Scan barcode
hannahwest's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lightfoxing's review against another edition
4.0
This is a lovely, sweet little book. Ellinor is a touching character, and an excellent narrator, whose empathy for others, including the adulterous best friend whose widower she eventually marries, is difficult to avoid absorbing. The cast of characters surrounding her - for this is truly a character-driven book, in which nothing at all really happens - are all colourful and add a certain something to the story...especially her best friend Anna, whom we meet only in Ellinor's recollections as she spends the entire time addressing her, speaking of their shared husband, Georg, and Anna's twin boys who Ellinor raises, Stefan and Morton. As Ellinor navigates a life as much Anna's as her own, in some ways more hers and in some ways more Anna's, her discussion of what happened forty years ago that changed her life, Georg's, and the boys' indelibly will leave you smiling even as your heart aches for them all, including Anna. Admittedly, I felt a little righteous anger for Ellinor, who I found extremely "attachant". It's worth noting that the English translation was done by the author and in a few places a word or two is "off" and it can be a little jarring.
janefre's review against another edition
4.0
As someone who has long lived her life with a rather stark black and white tunnel vision, this book gives me a lot of pause when looking back on things. There’s a quiet tectonic shift within this book if you allow yourself to feel it.
indigoarden's review against another edition
4.0
“There are times when I cannot hold his absence, and the feeling is a physical one; it is not a metaphor.”
“It is so unfamiliar. I never brooded over death or my getting older. Why would I want to do that? What else would I become? - I’ve always said to myself that I’ll just proceed for as long as I can. I’ve said to myself that I should be happy as long as I’m able to move, as long as it doesn’t hurt particularly much anywhere.”
~~~
Raw, poignant, forgiving and unforgiving. What seems like all forms of grief boundlessly expressed, free from filters and restriction, in this bare-fully honest recounting of the narrator’s life story of loss and bereavement.
“It is so unfamiliar. I never brooded over death or my getting older. Why would I want to do that? What else would I become? - I’ve always said to myself that I’ll just proceed for as long as I can. I’ve said to myself that I should be happy as long as I’m able to move, as long as it doesn’t hurt particularly much anywhere.”
~~~
Raw, poignant, forgiving and unforgiving. What seems like all forms of grief boundlessly expressed, free from filters and restriction, in this bare-fully honest recounting of the narrator’s life story of loss and bereavement.
peyton_mae's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
i think it would’ve been a 5 star if i didn’t take so long to read it
hiroto's review against another edition
I can't rate this one as I only read about half of the words printed on this book. I think I'm way too young (immature?) to enjoy those type of stories tbh.
annalouiseturner's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
bjr2022's review against another edition
4.0
A woman talks to her dead friend, the first wife of her now-dead husband. A story unspools with the alacrity of thought processes—a thought in present time suddenly catapults the narrator and you into a past time. There is tension, like a pot of water on a low flame on the stove. It heats, maybe simmers a while, and then threatens to boil, but never quite does. And that's okay. I so admire the daring thought and time transitions, and to stay with them, I read slowly and enjoyed the simmer, trusting that if I didn't understand something immediately, I would in a few sentences. The book is only 167 pages, and no boil works.
The jacket copy says this will appeal to readers of The Dinner and Dept. of Speculation, which is rather brilliant. There is definitely a flavor of Herman Koch, but not The Dinner; the echoes are of the World War II politics in the background of his magnificent Dear Mr. M. And there is the free-wheeling domestic drama of Dept. of Speculation. I liked both of those books a lot, and I like this one.
[There is one bad typo that stopped me: a "w" instead of a "t." The sentence is the first line of p. 114: "… have to what without the details …" and it should be "have to that without the details …" (After gnashing my teeth, rereading many times, writing to the publisher, and finally figuring out the mistake, I actually changed it in my library copy. Don't tell anyone.)]
The jacket copy says this will appeal to readers of The Dinner and Dept. of Speculation, which is rather brilliant. There is definitely a flavor of Herman Koch, but not The Dinner; the echoes are of the World War II politics in the background of his magnificent Dear Mr. M. And there is the free-wheeling domestic drama of Dept. of Speculation. I liked both of those books a lot, and I like this one.
[There is one bad typo that stopped me: a "w" instead of a "t." The sentence is the first line of p. 114: "… have to what without the details …" and it should be "have to that without the details …" (After gnashing my teeth, rereading many times, writing to the publisher, and finally figuring out the mistake, I actually changed it in my library copy. Don't tell anyone.)]
kairakaira's review against another edition
2.0
A book about grief and relationships, that I couldn’t get into. It was short so I finished it but it wasn’t for me.