The Orange Girl

“I ask again: what would you have chosen if you’d had the chance? Would you have elected to live a short span on earth only to be wrenched away from it all, never ever to return? Or would you have said no, thank you? You have only these two choices. Those are the rules. In choosing to live, you also choose to die.”

The Orange Girl is a short, sweet book set in Oslo; part philosophy, part romance and part poignant family tragedy. It was written by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder and translated into English. The story is about 15 year old Georg Røed, whose father died when he was four. A letter which was written to Geørg back in 1990, just before his father died, suddenly turns up. The letter tells the story of his father, Jan show more Olav, meeting the mysterious, luminous Orange Girl on a tram. Jan is captivated by the beautiful girl with a bag full of oranges. Who is she? Where is she from? And what is she doing with all those oranges?

What follows is a moving tale that shifts between Geørg and his father, spins the fairytale of the Orange Girl and talks about love, loss and the stars.

“We can't own each other's past. The question is whether we have a future together.”

This was a short but beautiful book that was well worth the read. I would recommend this book for either YA or adult readers. show less

Well, it has been many years since I read a book, cover to cover, over the course of a day or two. The Orange Girl has restored my faith in my ability to do just this. I have found that every book I have read of Gaarder's has held me captivated and I love the way in which not one word is wasted nor is it skimmed over (on my part!). This book is no exception.

The Orange Girl's main focus is on Georg, his deceased father and his father's love and obsession with the 'Orange Girl'. Georg's father died when he was nearly 4 and 11 years later he his handed a large, unopened envelope from his grandmother. The envelope holds his father's story of the Orange Girl. Written just before his death, Georg's father writes to the 'older' Georg about the show more girl and the events leading up to them meeting. On receiving the envelope, Georg hides himself away for an evening to read the story.

Gaarder brings his wonderful use of a 'story within story' in to play. We are with Georg all the way as he reads his father's tale and we also witness Georg's feelings and views throughout the book. We are, in effect, seeing Georg growing up in the course of a few hours. We are able to see him getting to know a father who died long before he was old enough to get to know him in life.

It was within the early part of the book I felt I had discovered the 'mystery', however, this did not make the book any less enchanting. In fact it made the story all the more bittersweet, poignant and touching. I found the Orange Girl to be a wonderful book about love, loss, life and making the most of what you have before it has gone.

Often with Gaarder's books I find that I stop myself for a few minutes, remove myself from the daily drudgery of work, bed, work, and see life for what it is! Precious, short and not to be spent being too serious about things for any length of time! The Orange Girl made me do this once again, even if for a short time, before the world of work, stress and earning money beckons! show less

Like other Jostein Gaarder books, this one is heavy on philosophy. However, the story is so compelling that you don't even realize that questions of after-life, what-ifs, terminal diseases and moving on after grief are fully addressed.

Georg is fully likable, and a very fleshed-out teenager. His family is supportive and nurturing, while giving him the space he needs to read this letter 11 years after it was written. What follows is a thoughtful, emotional and ultimately tragic story that buds with new life at the end.

Recommended.

This is an odd little book! In reading this, I'm thinking I may have lost my sense of romance a bit but anyway, I digress.....
Georg's dad died of a serious illness when he was only four. Skip ahead a few years & he's now fifteen & his grandmother has found a letter hidden in his old pram. The letter is to Georg from his dad & so unfolds the story of how Jan Olav (Georg's dad) meets Veronika (Georg's mum).
This book plods along at it's own place & never really gets anywhere, just keeps on going. I actually started to feel a bit uncomfortable at times, reading the letter. It was like reading someone else's diary & at times, Gaarder just seems to lose the plot & George's dad just keeps waffling on about his fantasies about Veronika. I show more actually found his infatuation to be a bit disturbing after awhile.
Anyway, all is not lost because there were some lovely & quite funny quotes in the book. show less

Fifteen-year-old Georg is stunned to receive a long-hidden letter from his father, who died of cancer 11 years before. It's a loving, romantic missive to the future, in which his father not only describes how he met and fell utterly in love with a mysterious woman whom he fondly nicknamed as "The Orange Girl", but also lyrically expresses an intense appreciation for the universe's wonders: common oranges, distant stars, the "great fairytale" in which he feels himself to be living in, and, most especially, little Georg, a son he'll never have a chance to have a conversation with ever again.

I would also like to recommend it to those who have lost a loved one and still need to grieve. I think that this would make a most thoughtful gift to show more one's Dad. Ultimately, it is the gift of love from a father to his son. "What would you have chosen if you'd have the chance? Would you have elected to live a short span on earth only to be wrenched away from it all, never ever to return? Or would you have said no, thank you? You have only these two choices. Those are the rules. In choosing to live, you also choose to die."

This is a thought-provoking fairy-tale romance imbued with a sense of awe and wonder. "All fairytales have rules, and perhaps it's their rules that actually distinguish one fairytale from another. These rules never need to be understood. They only need to be followed. If not, what they promise won't come true!"

Jostein Gaarder is the author of "Sophie's World", a huge bestseller in over 40 countries and I've long been a fan of his works. One of his trademarks is telling a story within a story, and doing so in a winding, and enthralling way. "Life is short for those who are truly able to understand that one day the entire world would come to a complete end. Not everyone is capable of that. Not everyone has the ability to comprehend what going away for all eternity really implies. There are too many distractions, hour by the hour, minute by the minute, to hinder such an understanding."

Book Details:

Title The Orange Girl
Author Jostein Gaarder
Reviewed By Purplycookie show less

Georg is fifteen years of age when he is given a letter that was written by his father some eleven years earlier. Georg’s father died of cancer and while he was dying he wrote to his four year old son who he would never see grow up. Georg’s family all gather to hear what is written in the letter but Georg locks himself away in his bedroom and starts to read with his mother lurking outside asking him if he is ok until the letter is read.

Georg’s father tells him about a young woman he met while at medical school – The Orange Girl. His father named her that because she was carrying a huge bag of oranges which he managed to make her drop in his attempt to help her catch a tram. After this Georg’s father becomes obsessed with the show more mysterious Orange Girl and makes many attempts to locate her, eventually they meet and talk and admit a mutual attraction. She tells him she has to go away for 6 months and if Georg’s father waits then they will spend the next six months together. There is a great deal intrigue and mystery surrounding who the Orange Girl is and the role she plays in his fathers life. As Georg reads the letter he pauses and tells of his reactions and thoughts to what his father has written, this very cleverly gives the book a collaborative narrative between the past and the present, the father and the son. At the end of the letter, when all is revealed the father asks Georg a question if he had the choice would he come into the world at all if he knew his time was going to be short – or would he refuse to return unless he knew he was going to live a long life.

THE ORANGE GIRL is about life and death, love and the thirst for knowledge or the meaning of life. George gives his answer to his father’s question at the end and allows the readers to come up with their own responses. The book is aimed at the YA market, and is very easy to understand for such a complex ‘meaning of life’ theme. show less

Apesar de na altura de quando o terminei não ter escrito nada, não significou que não gostei deste livro. Gostei e bastante!

É uma carta de um pai que sabe que vai morrer ao seu filho, que irá ser grande um dia, mas sem o conhecer.

O filho através dessa mesma carta acaba por conhecer o seu pai, redescobrir a sua família e olhar para a sua vida com outra perspectiva.

Um livro excelente a oferecer a um adolescente mas, claro está, uma excelente leitura para qualquer adulto.

História leve e bem escrita!