian stories are known for. And the one-two punch of one kind of sadness followed by a very different kind of sadness (and the possible end of a friendship) is really heartbreaking. Fortunately, the sadness is in the middle (during the winter of course) and things lighten up (but are no less exciting) as the summer comes back.
I was also surprised by how much of Jesus there is in the story. Not preachy at all, but Auntie Granny has a picture of Jesus that she finds solace in, and soon the kids are also seeking solace in it. It becomes something of a prized possession. And it’s rather sweet.
There were some Norwegian details that I didn’t quite understand, but that’s okay. The stories are pretty universal, but its the details that make them special: Trille’s grandfather wears wooden shoes! They take a ferry into town. The bonfire. The horse riding the ferry. And the school sounds adorable.
This book was performed by Luke Daniels and I rather enjoyed his delivery. Lena is perpetually excited and on the verge of yelling. Trille’s father seems wonderfully annoyed most of the time and the voices of the old men are perfect.
We all really enjoyed this story, although we were bummed that we reached our destination during the sad part and couldn’t wait to get back in the car for the happier times.
This story was charming and sweet and surprisingly tender.
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