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dagdraumar's review against another edition
2.0
Denne var i grunn helt grei. Jeg liker språket til Øyehaug og hun skriver godt, men synes det kan blir litt rotete med alle karakterene og grønnlandshaien og laksen og så videre. Dessuten vet jeg ikke om jeg er så begeistret for fortellermåten som brukes i boka. Allvitende voice-over-aktig greie. For mange løse tråder som ikke nøstes opp på slutten.
dejiaboo's review against another edition
The chapters were short and each chapter focused on one of the 5 or so main characters. There were too many characters and too quick of a jump between character perspective/focus for me to keep up. I had to consistently back track to remember backstories, who was who, what happened to who, and how the characters were connected. I was enjoying the book but I couldn't keep up so I gave up.
groovybouvie's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A quirky, odd little book I quite enjoyed once I got into the pace of it. It's one that makes you want to interpret it and see more than it is but also question whether you SHOULD do that. I love how self aware it is and how all the characters inner thoughts overlap with each other. The narration style is very unique but super fun.
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
4.0
The inner lives - all the tangential thoughts, all the inside references, all the inter relations - are on display in this novel, subtitles 'A Perfect Picture of Inner Life'. This was my second book by Øyehaug, so I knew to expect her skilled and clever writing, yet frenetic pace that I saw in KNOTS, her short story collection.
Wait, Blink focuses on a handful of women at different ages and stages of life, viewed in this ever-present, all out omniscient way. Characters enter and exit like a stage play, scenes switch with time and date stamps, we see inside and outside the characters, as if looking from above at mice in a maze.
The language is fast and detailed, full of cultural references to film, TV, and books - a lengthy discourse on Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 and Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation is swiftly followed by Don Quixote and Albert Camus references. Feminist performance art, freak bicycle accidents, and pining over author photos on book jackets. Just some of the situations our characters encounter.
Clever metafiction by a great storyteller. Now for more Øyehaug English translations... I hope there are more to come!
Wait, Blink focuses on a handful of women at different ages and stages of life, viewed in this ever-present, all out omniscient way. Characters enter and exit like a stage play, scenes switch with time and date stamps, we see inside and outside the characters, as if looking from above at mice in a maze.
The language is fast and detailed, full of cultural references to film, TV, and books - a lengthy discourse on Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 and Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation is swiftly followed by Don Quixote and Albert Camus references. Feminist performance art, freak bicycle accidents, and pining over author photos on book jackets. Just some of the situations our characters encounter.
Clever metafiction by a great storyteller. Now for more Øyehaug English translations... I hope there are more to come!
arationalvein's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vanityclear's review against another edition
4.0
Gunnhild Øyehaug is, with only two books, quickly becoming one of my weirdo favorites. What an odd novel! What an odd voice! I loved it. Kari Dickson, please get lots of money from rich people to translate the rest of her work!!
ETA: Went back and reread my review of Knots, and I remember it being weird than I reviewed. I guess I'm turning into someone who loves the "absurd situations highlighting the mundane" ... or maybe I liked the weird experimentalism of this one. I was into it.
ETA: Went back and reread my review of Knots, and I remember it being weird than I reviewed. I guess I'm turning into someone who loves the "absurd situations highlighting the mundane" ... or maybe I liked the weird experimentalism of this one. I was into it.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this unusual novel. These characters will stay with me for a while.
thelittlefriend's review against another edition
1.0
Och att detta var det vackra i mötet dem emellan, denna utsträckning av lufthänder från var sin kropp, att när de stod mittemot varandra fanns lufthänder som höll om, lufthänder som strök varandra över håret, lufthänder som höll om varandra när de gick bredvid varandra, och, när de lämnade varandra: att de var lufthänder som sträckte sig efter varandra. Och det var denna känsla Linnea ville förmedla med sin film!
Livet, kärleken, längtan, väntande, blinkande. Flera olika huvudpersoner och lite mindre bikaraktärer vars liv vävs samman i en roman fylld av populärkulturella referenser, längtan och poetisk surrealism. Det är många långa meningar och ibland känns det som att författaren verkligen velat liksom skrika ut hur lite orden kan göra för att på riktigt beskriva en känsla eller tanke. Att orden bara inte räcker till hur mycket man än formulerar och omformulerar sig.
Något jag finner irriterande är hur de relationer som beskrivs i så gott som alla fall består av en äldre man, runt fyrtio, och en yngre kvinna i tjugo-års-åldern. Inte för att det är någon speciellt ovanlig åldersskillnad, men det känns så konstigt att precis alla relationer i boken består av just detta. Varför? Har författaren själv haft en relation med en äldre man och därför projicerar hon detta på sina karaktärer? Jag vet inte. Blir dock lite illa till mods då en 21-årig kille finner en tolvårig tjej söt.
De popkulturella referenserna (PJ Harvey, Kill Bill, Sofia Coppola, diverse konstnärers konstverk) är intressanta och väldiskuterade. Mycket av det som karaktärerna i boken diskuterar synliggörs från olika vinklar. Det är bra; ett mångfacetterat perspektiv på saker och ting.
Slutet är något abrubt: men det är förvisso också början. Pladask in i dessa människors liv, och lika fort ut. Och livet, ja, det går bara vidare.
timbooksin's review against another edition
3.0
The writing style was highly enjoyable but none of these characters resonated with me.