Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Madita by Astrid Lindgren Madita. Now I do indeed realise (and yes, with a certain amount of sadness and personal annoyance) that aside from Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking, many (if actually not even the vast majority) of Lindgren's strong and courageous female characters (such as for example Ronia the Robber's daughter and for the two novels I am presently reviewing, Madicken or as she is known in German translation Madita) are not nearly as well known and as universally loved and even all that accepted in especially Nort Now I do indeed realise (and yes, with a certain amount of sadness and personal annoyance) that aside from Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking, many (if actually not even the vast majority) of Lindgren's strong and courageous female characters (such as for example Ronia the Robber's daughter and for the two novels I am presently reviewing, Madicken or as she is known in German translation Madita) are not nearly as well known and as universally loved and even all that accepted in especially North America. And quite frankly, albeit I do consider this both problematic and very much frustrating, I am also also not all that surprised regarding this here scenario in particular with regard to Astrid Lindgren's two Madicken novels (since only the first novel has actually been and very poorly in my not so humble opinion translated as Mischievous Meg for the North American market, with an entire chapter in fact omitted for supposedly reasons of puritanism and the unacceptability of little girls swearing and fighting, and that albeit for the British market, both Madicken novels do seem to have been translated as Mardie's Adventures and Mardie to the Rescue , they are both not in current print and as such also rather difficult and often really expensive to obtain used). And with this all in mind, even though I do indeed rate the German translations of Astrid Lindgren's Madicken novels with five glowing stars and also consider them both childhood and adulthood personal favourites, I really can ONLY recommend reading the Madicken series in either the Swedish originals if you are in fact fortunate enough to be sufficiently fluent in Swedish or in the German translations, which are titled as Madita and Madita und Pims and which in this here edition appear in one handy all encompassing volume. And yes, I personally do suggest actively avoiding especially the one entire chapter missing Mischievous Meg like the proverbial plague (and since I have not been able to as yet locate reasonably priced copies of the British translations, I will only state that according to my own research, the two Mardie books do seem to appear as having been much better and more completely translated than Mischievous Meg , but since I have not actually had the chance to peruse them, I cannot and will not suggest purchasing two novels that the last time I checked online were obscenely expensive even for mass market paperback editions that were described as falling apart and with pages missing). So what is it about Madita and Madita und Pims that I have always enjoyed, appreciated and yes indeed loved so very much? Is it that main protagonist Madita (Madicken) is imaginative and sometimes a bit mischievous? Yes, but actually and really only very partially so, because what MY OWN AND MAIN personal attachment to Madita and her adventures and escapades (and in both the first and the second novel) always has been, this has considerably more to do with the fact that Madita even with all of her tendencies to making mild mischief and creating a bit of havoc both at home and at school (including possessing a rather interesting and varied store of delightfully imaginative curse expressions that not only Madita but also her little sister Lisabeth are constantly and fondly using) Madita is basically (and to and for me utterly) a young girl with a heart of pure gold and who first and foremost wants to make people happy and is therefore both very much unhappy with and offended by instances and scenarios of social injustice. And while even in the first novel, while even in Madita , Astrid Lindgren always portrays Madita as rambunctious but basically sweet and generous (and generally even when her little sister Lisabeth is being a godawful pest), Madita's social consciousness and her desire for fairness and social justice, this is in particular noticeable in the second novel, in Madita und Pims (where there are many instances of poverty, of bigoted attitudes towards the poor, the infirm etc. being portrayed by Astrid Lindgren, not to mention the depiction of alcoholism and how fathers spending their wages and time gambling or drinking at the local pub can make things horrible and painful for their wives and children). And yes, in Madita und Pims , Madita although a member of the so-called upper classes of her small Swedish city not only (and from her own volition) often engages in solid and realistic instances of providing help and support to and for those who are suffering and in dire straits (for unlike her journalist father who writes academic articles about helping the poor, Madita and even to an extend her mother put thoughts and ideals into action and actively engage IN HELPING OUT) Madita also does not simply help and provide aid with an attitude of superiority and aloofness, no she actually endeavours to also understand and make friends with those whom her compatriots would probably consider lower and lesser, that she and Mia actually become best friends (once the barriers are down) and when Madita suggests that the family take their maid Alva to the mayor's charity event, she does this first and foremost because she loves Alva and wants to see her happy (and knows how much she loves to dance), and oh boy, do I ever tend to laugh out loud when Madita gets the chimney sweep to come in and publicly dance with Alva (and how this do totally offends ALL of the city's high and mighty and dressed to the gills arrogant "grand ladies"). . more. Madita. This is now the third classic Swedish children's book that I've read in German translation, and once again I find, to my considerable surprise, that Swedish stories can survive the transition to this new language intact. I read it, and I'm amazed by the translator's skill, but even more by the fact that it's possible in the first place. It sounds like Madicken! The teasing conversations with her little sister Lisabeth sound the same; the author's ironic asides about the many things that go right This is now the third classic Swedish children's book that I've read in German translation, and once again I find, to my considerable surprise, that Swedish stories can survive the transition to this new language intact. I read it, and I'm amazed by the translator's skill, but even more by the fact that it's possible in the first place. It sounds like Madicken! The teasing conversations with her little sister Lisabeth sound the same; the author's ironic asides about the many things that go right past the seven year old heroine sound the same; the wonderful lyrical passages on the beauty of the Swedish seasons sound the same; they've even found a way to translate the sisters' trademark private phrase, which in Swedish is Pilutta dig! and in German becomes Ätsch, Pustekuchen! so that it sounds the same. I really want to sit down and do a detailed comparison with the original to see if I can figure out how the magic works. Somehow, it seems that a skillful translator can usually find German words which keep the prosody more or less unchanged, so you can hear the different voices the way they're supposed to be. This doesn't work in English. The book consists of a series of loosely connected short stories, spanning a year of Madicken's life, and they are utterly charming. I have trouble saying which bit I liked most, they're all perfect, but maybe the beginning of the winter story. It's the first day when the river has frozen over properly. Madicken and Lisabeth have rushed out of bed as soon as they were alerted to the amazing news, and they've put on their warm clothes and their skates as fast as ever they could. They've promised to be back in time for breakfast. But now they're out on the ice, and Astrid Lindgren does such a good job of describing how wonderful it is to be seven and out skating with your little sister on new ice that's completely shiny and clean because no one else has discovered it yet. They skate and skate and skate. "We could skate all the way to the farm," suggests Madicken. "Are we allowed to do that?" asks Lisabeth. "We wouldn't be allowed to go down the road," says Madicken. "It's too far. But it's much quicker skating, so that's okay." Lisabeth accepts this extremely dubious argument and they skate off. It turns out that the farm's rather a long way by river too. They go round bend after bend, but it just won't turn up like it's supposed to. Suddenly the girls realize that they're half an hour from home and they're very hungry and they'd promised to be back for breakfast. "We must be nearly there," says Madicken. "We can't turn round now. I know what. We'll ask if we can buy some eggs." "But how will we eat them?" asks Lisabeth. "We can ask them boil them for us," says Madicken. "But do we have any money?" asks Lisabeth. "I have two öre in my pocket," says Madicken. "Is that enough to buy two eggs?" asks Lisabeth. "Well," says Madicken. "We'll ask how many eggs we can buy for two öre. It'll work out." So she looks in her pocket, but she can't find the two öre. It's just gone. "It doesn't matter," she says. "Two öre more or less doesn't make any difference. I bet they'll invite us to stay for breakfast." Lisabeth isn't so sure about all this, and the farm still hasn't turned up, and she's hungry and cold. She starts crying, but then they go round the next bend and there it is. They take off their skates and knock on the door. The family is already sitting down and eating breakfast. "Can we buy some eggs?" asks Lisabeth, who's forgotten all the changes of plan. Madicken grits her teeth. Her stupid little sister has just ruined everything! "How many did your mother tell you to buy?" asks kind Mrs. Karlsson. "I'm afraid we don't have any money," says Madicken. "But we're very hungry," says Lisabeth. "I understand that you are," says Farmer Karlsson, but he doesn't really seem to understand very well, since he just goes back to eating his breakfast without saying anything else. Luckily his wife understand better. "Would you girls like some porridge?" she asks. "Oh yes please!" say Madicken and Lisabeth at the same time. They take off their coats and sit down. A moment later they have two steaming bowls of porridge in front of them. "Porridge is my absolute favorite!" says Madicken politely. "And is it your favorite too?" Mrs. Karlsson asks Lisabeth. "No," says Lisabeth, who is very truthful but doesn't like to waste words when she's eating. "And what is your favorite?" asks Mrs. Karlsson. "Chocolate pudding and pudding and other puddings," says Lisabeth. Madicken sighs. "Chocolate pudding means chocolate pudding and pudding means vanilla pudding and other puddings means other puddings," she explains. No one understands what Lisabeth says except her. For some reason, Mr. Karlsson seems to be sort of laughing without really laughing. Madicken has noticed that people at the farm often do that. . more. Please note that for simplicity's sake, I will be using the main character's American name (Meg) throughout, although I personally know her as Madita (from the German translations) and in the Swedish original, she is called Madicken (in the British translations, Madicken is known as Mardie); these all seem to be nicknames for Margaret. Now the German translations of Astrid Lindgren's Madicken novels (both the first book and its sequel) take their well deserved places amongst my very favourite chi Please note that for simplicity's sake, I will be using the main character's American name (Meg) throughout, although I personally know her as Madita (from the German translations) and in the Swedish original, she is called Madicken (in the British translations, Madicken is known as Mardie); these all seem to be nicknames for Margaret. Now the German translations of Astrid Lindgren's Madicken novels (both the first book and its sequel) take their well deserved places amongst my very favourite childhood reads (and even as an adult, I tend to reread them regularly). This here American translation, however, truly and unfortunately leaves much (actually leaves everything) to be desired. And most problematic and for me really rather unforgivable is the salient fact that in Mischievous Meg a whole chapter has been omitted (the entire episode where Meg and her sister Elizabeth first meet Mia and her sister Matti is simply non-existent). Now I guess either the American publisher (Viking Press) or the translator (Gerry Bothmer), or perhaps even both, could not handle or stomach the fact that in this "missing" chapter Meg and her sister Elizabeth loudly and rather joyfully swear at Matti and Mia (who swear right back at them). And aside from this being a wildly entertaining episode (maybe not entirely comme il faut, but oh so much fun, from Elizabeth getting a pea stuck up her nose, to the expressive and in-your-face war of words between the four little girls), this chapter also represents the first face-to-face meeting and confrontation between Meg and Mia and as such, it equally sets the tone for the conflict between the two in the sequel (which is likely also one of the main reasons the sequel has never been translated into American English, a serious lack and shortcoming, as in my humble opinion, the sequel is actually somewhat superior to the first novel, more evocative, dealing with heavier societal themes, and giving especially Meg a chance to truly shine). Truth be told, reading reviews of Mischievous Meg posted by my GR friends, I was rather and at first almost unpleasantly surprised that they kept mentioning the fact that for an almost ten year old, Meg acts surprisingly naively, innocently and immaturely. And I thought, "wait a minute, Meg is not nine going on ten, but six going on seven." And yes, this all did not make much sense until I actually got my hands on an ILL copy of Mischievous Meg and realised that aside from having left out an entire chapter, translator Gerry Bothmer has also (and for really no legitimate reason whatsoever) aged Meg, that she is definitely described in Mischievous Meg as being nine years old, whilst in the original Madicken novel, and in the German translation, Astrid Lindgren portrays her as much much younger, as only six, although Meg will indeed soon be seven. And that seemingly small and minute change, it is in actual fact not such an insignificant change after all, but a rather massively frustrating and annoying one, as it makes Meg and her funny escapades and shenanigans appear as considerably sillier, less mature and more potentially naughty (as many of them could easily be forgiven a six year old, but not so much anymore a nine year old). And finally, while Meg is definitely mischievous at times, generally she is not what in German we would call "ungezogen" (deliberately naughty). She is a bit rash, a bit thoughtless, but she is sweet, loving, and for the most part kind to and patient with her younger sister (except perhaps in the Joseph episode, but Elizabeth did bite the head off of the chocolate doll Meg was saving and then refused to apologise). And thus, I even have my issues with Mischievous Meg as the book title, since it makes it appear as though Meg is by nature an unruly and rather naughty unmannerly child, which in my opinion, she simply is not. And it is really too bad that Gerry Bothmer's translation leaves out so much important and in my opinion absolutely necessary content (an entire chapter, that is simply flabbergasting and unacceptable) and strives to even change the age of the main protagonist. It is thus, and in my opinion, really and truly time for a new and updated American translation of both of Astrid Lindgren's Madicken books (one that keeps to author's original text as much as possible, does not arbitrarily leave out entire chapters that might be a bit problematic with regard to American cultural and behavioural norms, and renders characters almost three years older than what they are supposed to be). . more.