Lowenskold Ring

Rating:
Summary: Simple and interesting
Review: A Swedish fairy with layers of creativity. A simple and interesting middle-age fantasy story about a ring that inflicts evil upon it's holder until it is restored to it's proper owner. A closer look reveals deeper questions about loyalty, appearances, and morality.

Rating:
Summary: Simple and interesting
Review: A Swedish fairy with layers of creativity. A simple and interesting middle-age fantasy story about a ring that inflicts evil upon it's holder until it is restored to it's proper owner. A closer look reveals deeper questions about loyalty, appearances, and morality.

Rating:
Summary: Selma Lagerlof's elegant simplicity
Review: Not many people read Selma Lagerlof any more, which is a pity - she won the Nobel Prize, after all. And if you read the "Ring" you'll understand why. Most of her books are aimed at least ostensibly at children; the "Ring" is one of her "adult" books, but like the children's books it has the same artless simplicity and uninvolved character of a fairy tale about it. The story at least initially is a sort of picaresque tale built around an old general's ring, but the center of attention keeps shifting as you read on. One episode effortlessly develops into another, and fifty pages later you realize how it all holds together, but it is so simple and delightful that you don't notice how far afield the story has taken you. A real gem.

Rating:
Summary: Selma Lagerlof's elegant simplicity
Review: Not many people read Selma Lagerlof any more, which is a pity - she won the Nobel Prize, after all. And if you read the "Ring" you'll understand why. Most of her books are aimed at least ostensibly at children; the "Ring" is one of her "adult" books, but like the children's books it has the same artless simplicity and uninvolved character of a fairy tale about it. The story at least initially is a sort of picaresque tale built around an old general's ring, but the center of attention keeps shifting as you read on. One episode effortlessly develops into another, and fifty pages later you realize how it all holds together, but it is so simple and delightful that you don't notice how far afield the story has taken you. A real gem.

Rating:
Summary: A Teenager's Fairy Tale
Review: This is the first book I have read by the Nobel Prize-winning author, Selma Lagerlof. I found the book to be very easy and enjoyable reading and I look forward to reading more by this author. The problem for me with "The Lowenskold Ring" (a/k/a "The General's Ring") is that it was too brief. The author was able to mix some of the folk culture of rural Sweden of roughly 150 years ago with some morality lessons. The morality lessons tended to deal with greed, pride, and loyalty and they were well enough presented. However, I had the feeling that author squandered an opportunity to say more. Like a journey in which the main character encounters many different types of people, "Lowenskold's Ring" could have been a vehicle to give us several more personalities and issues to confront.

I also felt that the language of the author was written for either a younger or less enlightened audience. I can see where the author would do well with children's stories. However, I will end by saying that the book served as an enjoyable activity for the hour or so that it took to read.