Winter bay

Winter Bay ( original title "Vinterviken" ) is a book for young people by Mats Wahl , which was first published in Sweden in 1993 ; In 1995 it was published in German. The book was awarded the German Youth Literature Prize in 1996.

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John-John Sundberg and his best friend "Fighter" live in the Stockholm district of Aspudden . One day the two of them steal a canoe and paddle to the other side of the “Vinterviken” (“winter bay”) bay. There they save a ten year old girl from drowning. Little Patricia's family is so grateful that they are taking John-John and Fighter home with them. There they meet Patricia's sister Elisabeth and John-John immediately falls in love with her at first sight. John-John and Fighter receive a reward from Patricia's father and leave the villa.

But the two students have seen how rich Patricia's family is and decide to return to the villa to break into. They break into the house, search every room and take some items with them, including a revolver .

In response to the canoe theft, John-John's grandmother kicks him out and he moves back to live with his mother. There he uses the stolen revolver to throw his stepfather Rolf (whom he just calls a "shit heap") out of the apartment after John-John caught him having sex with his sister Lena. After these incidents, the summer vacation is over and John-John has to go back to school.

This school year he starts at an acting school . He inherited his talent for acting from his father. He lives and works in New York City at a theater. When John-John found his class, he was surprised to find that he was in the same class as Elisabeth. Since they work a lot together in class, John-John and Elisabeth quickly become closer. Elisabeth tells John-John about the break-in into the villa and that the paintings “Olle Olsson” and “Grünewald” worth four hundred thousand crowns were stolen. John-John reacts in shock to what has been said, because he and "Fighter" had not stolen any pictures.

Patricia celebrates her 10th birthday in autumn and John-John is invited. He is introduced to the relatives and everyone is told how he saved Patricia. After a while Patricia shows John-John the rest of the rooms in the house. She got a ball that she plays with all the time until it rolls under her parents' bed. John-John takes it out from under the bed and finds the two allegedly stolen pictures there. But he is silent and leaves the house. Patricia gives him two free tickets to an amusement park.

The school is now about Hamlet and Oedipus , the group should prepare and play a scene. John-John doesn't like the "old stuff" (quote from page 165 of Mats Wahl Winter Bay; 2006 edition). In the evening he is attacked by his stepfather Rolf, who wants to take revenge for being thrown out. Rolf and a buddy beat up John-John, who only knows how to save himself by telling them about the pictures in the villa and making the two petty criminals believe that they can make easy prey there.

One night John-John longs for Elisabeth and he goes to her house. There he climbs the fire escape and they spend the whole night together. On a Saturday, the lovers go to the amusement park and they spend a wonderful afternoon there. John-John can't believe his eyes when he sees Rolf and Lena together. After visiting the amusement park, the two are still at home with Elisabeth. John-John also wants to have sex with Elisabeth for the first time, but Elisabeth does not consent (cf. 230–238 Mats Wahl Winterbucht; 2006 edition).

Elisabeth doesn't come to school on a clear autumn day. Nobody knows what's wrong with her. In the evening, John-John calls his girlfriend to ask her why she didn't go to school today. She explained to him, “I overslept this morning. That never happens to me otherwise. […] I was about to go to the bathroom when I heard noises coming from Frederik's room. [...] What the hell are you doing here! […] I grabbed Frederik's baseball bat and hit him ”(page 263, Mats Wahl Winterbucht; 2006 edition). John-John knows immediately that she caught Rolf breaking in.

After a few days in the hospital, Rolf is released. When he is discharged, John-John meets Elisabeth and her mother. She immediately understands how John-John and Rolf relate to one another and quickly leaves the hospital. John-John's attempts to explain the connections to Elisabeth are blocked by her. She breaks all contact with John-John.

Winter comes and "Fighter" comes to John-John to tell him that he is in trouble. Fighter has joined a right-wing extremist gang, the "werewolves". When he tries to get out, he is threatened and fears for his life. John-John initially hesitates to believe him, but does his own research to convince himself that Fighters fear is justified. The result is a life-threatening showdown in which John-John and Fighter, fleeing from the "werewolves", jump from ice floe to ice floe and cross the winter bay. The less knowledgeable pursuers slide into the ice-cold water and are run over by a ship.

The novel ends with the reconciliation of John-John and Elisabeth. His tireless attempts to convince Elisabeth of his love ultimately lead to success.

literature

Mats choice: winter bay. Roman ("Vinterviken"). Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 2004, ISBN 3-407-78790-1 .
Mat's choice: Vinterviken . Bonnier Carlsen, Stockholm 1999, ISBN 91-638-3733-1 .

filming

In 1996 the book was made into a film by the Swedish director Harald Hamrell . The director himself, Sara Heldt and the author Mats Wahl were responsible for the script .

continuation

Mats Wahl wrote two more books that continue the story of John-John and Fighter:

Until the showdown

“Until the showdown”, when John-John and Fighter choose the wrong house when they break into the house: Lotta and Nisse, the owners of the apartment, need a third man for a kidnapping and force John to take part. They probably killed Fighter right away - John John has no chance against them. The big deal gets out of hand and John-John finds himself well guarded and handcuffed to the kidnapped girl. The two manage to escape under adventurous circumstances, and a peculiar relationship develops between them, who are now hunted down by the gangsters and the police at the same time.

In the end, John John is rudely made clear that it is not about guilt or truth, but only about marketing the events in a media-appropriate and highest bidder manner. At the end of the book, John-John is arrested as an accomplice.

literature

Mat's choice: Until the showdown. Roman ("De övergivna"). Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 2001, ISBN 3-407-78862-2 .
Mats choice: De övergivna . Bonnier Carlsen, Stockholm 1999, ISBN 91-638-3461-8 .

John-John

The book "John-John" follows on from the plot of the novel "Until the Showdown": John-John is waiting for his trial. Until then he has a lot of time to think. He meets with people, can talk to them, brings back memories, takes jobs and tries to process the horrors he has experienced. The acting lessons, which he has resumed, and the rehearsals for Chekhov's “ The Seagull ” are very important . John-John lives under a cover address and has no income of his own. The daily newspaper wants to turn him into a youth idol and offers him money for an interview. But the interview formulated by the reporter himself only brings John-John into new difficulties.

In addition to his regular theater rehearsals, John-John takes care of Gustav. The 11-year-old's parents hired the young man to work as a child carer because they hope that they will have a positive impact on their difficult son. Gustav has a peculiar tendency towards war documentaries and was noticed unpleasantly at school. In addition, John-John is still attached to his great love Elisabeth, but is unsure whether she is still interested in him.

literature

Mat's choice: John-John. Roman ("John-John"). Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 2004, ISBN 3-407-78903-3 .
Mat's choice: John-John . Bonnier Carlsen, Stockholm 2000, ISBN 91-638-3718-8 .