This is MJ. I'm an author, I'm an artist, I'm an analyzer. Welcome to Fortress Fiction,
Episode 9. Join me as I talk about Ronia, the robber's daughter, by Astrid Lindgren.
This book was published in 1981. Here's the synopsis. Ronia grows up among a clan of wild
robber men in a medieval magical forest. After befriending the son of a rival robber chieftain,
she attempts to unite the feuding families. Here's how to read this book. The free book
or the book can be borrowed for free from a library or purchased from many online retailers
including the official Astrid Lindgren site which will be linked in the show notes and in
audiobook format as well from Kobo and Audible which are both linked in the show notes. So
obviously you can go to a library and get a paperback. I know there's a hardback that we
read the paperback with the family and I read a paperback of it that I have actually the same
cover pictured on the thumbnail here and we got that off of Amazon or whatever so anyway that's
what you can do. But here we go. Here's what I thought about it. Does this book belong in
the Fortress Fiction? I'm gonna say no. It doesn't qualify to be a foundation in the Fortress Fiction.
It doesn't really belong in a place of great honor in the Fortress Fiction. It's not a cornerstone.
It's a place of little honor. It doesn't belong in the dungeon certainly like Tug Everlasting for
example but it's I don't know there's just something kind of missing there. There are
positive moral elements but there isn't quite the full impact that I want for books in the
Fortress Fiction and that's why I'm negative on it you could say or not as positive as I absolutely
could be. A book needs neither to be perfect nor to be part of the Fortress Fiction for me to like
it and for me to call it a good book so I'm gonna talk a little bit about the book and the things I
did like about it. So this book is charming and it's competently written. Lingrin has a very
interesting way she presents everything which is it's very simple and very straightforward and
somehow that simplicity feels like homey and comforting and warm and I really like that. It's
an interesting coming-of-age story in a fantasy setting but there's no epic quest. The quest is
very internal very home-like and I mean it really isn't even a quest but it is a coming-of-age that
takes place over about a year the main narrative that is. And really I would say the focus of the
plot is Rhonia learning about the larger world the world outside of the fort that she grew up in
and which is encompassed by the forest but then there's this other robber band that she interacts
with through mostly through Birk or Burke and she learns like that what she's known all her life
isn't that just what she's known all her life isn't what everything is and that there's something
beyond that and outside of that and she kind of learns that the world is a bigger place than she
knew it was and we see her interacting with that idea and coming to terms with it in different ways
which is really interesting. I really like the world building in the setting so there's a magical
forest setting there are all these fantasy creatures there's merc trolls, rump hobs, gray dwarves,
harpies and maybe some other things there's all the unearthly ones I forgot about them and the
creatures are less like these big mythical creatures who are really scary or really charming and
endearing they're more like animals with like a human intelligence and they have some mystical
properties or powers that can affect Birk and Rhonia negatively the worst of which would be
the harpies who like love to kill humans and apparently they'll abduct humans and make them
serve them which is really awful but the animals or the the fantasy creatures are more just like
these very sophisticated animals that present like a fantasy type of danger except for the
unearthly ones which like kidnap children or something it's very strange I don't exactly know
what they do and that's the thing is Lundgren presented to you as if you're familiar with all
these different characters and she presented to you in a way like there's never an as you know
it's just they talk about what these different creatures do to some extent but it's done in a
really natural organic way that just throws you into it and expects you to accept it and to roll
along with it and to figure out what some of these things are but they don't really matter
because they're just like it's like a bear or you know whatever honey badger it's just there's
these different animals that they encounter basically and they have to deal with them they
present some dangerous them like I said but it's nothing that terrible I guess there's no like
a curse of a wizard or which or anything I have that they have to deal with but they do live in
a magical world and I really feel like her writing also captures the beauty and wonder of nature from
a child's perspective and from an adult's perspective as well you know lots of us don't always get to
appreciate nature as much as we might want to and this book helps to breed and foster an appreciation
for nature because of how much time they spend in the forest and how much they love their forests
and their woods and the animals that live there the natural animals foxes horses even some bears
they have encounters with sort of and it's all really interesting so running Burke really are
the central characters Ronia is the titular character and Burke is very much her counterpart
and you know they come from these rival robber gangs robber bands who are very much parallels
or mirrors of each other and I think that's really interesting there's not too much to say
about that except for it's kind of a simple storytelling device there foils to each other
neither group is better than the other in fact you could say that the robbers in there and the
mother the children's mothers are like equally bad as each other and the children are the ones
who are different and who stand out from them and are in opposition to them it's really interesting
because they love the families that they're from well Burke kind of actually seems like the book
robbers aren't as nice as maths robbers are but we don't really get to see things from Burke's
perspective it seems like Undis is really a harsh mother to live under and Burke himself doesn't
seem so bad whereas like Matt seems like he's kind of the Undis he's pretty rough and and
Lovis is pretty great but Ronia and Burke have this very innocent child friend relationship like
they they don't like each other at first and Ronia threatens to punch him and throw him into
Hell's Gap as soon as he falls in Hell's Gap spoilers she ends up saving him because he lands
on a little ledge but she does save him and they just have this really like interesting back and
forth a lot of bickering at first but then they become friends and then they start calling each
other brother and sister and when they're found out that they have this secret relationship with
each other where their brother and sister were they're so close to each other Undis kind of
scolds Burke and she tells him that you know you call her sister now but in a year or two you'll
be calling her something else and it's really interesting because there's these hints of this
future romance between the two of them but the characters themselves are naive to it that being
Ronia and Burke and the way that the narrative frames it there isn't a spark of romance you get
to see insight into both of them because of the way she wrote it it's not like full-on internal
monologue or like oh I think this I think that but it's you get into their their mindset and they
really do love each other they really do value each other they care so much about each other and
they really do see each other as brother and sister right now you can feel the love but it
doesn't feel like it's not like oh I feel this weird tingling feeling towards my brother Burke
it's like she describes you to see a description of how much Ronia values Burke and loves him and
cares for him and it definitely feels like there will be a romance there the adults there's talk
of potentially the two of them getting married one day and becoming robbers of their own I'll
just leave it at that and which is something that they reject but they don't reject the idea that's
presented that they'll you know get married one day but I think they really comment on that they
more say like no we won't be robbers when we grow up but they don't say they won't be married I
think that's how it goes pretty much so like maybe by the end of the book they're thinking about that
but definitely not in the beginning of the book and there's definitely no there's nothing untoward
that happens at one point they live together in the Bears cave which is something you'd have to
read the book to know the full context of other than it's a cave that a bear lived in at one point
and nothing inappropriate happens at all nothing even a hint of anything inappropriate happens at
all because they're brother and sister effectively and I think that's really good that's the way
things should be for this age group I would say and you know that's some of the virtuous that's
one of the virtuous elements that's in this book so yeah like I mentioned before there's this thing
going on where Burke and Rooney both want to reject being a robber and it's interesting they
want to live a honest way of life and it's not it's better to them because they know and they
hear stories told of how people cry and get mad and curse the robbers who take their things from
them and the robbers think it's great they think it's hilarious they love it they you know they
want people to cry harder and they're you know they're drinking their tears so to speak but the
kids see hurting people and taking their things as a negative thing and they don't understand why
you would do that and you get you Burke like you get that from him but when you really get
her perspective and there's this whole conversation that she has with her father Matt and it's
interesting because they they talk about that but like they don't judge their families they just say
and they the reasons they run away are because of how the families are treating them not because
the robbing that they're doing and you could say that's awful but I think it's just very real and
very human what we grow up in is what we're used to and you know if you had to switch places with
somebody you would probably not be able to bear what they have to bear and if they just switch
places with you they wouldn't be able to bear what you have to bear and that's just kind of how it is
we you know a fish doesn't know it's wet right fish doesn't know it's in water we're just used to
what you have and that's all they've ever known so they based on that they're not rejecting their
families because they're morally outraged they're just saying yeah I'm not going to do that so I
think that's really cool it's interesting though because everything that Matt and Lovis give to
Ronia as far as teaching and like encouraging her to be strong and fearless and competent you
know by going out into the forest and stuff they're really equipping her and I think the love
they've given her too has equipped her to be a person who is warm and open and accepting like
she's not this way in spite of them she's this way because this is the way they are to her and
she just wants to extend that to everybody else and they also teach her you know when she's out in
the forest not to be afraid of anything and I think that for them they went a little too far
because her not being afraid eventually like she practices doing things that she's afraid of until
she's not afraid of them anymore she conquers her fear as a matter of habit as a matter of
practice and she feared and hated Burke at first and then eventually she came to befriend him and
then eventually love him as a brother and you know who knows what happened beyond then or beyond
that but I think that's really interesting because they kind of gave her the tools to repel against
them so to speak and they did it unwittingly by teaching her to be strong and resilient and by
giving her the kind of love that would make her a loving kind person so like I said love is important
in here but I think some of the values that are stated in the book and not stated outright they're
stated by action are love honesty openness and warmth valuing relationships over personal growth
or in personal growth over material goods so y'all valuing relationships and personal growth over
material goods I think that's definitely part of the story and again it's it's done more subtly
it's stated more subtly but that's that's how it goes and like I said having you know by you know
by Rhonia being brave she's able to go on her own path and do her own thing which is exactly what
her parents were equipping her for and she just went a different path than they thought she would
and I think that's pretty interesting and I'm surprised by that and it's good it's just interesting
how it all worked out that like they're unwittingly equipping her to go in this direction you know
contrary to them but she's not leaving them behind it's just she's choosing a different path so to
speak or not so to speak but definitely definitely but we don't get to see that manifest fully in
this book because it ends before they get much older so something I thought was that was really
interesting in the way the book was presented the story was presented is that there's a lot of
tension a lot of danger but before all that tension and danger starts the author basically
makes you feel like Rhonia will be fine that she'll be okay it isn't the kind of book where
kids gonna die and yet in the times where there is this high tension you really feel the danger
and the stakes because it's been so long that nothing has happened maybe it's been so long
since you were given those assurances and the characters continue to speak about the dangers
of the forest and you have like some robbers get injured they get captured by the sheriff's men and
things like that they get injured fighting each other a little bit so like definitely definitely
you know real consequences are happening to people in this book and it doesn't seem logical
that the kids would be spared that and they get like minor injuries but definitely the way things
are presented you definitely feel danger they're in a few life-threatening situations and you
definitely feel like they might not they may not make it even though you're pretty sure they will
and it's really good because again you have that safety and that comfort and that kind of feeling
of coziness that you know everything's gonna be okay but they still get to go through these
trials which makes the book exciting and interesting so I think this book definitely will resonate with
younger readers and I think it will have positive effects on them Rhonia and Burke are really good
I don't want to say role models but like they're definitely not somebody I wouldn't want my kids I
wouldn't want my kids not imitating them you know I'm saying like they have very good traits and
very good qualities that are admirable and I think you know kids reading these books and then
wanting to become a little bit more adventurous and wanting to exhibit some of their other you
know positive traits that are less you know actiony and heroic but more like good and loving and warm
you know that's that's perfect I think the book would have been better if the themes had been
explored better or stated more clearly and I just don't know how else Lindgren could have gone about
that but just I don't know it just I'm saying all these positive things about it but I just don't
think it's quite fortress fiction material like it's not gonna build those things up in the way
I'd want it to I don't know maybe it's a very feminine book and I'm coming from a very masculine
perspective and I'm not seeing it as something that I think is really valuable in that way however
I do like the Oz books so much and they're written by man but their characters are mostly
female mostly girls little girls and they're young girls I should say and I feel the opposite
about them I think they're fantastic so that's kind of interesting if you didn't know this this
book has been adapted fairly faithfully by Studio Ghibli they did a like a 3d modeled animated show
it's like 26 episodes long the books I don't know not 20 chapters I don't think which is interesting
so it's a really good show it's a really faithful to everything I felt like I'd already read the
book by the time I'd read it because I watched the show so much with my kids and it's pretty
great let me see yeah so it's interesting that the book has it's from the from 1981 in you know
the you don't know this the adaptation was made within the last 10 years within you know around
2010 for sure but I think a little like the mid 2010s and it's interesting that it was adapted
in Japan but then again there's a lot of different things that have been adapted into animation like
Swiss family Robinson little women Emma Jane Austen's Emma lots of different things so anyway
yeah getting back to the book I want to give you my final thoughts so the book is constantly
written this is Ronial Robertson are completely written it has strong positive elements memorable
characters and setting there's a potential for deeper thematic exploration which I guess a kid
could do on their own after reading this or an adult but I really wish there was more in the
book there and I think it's a valuable addition to literature children's literature even if not
fully meeting the fortress fiction criteria and that's about all I have to say about the book
Astrid Lindgren Lindgren Lindgren sorry Astrid Lindgren is the author of a lot of other books
you can find them all on her website Astrid Lindgren calm should be linked in the show notes
she's the author of the Pippi Longstocking series a mill of Lundberger Carlson on the roof six
Bullerby children and then those are I think all series with multiple characters in them and then
there's me oh my son which is a standalone book and then the brothers Lionheart which again I
haven't read these books but these are some of her other books that you can check out if you
liked what you heard about her work from from this episode so anyway thank you very much the
next book I'm gonna be talking about I don't remember what it is so stay tuned I'll let you
know what it is it'll come out about a week from now oh no I remember it's and of green gables I
don't remember the author's name but the next book I'll be talking about on fortress fiction is
and of green gables the audiobook is about seven hours long you can get it for free on LibriVox
you can get it for free on audible if you have I like the mid-tier or I don't know what year I
have I have like the one credit a month here and I have a credit for it to know I get it for free
in my library it's included in my library you can get it on Kobo other places you can get it I'm
not sure check your libraries for free audiobook versions too or you can just get the book if you
want to there's a whole like it feels like nine books in the and bring cable series or and of
they call it something else anyway the and series so yeah that's what I'm gonna be reading next and
anyway I look forward to hearing your thoughts on any of the books I'm writing or talking about and
I look here look forward to hearing your thoughts on the books that I'm writing as well because I'm
hearing publication on my first middle grade novel the pitch is that it's magical bugs battling
monsters and yeah I'm aiming to make it part of the fortress fiction from from go so anyway that's
all I have to say for now I thank you for your time and attention and until next time be well be
good and keep reading I hope you enjoyed that go to MJMunoz.com to leave any questions comments
or other feedback you might have there you can find all of my analysis art and fiction I cover
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