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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Turning is what it sets out to be: Jessica J. Lee’s experience of swimming in 52 lakes surrounding Berlin, regardless of the season, combined with personal memories and reflection as well as Lee’s expertise – environmental history. But I found the book way too long and meandering. For me the details of the swimming and the history of the landscape are fascinating, unlike Lee’s personal journey. If that side had been edited more, maybe following the narrative would have been less confusing and more enjoyable. As it is, I couldn’t help but feel bored, which is in no way to discredit Lee’s life, just the amount of detail: characters are named when they aren’t mentioned ever again and there’s plenty of other information I just didn’t get anything from. And that undermines the effectiveness of the insightful paragraphs, which do exist.
This book is just beautiful and meditative. I began it in summer, the season in which the book also begins, not on purpose though. Back in summer my mind was too full of thoughts and I struggled with reading this so I put it down for a few months. I picked it back up this weekend where I finished the rest of of the book in a couple of days. It was just what I needed, my mind is a lot quieter now it's December and I was able to connect a lot better with this book. Now I want to jump on a train and sit by a lake, not swim in it though cause it's winter and I don't like the cold.
One of my favourite books. Soft, compelling, beautifully written.
3.5 - a swimming memoir set mainly around Berlin's lakes. It's well written and poetic at times, but sometimes it felt a bit disjointed. I also would have liked more focus on the actual swimming, but I did enjoy reading it.
Sicherlich eher für Schwimmer und Berlininteressierte von größerem Interesse
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This was a very gentle and peaceful read which blends the genres of travel writing and memoir just perfectly! Lee is half-Canadian, half-Chinese, and has relocated to Berlin for her academic research, and her reflections on her childhood, her identity and her experience as a newcomer in Germany’s buzzing capital are weaved into her adventures exploring the lakes in and around Berlin. It’s Year Abroad Blog writing we all aspire to. She also hits the spot with references to Theodor Fontane and the preoccupation with nature and waterscapes in German Romanticism, and her remarks on the relationship between physical landscapes and cultural history (particularly apt in a city such as Berlin) are thoughtful and add a certain depth to the book.
I’ve often felt frustrated by the number of European travelogues written from the perspective (and with the humour) of a middle-aged male Brit who larks around the Continent trying various beers, and so the discovery of Turning was particularly welcome.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Hard to relate to, didn't grab my interest, writing ok but very factual and lacking style.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
En fin sensommarbok, även om alla fyra årstiderna förekommer. För det handlar om skribentens projekt att på ett år "vildsimma" (påhittat ord här och nu) i 52 sjöar i Berlin med omnejd. Inte olikt mitt eget projekt - påbörjat i januari 2013, tror jag - att åka 52 olika Londonbusslinjer; vecka 1, buss 1 etc.
Det här hade kunnat bli en träigt skriven 'blok', d.v.s. baserad på bloggtexter om detsamma. Men Lee är akademiker och åstadkommer litterära och innerliga texter, skulle jag säga. En blandning av Berlinvardag, Londonliv, tankar om psykisk ohälsa, tillbakablickar till barndomen i Kanada och sorg över ett brustet äktenskap. De delar jag tycker mindre om är den Wikipedia-aktiga infon om sjöarna. ("Här låg en kolgruva bla bla bla. På 1890-talet bla bla bla.")
Försökte analysera vad det är som bygger upp den speciella stämningen som tilltalar mig så mycket och kom fram till att det är ordvalen; ephemeral, wistful, solitude, longing, adrift, silent, solace, languid, sadness, soft glow, sky, water, rain...
Det här hade kunnat bli en träigt skriven 'blok', d.v.s. baserad på bloggtexter om detsamma. Men Lee är akademiker och åstadkommer litterära och innerliga texter, skulle jag säga. En blandning av Berlinvardag, Londonliv, tankar om psykisk ohälsa, tillbakablickar till barndomen i Kanada och sorg över ett brustet äktenskap. De delar jag tycker mindre om är den Wikipedia-aktiga infon om sjöarna. ("Här låg en kolgruva bla bla bla. På 1890-talet bla bla bla.")
Försökte analysera vad det är som bygger upp den speciella stämningen som tilltalar mig så mycket och kom fram till att det är ordvalen; ephemeral, wistful, solitude, longing, adrift, silent, solace, languid, sadness, soft glow, sky, water, rain...