Naiv - Super

Do yourself a favour and read this book. I have no idea if the English translation is any good
One thing that is really great about this author (Erlend Loe) is his use of Norwegian words. He has a tendency to use ancient words that has lost their meaning in the land of clichés and bring them back to life in a nearly ironical, humorous and intelligent way
I really recommend this book, especially the Norwegian version
I have read it about 6 times. I always start to read it if life seems very scary and big and I just seem to small for it, he he!
It is hilarious, funny, deep and philosophical, all at once (Depending on your humor of course)

Taken from the book:
".....I was very happy when I saw a psychology student asking these questions:
From a Lego modeling perspective what is happiness? How would you describe the feelings that you experience through your involvement in Lego modeling? In you opinion, is there a difference between these «happiness» feelings and pleasure? Does your involvement in Lego modeling help you to attain long term happiness as well as short term happiness?"

~ Aasa

Plot:

The main character looses a play of croquet with his brother and his world falls apart He feels very unreasonable and tries to figure out what happened. He quits his studies, sells most of the things he owns, and moves into his brothers flat while he is on vacation and tries to figure out why the world is so scary. He is reading a book on time and the universe, the quantum theories, with very high numbers that both scare, fascinate and calms him.
He often throws a ball against a wall for hours. He also buys a toy that contains of a hammer and a board which you can pound sticks into and turn when you are done. It is like an everlasting toy that you can just turn and turn and pound and pound on when the world is too big. (Note, I actually baught one myself reading this book - Aasa)
He starts to write lists. He writes a list about which animals he has seen in his life.
He writes a list about what he has and what he doesn't have.
He has one good friend and one bad friend. He has a degree from the university. He has good shoes. He does not have a watch. He does not have a girlfriend, and he does not have a feeling of meaning. This is just the start of the book that takes you into a world that is truly both naive - and super

~ Aasa