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spyralnode's review
2.0
I'm starting to believe that classic Danish literature just isn't for me. I haven't had the best of luck with 'Ved Vejen' either!
The book aims to shed light on a part of Danish history through the eyes of a random person, whose life we follow. I feel like the first struggle of this book is its identity - is it meant to be historical, plot-drive, character-driven? Where are you going with this? It seems to dip into so many styles at once, without managing to find its own voice.
Speaking of confusion, I also found that there were just too many characters. I can understand how they were related to each other, I could follow what they were doing, but I just did not find them necessary. Also, it seemed like they were all alike and with identical motivations, which is a component that truthfully did not age well. Horny men, overly eager women measuring their success in families, it's just not my type of thing and I have difficulty finding it interesting as a story.
Overall - more readable than 'Ved Vejen', but still uninteresting to me.
The book aims to shed light on a part of Danish history through the eyes of a random person, whose life we follow. I feel like the first struggle of this book is its identity - is it meant to be historical, plot-drive, character-driven? Where are you going with this? It seems to dip into so many styles at once, without managing to find its own voice.
Speaking of confusion, I also found that there were just too many characters. I can understand how they were related to each other, I could follow what they were doing, but I just did not find them necessary. Also, it seemed like they were all alike and with identical motivations, which is a component that truthfully did not age well. Horny men, overly eager women measuring their success in families, it's just not my type of thing and I have difficulty finding it interesting as a story.
Overall - more readable than 'Ved Vejen', but still uninteresting to me.
figgitus's review against another edition
The language is beautiful and poignant and there is something about the book that reaches for my core. I'm not sure how I feel about the book, however, or how to rate it. It bored me - perhaps - but I think this is a book that I need to revisit.
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