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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.
aptusstercore's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
In the end I felt myself asking, "When?" in regards to the title.
I think some books are really good but the main character just keep it from being great and that's what this was a case of for me. I frankly didn't really like Ellinor, though it was definitely interesting to get inside her head for a while. I suppose too, if you look at it, that also makes you special as she never let anyone else in there. This isn't a story where some older woman finds her voice, this is a story where a woman started off as one thing and ended up as exactly the same thing. She's only telling everything to the one safe person she has to talk to, and seemingly about the only one she has to talk to now that she's lost her husband and ostracized nearly everyone else, and that's her deceased friend.
I constantly waited for her to show emotions towards someone, deep ones, and in the end I was met with the only feeling of love, even in a strangely sort of romantic sense, being between her and her best friend Anna. In the end it's a story of someone who was born into a tough situation, who felt everything in the world would judge them if they were themselves and so they were only a shell of themselves and sought to stay only in comfortable and safe positions, hence her whole life. Her friend, who was deceased seemed to be the opposite of that. She would have been an interesting character to right about, with life mistakes that I imagine would have been much more interesting.
I couldn't much help but compare her the entire time to the main character, Christina Olson, from A Piece of the World by Christina Kline. She too spent much of her life inside herself, but there was something endearing in her that I just couldn't find in Ellinor and she just seemed more multi-dimensional, even if just as stubborn and pessimistic.
I'll also say, if you've had someone very close to you die, you'll understand some of the depth of things that Ellinor went through. This idea and feeling I think one is left with, when someone you love dies, where you feel the need to only remember them in a positive way. Like it then becomes a crime to blame them with anything. Hopefully that passes and you face them in a more honest and healthy way, Ellinor never seemed to.
Also I will give a warning that there is at least one moment, if not more, that will make you cringe as the behavior isn't nearly appropriate with the word negro even being used. Not surprising given the time of her life or her personality, really, but still worth note for those who have a zero tolerance for reading those sorts of things.
The one thing that made the book feel as good as it did for me was that the author is clearly very talented. The character, although not someone I'd want to befriend, was very believable, as was her feelings and her decisions. I feel like everyone can recall an aunt or neighbor who she reminds you of. Plus it was just so pleasurable to jump around not only in time, but in between all these different aspects that Ellinor was discussing, from her younger life, to her mother's story and then this constantly explanation of the relationship between the four characters in this sort of ... love-square dance. I'm definitely going to be seeking out other stories by Jens Christian Grøndahl in the future.
In the end I felt myself asking, "When?" in regards to the title.
I think some books are really good but the main character just keep it from being great and that's what this was a case of for me. I frankly didn't really like Ellinor, though it was definitely interesting to get inside her head for a while. I suppose too, if you look at it, that also makes you special as she never let anyone else in there. This isn't a story where some older woman finds her voice, this is a story where a woman started off as one thing and ended up as exactly the same thing. She's only telling everything to the one safe person she has to talk to, and seemingly about the only one she has to talk to now that she's lost her husband and ostracized nearly everyone else, and that's her deceased friend.
I constantly waited for her to show emotions towards someone, deep ones, and in the end I was met with the only feeling of love, even in a strangely sort of romantic sense, being between her and her best friend Anna. In the end it's a story of someone who was born into a tough situation, who felt everything in the world would judge them if they were themselves and so they were only a shell of themselves and sought to stay only in comfortable and safe positions, hence her whole life. Her friend, who was deceased seemed to be the opposite of that. She would have been an interesting character to right about, with life mistakes that I imagine would have been much more interesting.
I couldn't much help but compare her the entire time to the main character, Christina Olson, from A Piece of the World by Christina Kline. She too spent much of her life inside herself, but there was something endearing in her that I just couldn't find in Ellinor and she just seemed more multi-dimensional, even if just as stubborn and pessimistic.
I'll also say, if you've had someone very close to you die, you'll understand some of the depth of things that Ellinor went through. This idea and feeling I think one is left with, when someone you love dies, where you feel the need to only remember them in a positive way. Like it then becomes a crime to blame them with anything. Hopefully that passes and you face them in a more honest and healthy way, Ellinor never seemed to.
Also I will give a warning that there is at least one moment, if not more, that will make you cringe as the behavior isn't nearly appropriate with the word negro even being used. Not surprising given the time of her life or her personality, really, but still worth note for those who have a zero tolerance for reading those sorts of things.
The one thing that made the book feel as good as it did for me was that the author is clearly very talented. The character, although not someone I'd want to befriend, was very believable, as was her feelings and her decisions. I feel like everyone can recall an aunt or neighbor who she reminds you of. Plus it was just so pleasurable to jump around not only in time, but in between all these different aspects that Ellinor was discussing, from her younger life, to her mother's story and then this constantly explanation of the relationship between the four characters in this sort of ... love-square dance. I'm definitely going to be seeking out other stories by Jens Christian Grøndahl in the future.
amandamiller's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
2.0
etlis's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I badly want to give this book a 5-star rating because of how beautifully written and unique it was. I loved everything about it and I couldn't put it down EXCEPT...
1. When they used the N-word to describe a Filipina maid
2. During the scene when she casually saw a young Filipina in the train station and made comment about Filipino workers always Skyping with family back home who live in Palm huts and made fun of Filipinas having English names but supposedly speak Spanish in the Philippines
I couldn't let that go because those scenes were IRRELEVANT to the story. The scenes did not contribute to the story AT ALL.
I can see how the writer thinks this paints a picture of the current state of Denmark but he was able to do that with painting scenes of changed/modernized streets, just as well. So why single out those two scenes if he's not going to make it relevant to the story.
Our protagonist (Ellinor) supposedly grew up in a diverse neighborhood with a hardworking mother. You would think that such an environment would make Ellinor more acceptable or at the very least "tolerating."
These two scenes just paints a picture of how the author feels about Filipinos in Denmark rather than Ellinor's. This books was published in 2017, which makes these two scenes feel more prejudiced. I would have understood it if it was written decades ago or if the author meant to use those scenes as key points to the story. Maybe he was meant to use them as a way to show that Ellinor is not perfect, which was in the blurb ( I think). Something about not really understanding other people's personality or MAYBE (and I'm giving him way too much credit and I'm probably overeaching here) he just wanted to show that society put grieving people on a pedestal and this is his way of breaking that.
I really truly loved the writing and the premise. The flow of words were lyrical but I can't move past these two scenes. As I write this, I was planning to give it at least 3 stars but knowing how amazing the author is at writing, he has no excuse for something so prejudiced. He knew exactly what he wrote and with how short this novel it, he purposefully wanted to include those scenes.
1. When they used the N-word to describe a Filipina maid
2. During the scene when she casually saw a young Filipina in the train station and made comment about Filipino workers always Skyping with family back home who live in Palm huts and made fun of Filipinas having English names but supposedly speak Spanish in the Philippines
I couldn't let that go because those scenes were IRRELEVANT to the story. The scenes did not contribute to the story AT ALL.
I can see how the writer thinks this paints a picture of the current state of Denmark but he was able to do that with painting scenes of changed/modernized streets, just as well. So why single out those two scenes if he's not going to make it relevant to the story.
Our protagonist (Ellinor) supposedly grew up in a diverse neighborhood with a hardworking mother. You would think that such an environment would make Ellinor more acceptable or at the very least "tolerating."
These two scenes just paints a picture of how the author feels about Filipinos in Denmark rather than Ellinor's. This books was published in 2017, which makes these two scenes feel more prejudiced. I would have understood it if it was written decades ago or if the author meant to use those scenes as key points to the story. Maybe he was meant to use them as a way to show that Ellinor is not perfect, which was in the blurb ( I think). Something about not really understanding other people's personality or MAYBE (and I'm giving him way too much credit and I'm probably overeaching here) he just wanted to show that society put grieving people on a pedestal and this is his way of breaking that.
I really truly loved the writing and the premise. The flow of words were lyrical but I can't move past these two scenes. As I write this, I was planning to give it at least 3 stars but knowing how amazing the author is at writing, he has no excuse for something so prejudiced. He knew exactly what he wrote and with how short this novel it, he purposefully wanted to include those scenes.
libraryjen's review against another edition
2.0
Do you ever read a book and wonder why it ended up on your to-read list? This was one of those for me. I cannot remember what attracted me to it enough to add it to the list, but it was boring. I probably wouldn't have finished it except that it was short and my reading goal this year is at least 3 books a month from the TBR. Just meh.
ana_carolina's review against another edition
5.0
Such a beautiful writing! Jens Christian Grøndahl I'm definitely going to read more of your work! I love how the story unfolds, how feelings, thoughts, life is described. Beautiful, strong and honest.
kiwialexa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5