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book_concierge's review against another edition
2.0
I did not really care for this novella about two spinster sisters who live an austere life in memory of their father, and only after 14 years discover their cook and servant is an artist with food. Even so, our book group had a wonderful meeting. Our hostess replicated the feast, her husband played the role of the general, we all wore simple (somber) black dresses, and the darkened dining room was lit with only the line of candles down the center of the table.
teresa_b's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the first story, Babete's Feast, but found it extremely difficult to get through the other stories.
babette_valerie's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of short stories might surely be of a certain literary importance, yet I found their content terribly boring and couldn't really connect with any of the characters! 🤷🏼♀️
Die hier präsentierten Geschichten sind gewiss von einer gewissen literarischen Wichtigkeit, aber inhaltlich sind sie unglaublich langweilig und ich konnte auch keine Bindung mit den verschiedenen Charaktere aufbauen! 🤷🏼♀️
Die hier präsentierten Geschichten sind gewiss von einer gewissen literarischen Wichtigkeit, aber inhaltlich sind sie unglaublich langweilig und ich konnte auch keine Bindung mit den verschiedenen Charaktere aufbauen! 🤷🏼♀️
jenc5309's review against another edition
3.0
I only read the story "Babette's Feast" for book club. I really enjoyed the story & we had a great conversation about the characters during our meeting.
redservant's review against another edition
4.0
7/10 - A collection of long-ish short stories that take pleasure in chance and coincidence. Blixen's stories play with the sudden reversals and transformations of fairytales - but magic is replaced by the power of art, beauty, and the sea. Each has precisely drawn characters and a subtle sense of humour.
wendoxford's review against another edition
2.0
Wanted to love...ended up unsure whether I even liked it as a collection.
Whilst I found it "interesting" - the weird narrative technique jarred with me. It felt (albeit cleverly) like a distant voice honing the bits of story to tell. The stories largely felt like proverbs and I enjoyed that we weren't spoon fed a learning experience but we were being prompted to consider the implications of our behaviour.
I felt left besieged by biblical fairy stories which does not actually reflect the content but how it made me feel
Whilst I found it "interesting" - the weird narrative technique jarred with me. It felt (albeit cleverly) like a distant voice honing the bits of story to tell. The stories largely felt like proverbs and I enjoyed that we weren't spoon fed a learning experience but we were being prompted to consider the implications of our behaviour.
I felt left besieged by biblical fairy stories which does not actually reflect the content but how it made me feel
cais's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
book_nut's review against another edition
3.0
The book has two brilliant stories: Babbette's Feast and Ehrengard. The rest is weird or boring (so it all averages out to a 3). Anyway, worth finding and reading for those two, especially if you like A. S. Byatt; the writing reminded me quite a bit of her stuff.