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koenjanssen's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
3.0
servemethesky's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this collection by Tove Ditlevsen. I read the first book in her Copenhagen trilogy and didn't quite feel I ~got it~ but these stories were completely my jam. They are devastatingly sad in all the smallest ways.
Themes include lonely women who are stifled by their domestic roles/families, people being flawed and unable to ever truly understand each other, and children being far more perceptive than we give them credit for. All these stories are painful but a bit beautiful too. The writing is precise and powerful, not a single story is overwritten. So many great lines! Just loved this.
Themes include lonely women who are stifled by their domestic roles/families, people being flawed and unable to ever truly understand each other, and children being far more perceptive than we give them credit for. All these stories are painful but a bit beautiful too. The writing is precise and powerful, not a single story is overwritten. So many great lines! Just loved this.
kostia_gorobets's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rawrres1's review against another edition
4.0
If I could describe this book in one word it would be disconcerting.
While not trying to force a tremendous sadness on the reader, much like little life, it gave a slow burn, unnerving sadness to each of the short stories. It didn't focus on sadness of great aspects, but rather on issues that are relevant on nothing more than a solely personal level, sort of a selfish sadness, applicable only to the context of each story separately.
It really made me feel bummed out, and upset, in a way that no other book has made me feel, and it makes you empathise an unbelievable amount with each story, even though we are not given an in depth image of each individual. Its emphasis comes from its preciseness, the sadness which arises from a little child afraid of his harsh father, from a wife who is upset that her husband and a realtor have scammed a single mother of three out of 5000 Kroner when buying her house in a state of desperateness, the fear of a woman to wake her sleeping husband and her denial of any anxiety, the longing for a cat, the infatuation over ownership of an umbrella, the grasping of her wife that her family is falling apart and that she ultimately does not care while also understanding the suffering she will endure, the hidden depression of a wife who has to maintain a depressed husband, the choice given to a 7 year old between living with her mother and step father vs. leaving with her father.
I guess this book is really on the issues of home life, and domesticity. It really just is an upsetting piece that is written really well to make the atmosphere change around you, and puts you in a melancholy state.
I adored this book, but I also resented it (in a good way), for it always seems to leave you on a cliffhanger, nothing ever gets resolved, sadness always continues, there will always be issues with happiness, particularly in what we have been conditioned to see as the peak of happiness; family life.
I strongly urge anyone to read this book because it does give you an outlook on the subjectivity of each situation, each person is different, and we should long to understand the needs of others, not be shrouded in selfishness.
Quotes:
' The most important thing, thought Edith, is what happens to a person when they see mountains. The most important thing is probably always precisely the thing you can't have. That's where all the happiness is'
' and maybe it is always too late by the time the heart is ready for reconciliation. And it all had something to do with those mountains'
While not trying to force a tremendous sadness on the reader, much like little life, it gave a slow burn, unnerving sadness to each of the short stories. It didn't focus on sadness of great aspects, but rather on issues that are relevant on nothing more than a solely personal level, sort of a selfish sadness, applicable only to the context of each story separately.
It really made me feel bummed out, and upset, in a way that no other book has made me feel, and it makes you empathise an unbelievable amount with each story, even though we are not given an in depth image of each individual. Its emphasis comes from its preciseness, the sadness which arises from a little child afraid of his harsh father, from a wife who is upset that her husband and a realtor have scammed a single mother of three out of 5000 Kroner when buying her house in a state of desperateness, the fear of a woman to wake her sleeping husband and her denial of any anxiety, the longing for a cat, the infatuation over ownership of an umbrella, the grasping of her wife that her family is falling apart and that she ultimately does not care while also understanding the suffering she will endure, the hidden depression of a wife who has to maintain a depressed husband, the choice given to a 7 year old between living with her mother and step father vs. leaving with her father.
I guess this book is really on the issues of home life, and domesticity. It really just is an upsetting piece that is written really well to make the atmosphere change around you, and puts you in a melancholy state.
I adored this book, but I also resented it (in a good way), for it always seems to leave you on a cliffhanger, nothing ever gets resolved, sadness always continues, there will always be issues with happiness, particularly in what we have been conditioned to see as the peak of happiness; family life.
I strongly urge anyone to read this book because it does give you an outlook on the subjectivity of each situation, each person is different, and we should long to understand the needs of others, not be shrouded in selfishness.
Quotes:
' The most important thing, thought Edith, is what happens to a person when they see mountains. The most important thing is probably always precisely the thing you can't have. That's where all the happiness is'
' and maybe it is always too late by the time the heart is ready for reconciliation. And it all had something to do with those mountains'
clem's review against another edition
3.25
The Umbrella 4/5
The Cat 4/5
My Wife Doesn’t Dance 4/5
His Mother 3/5
Queen of the Night 3/5
One Morning in a Residential Neighbourhood 4/5
A Nice Boy 3.5/5
Life’s Persistence 3/5
Evening 2/5
Depression 3/5
The Knife 5/5
The Method 2.5/5
Anxiety 4/5
The Mother 2/5
A Fine Business 3/5
The Bird 3/5
The Little Shoes 4/5
The Best Joke 2/5
Two Women 3/5
Perpetuation 3/5
The Trouble With Happiness 3/5
Average 3.23 rounded
The Cat 4/5
My Wife Doesn’t Dance 4/5
His Mother 3/5
Queen of the Night 3/5
One Morning in a Residential Neighbourhood 4/5
A Nice Boy 3.5/5
Life’s Persistence 3/5
Evening 2/5
Depression 3/5
The Knife 5/5
The Method 2.5/5
Anxiety 4/5
The Mother 2/5
A Fine Business 3/5
The Bird 3/5
The Little Shoes 4/5
The Best Joke 2/5
Two Women 3/5
Perpetuation 3/5
The Trouble With Happiness 3/5
Average 3.23 rounded
kat_in_space's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
amelievz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
zhy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
epicpinkfluffyunicorn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
the finest collection of short stories ive ever read