Bert Diaries

The Bert Diaries are a series of novels 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 late-July 2016 the recording of a new Bert film was announced.^[1]

Between 1993 and 2002, a comic book, FF med Bert, was published^[2] and between 1992 and 1999, comic albums were published.^[3]

Main characters

Bert Ljung

Bert Ljung is the main character. Bert starts as a 12-year-old child 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 anachronisms, with the later books largely following a floating timeline. His family is also depicted in the books. Bert plays the electric bass, sings and writes songs in the amateur rock band Heman Hunters, and plays soccer for the amateur team 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 music, 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 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 Värmland, and lives with her mother in a cottage. She plays the violin. Her brothers are raggare (basically greasers). 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 Czechoslovakia. 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.

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 tennis ball hitting her dental braces, knocking them out. In Berts bravader, Bert states that liking her is not without social risk (something Bert is always very keenly aware of), since most guys in his class consider her being a wimpish type for having good grades, fine manners and ironed clothes.

She also appears in the Bert comics, where she has a quicker temper, and two cousins, one is named Lovisa from Gothenburg who Bert doesn't know when she arrives by train making Bert confused, and another cousin 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 Motala after the 5th grade.

List of books

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
• Bert och friheten (Bert and Freedom) - 2011
• Bert får scenskräck (Bert gets stage fright) - 2012
• Bert och frestelsen (Bert and the temptation) - 2012
• Berts fejsbok (Bert's facebook) - 2013
• Bert och skrynkliga tanten (Bert and the wrinkled lady) - 2014

References

External links

• De populära Bertböckerna! (in Swedish)