Vi kallar honom Anna
Encyclopedia
Vi kallar honom Anna is a 1987 Swedish
novel by Peter Pohl
. It is about Anders, a boy visiting a summercamp who is severely bullied. It is written from the perspective of Micke, one of the leaders of the summercamp.
Vi kallar honom Anna has been translated into Dutch
(We noemen hem Anna, 1993), German
(Nennen wir ihn Anna, 1991), Danish
(Vi kalder ham Anna, 1989) and Norwegian
(Vi kaller ham Anna, 1989).
It is the fifth book from the rainbow series. Mickes experiences may be autobiographic. Micke is youth leader for sports in the same summercamp and the same period as Pohl was. Both do running
and win prizes, are the same age and pass for the exams at Södra Latin in the same year. Further, the very sparse references to Mickes past correspond with Pohl's.
It is not clear whether it is a youth book or a book for adults. It can be read in different ways, by children (13+) as well as by adults. Some libraries place it in the youth section, while others place it with the adults' books. It describes both the fate of a 14-year old boy, as well as the psychological impact his fate has on a 17-year-old boy: Anders tries to get help with Micke, for he can't get help anywhere else. This has a considerable psychological impact on Micke.
At summercamp, Anders gets severely bullied. In the morning, when all boys have to fix their bed, the other people won't let him. This results in a low number of points, and because he gets a low number of points for his bed, the other boys throw him into the sea. A number of times, he is beaten up so badly that he is unable to leave his bed for many days. The camp leaders don't want to send anyone home: the camp reputation would be severely damaged.
Micke is the sports' leader at the camp. Through the ten weeks at summercamp, Anders discovers that he can trust Micke. He tells Micke that he is the only one he likes: at home, his father mistreats him. When he eats, his father tells him exactly how much money he owes. On the other hand, his father always complains that Anders is much too small and that he is an imbecile. His father forces him to watch when his father rapes his mother. At school, everyone bullies him, and at camp, it's not different. Micke finds it very difficult to react to this openness, but tries to be open and be a friend.
When the summercamp is finished, Micke needs to work for his exams, at the end of the year. He also trains a lot, and wins a lot of matches by running fastest. He has hardly any time left for Anders, and the few times he sees him, Anders tells him a lot about how he is mistreated everywhere. Micke finds it increasingly difficult to know how to handle the situation. He tries to contact the school about it, but the school does not believe him: the school direction does not believe that there is any bullying at Södra Latins.
Later, it seems Anders' life might be getting better, for he and his mother are finally moving out of fathers' house and maybe Anders can even change school. However, at a later moment, Anders has a fight with his mother. The neighbours, who he visits sometimes, are not at home, and he can't find Micke either. At this moment, he commits suicide by hanging himself. The suicide method requires a strong will: he hangs himself in a place where his feet reached the ground, so he needed to pull up his feet all the time.
When Micke visits Anders' parents after his suicide, Anders' father asks Micke if he wants to sell his model railway track.
Man bör tänka sig själv som en person som finns i framtiden och kan bedöma - fördöma eller gilla - det jag som handlar idag, det jag som håller stånd eller sviker. -- Eyvind Johnson
"Om mod", I angeläget ärende, Tor Andreæ, Stockholm
1941,
This could be translated as:
One should think that you're someone living in the future and that you have to judge - approve or disapprove - the I that acts today, the I that keeps up or fails.
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
novel by Peter Pohl
Peter Pohl
Peter Pohl, born is a Swedish author and former director and screenwriter of short films.He has received prizes for several of his books and films, as well as for his entire work....
. It is about Anders, a boy visiting a summercamp who is severely bullied. It is written from the perspective of Micke, one of the leaders of the summercamp.
Vi kallar honom Anna has been translated into Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
(We noemen hem Anna, 1993), German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(Nennen wir ihn Anna, 1991), Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
(Vi kalder ham Anna, 1989) and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
(Vi kaller ham Anna, 1989).
It is the fifth book from the rainbow series. Mickes experiences may be autobiographic. Micke is youth leader for sports in the same summercamp and the same period as Pohl was. Both do running
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
and win prizes, are the same age and pass for the exams at Södra Latin in the same year. Further, the very sparse references to Mickes past correspond with Pohl's.
It is not clear whether it is a youth book or a book for adults. It can be read in different ways, by children (13+) as well as by adults. Some libraries place it in the youth section, while others place it with the adults' books. It describes both the fate of a 14-year old boy, as well as the psychological impact his fate has on a 17-year-old boy: Anders tries to get help with Micke, for he can't get help anywhere else. This has a considerable psychological impact on Micke.
Plot summary
The story starts in 1958. Anders Roos, 14 years old, arrives one week late at Södra Latins' summercamp (which is 10 weeks in total). The leaders of the camp have put him in another barrack than his peers, because they know there are "troubles" at school. Usually peers are together. The other people in the barrack have to decide on a nickname for him: all people in the camp have one. They think he looks like a girl. Therefore, they decide to call him Anna: Vi kallar honom Anna. Anders is far too small for his age, cannot play football and cannot swim. He canAt summercamp, Anders gets severely bullied. In the morning, when all boys have to fix their bed, the other people won't let him. This results in a low number of points, and because he gets a low number of points for his bed, the other boys throw him into the sea. A number of times, he is beaten up so badly that he is unable to leave his bed for many days. The camp leaders don't want to send anyone home: the camp reputation would be severely damaged.
Micke is the sports' leader at the camp. Through the ten weeks at summercamp, Anders discovers that he can trust Micke. He tells Micke that he is the only one he likes: at home, his father mistreats him. When he eats, his father tells him exactly how much money he owes. On the other hand, his father always complains that Anders is much too small and that he is an imbecile. His father forces him to watch when his father rapes his mother. At school, everyone bullies him, and at camp, it's not different. Micke finds it very difficult to react to this openness, but tries to be open and be a friend.
When the summercamp is finished, Micke needs to work for his exams, at the end of the year. He also trains a lot, and wins a lot of matches by running fastest. He has hardly any time left for Anders, and the few times he sees him, Anders tells him a lot about how he is mistreated everywhere. Micke finds it increasingly difficult to know how to handle the situation. He tries to contact the school about it, but the school does not believe him: the school direction does not believe that there is any bullying at Södra Latins.
Later, it seems Anders' life might be getting better, for he and his mother are finally moving out of fathers' house and maybe Anders can even change school. However, at a later moment, Anders has a fight with his mother. The neighbours, who he visits sometimes, are not at home, and he can't find Micke either. At this moment, he commits suicide by hanging himself. The suicide method requires a strong will: he hangs himself in a place where his feet reached the ground, so he needed to pull up his feet all the time.
When Micke visits Anders' parents after his suicide, Anders' father asks Micke if he wants to sell his model railway track.
Major themes
The theme can be summarized by a citation that occurs several times in the book:Man bör tänka sig själv som en person som finns i framtiden och kan bedöma - fördöma eller gilla - det jag som handlar idag, det jag som håller stånd eller sviker. -- Eyvind Johnson
Eyvind Johnson
Eyvind Johnson, was a Swedish writer and author. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with Harry Martinson in 1974 with the citation: for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom.Johnson was born Olof Edvin...
"Om mod", I angeläget ärende, Tor Andreæ, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
1941,
This could be translated as:
One should think that you're someone living in the future and that you have to judge - approve or disapprove - the I that acts today, the I that keeps up or fails.
Awards and nominations
- GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
book of the month in SeptembreSeptembreSeptembre are a British alternative rock band formed by the previous singer of Vex Red, Terry Abbott. He formed the band after Vex Red were dropped from their record label in late 2002. After playing a few gigs around the UK and releasing an EP, Septembre had to be put on hiatus due to their bass...
1991, by Bulletin Jugend + Literatur - Nominated for the German Jugendliteraturpreis, 1992
- DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Vlag en Wimpel, 1994, by the Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek
Sources and further reading
- Peter Pohl on Vi kallar honnom Anna (Swedish)
- Text on the backside of the book (Swedish)