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literarycrushes's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not sure I would have picked this one on my own, but I did end up reading The Copenhagen Trilogy for a neighborhood book club. It’s a compendium of three novels (Childhood, Youth, and Dependency) written by Tove Ditlevsen and was originally published in Danish in the early 70s. From what I understand, it’s highly autobiographical. The novel follows Tove from her childhood years where she felt misunderstood and had a tumultuous relationship with her mother. The second book focuses on her relationships and marriages as she starts to see more success with her writing. The third book takes a much darker and wilder turn as Tove becomes addicted to a drug she was prescribed while getting an abortion and *Spoiler alert?* continues to struggle with for the rest of her life until she ultimately decides to commit suicide (which the author did in real life).
The obvious comparison to this would be Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Both focus on women growing up in poor European families around the middle of the 20th century. The language often feels cold and stark, yet you do get a good sense of Tove’s complex interior life. The characters (especially her family) are very lifelike and her accounts of their struggles to get by were touching and is one I won’t soon forget. All in all, I was impressed but just didn’t connect with it enough to love it.
The obvious comparison to this would be Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Both focus on women growing up in poor European families around the middle of the 20th century. The language often feels cold and stark, yet you do get a good sense of Tove’s complex interior life. The characters (especially her family) are very lifelike and her accounts of their struggles to get by were touching and is one I won’t soon forget. All in all, I was impressed but just didn’t connect with it enough to love it.
malinramstrom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
tiannajenkins's review against another edition
4.0
Honest, heartbreaking and raw. Her talent as a poet really shines through the beautiful prose. The middle was less engaging but still a worthwhile read.
sophiegrll's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
lookatjimmy's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for a book club and had many Thoughts but was such a frazzled mess this month that I completely MISSED THE MEETING DAY and it was genuinely heartbreaking.
Anyhoo, this felt very A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Don’t ask me why or how I have no answers for you.
Anyhoo, this felt very A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Don’t ask me why or how I have no answers for you.
exlibris_asrl's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Tove Ditlevsen really said, “ok, here’s my story. do with it as you wish.”
compelling, honest, and written with a certain compulsiveness. i haven’t read a biography equally as powerful without ever trying to be anything other than what it is – an account of a life lived however it panned out.
compelling, honest, and written with a certain compulsiveness. i haven’t read a biography equally as powerful without ever trying to be anything other than what it is – an account of a life lived however it panned out.
bexduck's review against another edition
4.0
Finally finished this book! I started reading this in a physical copy but then moved to an audiobook when I knew I didn't have the time to sit down and read it. The prose was stark in a kind of brutalist architecture way. It was a sad look at poverty, addiction, and motherhood. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone but I enjoyed it.