Bert-diaries
Encyclopedia
The Bert Diaries are a series of novel
s written in the form of a diary
, by Swedish writers Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson
. The main character is a Swedish teenager called Bert Ljung, living in Öreskoga
, a fictional town in Sweden
, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first book came out in 1987. Bert and his friends also have a pop/rock band, the Heman Hunters.
A TV series was made in 1994, directed by Tomas Alfredson
and Svante Kettner. It was followed by a feature film in 1995, also directed by Alfredson.
in the spring term of the 5th grade
but later becomes a mischievous teenager discovering his own sexuality
. From the book Berts första betraktelser, the readers can learn that Bert Ljung was born on February 21, 1976, but there are a lot of anachronism
s. His family is also depicted in the books. Bert plays the electric bass, sings and writes songs in the Heman Hunters, and play soccer for Öreskoga-Kamraternas Idrottsförening.
, and plays the flute and the keyboards in the Heman Hunters.
, rumors make everybody think he is the strong "Stor-Erik" or "Erik the Great" who is able to beat up Klimpen.
, and lives with her mother in a cottage. She plays the violin
. Her brothers are raggare
. Bert falls in love with Nadja in May in the 5th grade, and they come together in June. On 1 March in the 6th grade, Bert breaks up with Nadja.
. When her cousin Pavel visits Sweden in Berts vidare betraktelser, Bert is scared that secret US agents will spot them, and prevent him visiting his uncle Janne in New York City due to the poor relationship between the USA and the USSR
, as Czechoslovakia was a USSR-allied state. Bert is in love with Paulina from mid-late 6th grade to early 7th grade.
ball hitting her dental braces, knocking them out. In Berts bravader, Bert states that he doesn't like her without risk, whyle most guys in his class consider her being a wimp for good grades, good behavior and ironed clothes.
She also appears in the Bert comics, where she has a more quick temper, and a two cousines, one is named Lovisa from Gothenburg
who Bert doesn't know when she arrives by train making Bert confused, and another cousine named Antonia Ridderfjell.
after the 5th grade.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s written in the form of a diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
, by Swedish writers Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson
Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson
Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson are two Swedish-born cousins who are writers of children's literature and young-adult fiction. They are best known for their books about Sune and Bert...
. The main character is a Swedish teenager called Bert Ljung, living in Öreskoga
Öreskoga
Öreskoga is a fictional town in Sweden, where most of the Bert-diaries take place. Bert Ljung lives in Öreskoga, at Klosterstigen 18. In the books, he lives in a three floors high house with six flats, while he in the TV series live in a high-rise apartment building, similar to those in Hagalund...
, a fictional town in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first book came out in 1987. Bert and his friends also have a pop/rock band, the Heman Hunters.
A TV series was made in 1994, directed by Tomas Alfredson
Tomas Alfredson
Tomas Alfredson is a Swedish film director, best known internationally for directing the 2008 vampire film Let the Right One In...
and Svante Kettner. It was followed by a feature film in 1995, also directed by Alfredson.
Bert Ljung
Bert Ljung is the main character. Bert starts as a 12 year old childChild
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
in the spring term of the 5th grade
Education in Sweden
Education in Sweden is mandatory for all children from year 1 to year 9 - generally from the year of the child’s seventh birthday to the year of the child’s 16th...
but later becomes a mischievous teenager discovering his own sexuality
Human male sexuality
Human male sexuality covers physiological, psychological, social, cultural, and political aspects of the human male sexual response and related phenomenon...
. From the book Berts första betraktelser, the readers can learn that Bert Ljung was born on February 21, 1976, but there are a lot of anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s. His family is also depicted in the books. Bert plays the electric bass, sings and writes songs in the Heman Hunters, and play soccer for Öreskoga-Kamraternas Idrottsförening.
Åke Nordin
Åke Nordin is Bert's best friend. His mother died when he was 7 years old. While Bert is interested in girls, Åke is more interested in science, carrying out dangerous experiments with chemicals on his little sister Doris. Åke is the Heman Hunters' electrician and overall technician.Torleif Andersson
Torleif comes from a family depicted as "intellectual". Thorleif likes classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, and plays the flute and the keyboards in the Heman Hunters.
Erik "Lill-Erik" Linstett
Lill-Erik is the weak guy. He plays the accordion or the drums in the Heman Hunters. Before his arrival from SundsvallSundsvall
-External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall....
, rumors make everybody think he is the strong "Stor-Erik" or "Erik the Great" who is able to beat up Klimpen.
Rebecka Molin
Rebecka Molin is the first girl Bert is in love with, which occurs in the mid 5th grade when the book series start.Nadja Nilsson
Nadja Nilsson is a girl born in the autumn in WermlandiaVärmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
, and lives with her mother in a cottage. She plays the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. Her brothers are raggare
Raggare
Raggare is a subculture found mostly in Sweden and parts of Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Austria...
. Bert falls in love with Nadja in May in the 5th grade, and they come together in June. On 1 March in the 6th grade, Bert breaks up with Nadja.
Paulina Hlinka
Paulina Hlinka is a girl from what was then CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. When her cousin Pavel visits Sweden in Berts vidare betraktelser, Bert is scared that secret US agents will spot them, and prevent him visiting his uncle Janne in New York City due to the poor relationship between the USA and the USSR
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, as Czechoslovakia was a USSR-allied state. Bert is in love with Paulina from mid-late 6th grade to early 7th grade.
Emilia Ridderfjell
Emilia Ridderfjell is a girl who Bert falls in love with in October in the 7th grade. She's interested in horses and schools, and takes singing classes. Her parents are medical doctors. On 1 March in the 8th grade, Emilia breaks up with Bert. While Emilia has been a classmate of Bert since starting the 1st grade, Bert doesn't discover her until he falls in love with her, almost 6 and half year later. Before, she has just been a name on a paper, and a schooldesk in the classroom, except when Bert says "–Sorry" to her in the 3rd grade for accidentally smashing a table tennisTable tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
ball hitting her dental braces, knocking them out. In Berts bravader, Bert states that he doesn't like her without risk, whyle most guys in his class consider her being a wimp for good grades, good behavior and ironed clothes.
She also appears in the Bert comics, where she has a more quick temper, and a two cousines, one is named Lovisa from Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
who Bert doesn't know when she arrives by train making Bert confused, and another cousine named Antonia Ridderfjell.
Klas "Klimpen" Svensson
Klimpen is a stereotypical tough guy, who fights, and no one wants to be a friend with. He moves to MotalaMotala
Motala is a locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 29,798 inhabitants in 2005. It is the third largest city of Östergötland, following Linköping and Norrköping...
after the 5th grade.
Old version
- Berts dagbok (Bert's Diary) - 1987, new edition in 1993
- Bert och brorsorna (Bert and the Brothers) - 1995
- Bert och Boysen (Bert and the Boys) - 1996
- Bert och bacillerna (Bert and the Coodies) - 1997
- Berts första betraktelser (Bert's First Reflections) - 1990
- Berts vidare betraktelser (Bert's Further Reflections) - 1991
- Berts ytterligare betraktelser (Bert's Additional Reflections) - 1991
- Berts bravader (Bert's Exploits) - 1991
- Berts bekännelser (Bert's Confessions) - 1992
- Bert och badbrudarna (Bert and the Bath Chicks) - 1993
- Berts bekymmer (Bert's Worries) - 1994
- Berts bryderier (Bert's Embarrassments) - 1995
- Berts befrielse (Bert's Liberation) - 1996
- Bert och beundrarinnorna (Bert and the Admirers) - 1997
- Bert Babyface (Bert Babyface) - 1998
- Berts bokslut (Bert's Closure) - 1999
New version
- Bert och kalla kriget (Bert and the Cold War) - 2005
- Bert och Heman Hunters (Bert and the Heman Hunters) - 2006
- Bert + Samira = Sant? (Bert + Samira = True?) - 2007
- Bert Badbojen (Bert the bath boy) - 2008
- Bert och ryska invasionen (Bert and the Russian Invasion) - 2009
- Bert och datadejten (Bert and the Computer Date) - 2010