When Me and God Were Little

I’m always in for books that faithfully and creatively render the viewpoint of a young child. Most of When Me and God Were Little does just that, as Karl Gustav (who would much rather be known as Big Ox) presents his unique take on the world, while he keenly observes the mysterious adults around him. His older brother has drowned in the sea and now, according to Karl Gustav, lives in four places: his bedroom, heaven, the graveyard, and the bathtub, where Karl Gustav’s mother insists on measuring the water so that it isn’t more than two inches deep.

Indelible characters people these pages: Deadeye, the blind sailor; Five-Inch, a construction worker; Leftover, the junkyard man; young Tim, who is convinced he has every disease in his medical textbook and will die soon; and Karl Gustav’s father, who is a storyteller, brute, con artist, and dreamer. Dad keeps an amber bottle in his drawer. His son says, “He didn’t have the time to search for amber on the beach. He bought it after it had been melted down and put in bottles.”

Full of wit and tragedy, you will laugh and wince at Karl Gustav’s antics, which routinely get him kicked out of class. Not that he minds in the least; he would prefer to be outside with his soccer ball, or pursuing Gina, or any other activity. “I jumped over the sky and in through the living room window” he claims, and I almost believed him.