Reviews

Niels Lyhne by Jens Peter Jacobsen

janlc's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

Sproget i "Niels Lyhne" bærer præg af, at være fra slutningen af 1800-tallet. Det giver lange tirader, hvor der forklares og laves sammenstilninger, og det giver nogle samtaler, der i nutiden virker kunstigt.
Og så gør det bogen lidt mere svær at høre som lydbog. Det kræver en koncentration, som jeg ikke havde hele vejen igennem.

Det på trods, er der tale om en rigtig god historie, hvor Niels Lyhne følges fra barndom til død. Et liv med tragedier, drømme, venskaber og kærlighed. Og det fortælles godt.
De kvindelige karakterer har fået en stemme, der er overraskende moderne. Der bliver talt imod det billede deres samtid har af dem og protesteret. Det var en glædelig overraskelse.
Når jeg tænker på Fru Marie Grubbe, også af JC Jacobsen, og den entydige sympati, der ligger hos hende, så er det nok ikke helt tilfældigt, at han her lader de kvindelige karakterer have en egen stemme.
"Niels Lyhne" er mere tilgængelig end "Fru Marie Grubbe".

kingofspain93's review against another edition

4.5

This stands in direct contrast with the abominable Stoner and its ilk, which are all about men who are motivated by weakness and a fixation on their own purity. Niels Lyhne is instead about a man who grapples with competing impulses as he comes to realize the irreducible claim he is going to make about himself. In that way, Jacobsen writes a humanist, atheist novel that is descriptive of the kind of internal life I give a shit about. Niels is strong and dedicated at the same time that he is splintered, and I think he is not a spineless nightmare like so many male protagonists. The women are well and attentively written, despite a few missteps. And the relationship of the novel to any Euro christianized society is meaningful, so that its insights and longings maintain across time and space. There are times when the poetics are too much or the grief is too predictable, but overall this is a beautifully written novel that uses poetry as one waystation on the lonely and loving road of godlessness.

galadu's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

tyttebaer's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

iammandyellen's review against another edition

4.0

i read this for rilke, to know why he loved.

nadoislandgirl's review against another edition

1.0

A book at once hopeful and hopeless. By the end, I just didn't understand the point of any of it, except that perhaps life is meaningless.

_simms24's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bvrealis's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

elisasays's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

msand3's review against another edition

2.0

1.5 stars. About halfway through this dreadfully long novel (it’s only 187 short pages, but oh-so-long…) I was ready to declare Jacobsen a fantastic writer, but a poor novelist. As I inched through the last half of the novel, page-by-page over an entire month, I soon had to discard even that faint praise. His prose is purple. His dialogue is embarrassing. His plot structure skips, jumps, sputters, and slowly dies. It was rough for me to make it through to the end. I wanted so much to quit with 30 pages left...and then 15...and then 5. For a novel so focused on finding a balance between the romantic and the rational, fantasy and reality, Jacobsen fails to do just that in his prose. It is so overwrought that his otherwise powerful, gritty message becomes lost in the flowery mist of his language.