You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
These stories are wonderfully and beautifully written. Rather haunting and strange overall, and quite sad at times. But I feel they will stick with me a long time: they’re the type of stories that pop back into your head at odd times, that leave you with such a particular feeling, and make you wonder at the connections between them.
Wrong time, will try again next year bi idhnillah
“how could I know things weren’t as they should be, with walls covered in God and shelves filled with Him, making atonement behind the locked door or the broom cupboard, the galoshes abs the umbrellas…”
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
These "stories" are sooo depressing. And I loved them! Or most of them. Existential angst (though at their age the characters, mostly old men, are more resigned than angsty) drips from the page. Though I agree with their assessment of the human condition, it bugged me that every narrator felt so smugly superior to whomever they were interacting with. If crotchety old men or jerky husbands is your thing, this one's for you. Being only 60, happily married and creative, I'm not there yet. The last 11 shorts in the book are a suite of sorts, written by the same lonely old man, Thomas F. They are a devastating look at the end of a life. At one point, on seeing an old friend across the street, he contemplates crossing it to talk but it's too busy and he quips "it would have been stupid to lose my life from Joy when I had managed to survive so long without it." That about sums up my reaction to this book: there's a lot of surviving and so little living. I will read these stories again, perhaps when I need reminding that my life ain't so bad. The characters in this collection would never agree of course. They'd exclaim, Yes it is! And worse! If I wasn't a well-adjusted human being, I could see this book throwing me right over the edge. If you're struggling, I'd avoid it like the plague. I've never read anything like this before and I devoured it like a bag of chips. You know you shouldn't and that it's not good for you, but you just can't help yourself. 3.75 stars.
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
tense
This author, Kjell Askildsen, is truly a master of the minimalist style, and succinctly conveying a feeling. He doesn't need to tell you his characters are melancholic, the mood saturates the scene, and he needs very few words to accomplish that. That said, it was a long collection of melancholic people, and all the stories started to run together after a while, brilliant as they were individually.
"I know some people think of me as an old grump but that's certainly not the whole truth. Whenever a bright spot appears in my life I latch right onto it and can find myself crying out within: at last, at long last! Not that this happens very often, of course, that's not how the world is. But, for instance, a little over a month ago. . .no, it was longer than that. . .never mind, it's not a good example."
"I know some people think of me as an old grump but that's certainly not the whole truth. Whenever a bright spot appears in my life I latch right onto it and can find myself crying out within: at last, at long last! Not that this happens very often, of course, that's not how the world is. But, for instance, a little over a month ago. . .no, it was longer than that. . .never mind, it's not a good example."
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
"...that great emptiness descended, as though the very meaninglessness of existence creeps inside and unfolds within like an endless bare landscape."
This is a pretty apt description of these stories. The language is simple and direct, the situations described seemingly mundane, and yet many of the stories feel as if violence could erupt at any time. It's amazing how much Askildsen writes between the lines – much of the power in these compact stories come from what remains unsaid or unwritten. They mostly describe the moments in relationships, romantic or otherwise, where the parties involved find themselves overcome with discontent and are mostly impotent in confronting it.
These stories apparently date from between 1953-2015 (judging by the copyright info), and I really wish there was some indication as to when each was written – some feel anachronistic without this context. Whether these stories are absurdly humorous, depressing, or both is probably in the eye of the beholder.
This is a pretty apt description of these stories. The language is simple and direct, the situations described seemingly mundane, and yet many of the stories feel as if violence could erupt at any time. It's amazing how much Askildsen writes between the lines – much of the power in these compact stories come from what remains unsaid or unwritten. They mostly describe the moments in relationships, romantic or otherwise, where the parties involved find themselves overcome with discontent and are mostly impotent in confronting it.
These stories apparently date from between 1953-2015 (judging by the copyright info), and I really wish there was some indication as to when each was written – some feel anachronistic without this context. Whether these stories are absurdly humorous, depressing, or both is probably in the eye of the beholder.
3.5 stars
The 30-odd short stories in this collection vary from being very short to more typical short-story length.
All or nearly all of these stories show slices of regular life for very regular people. All are frustrated and/or bored or the stories just have a feeling of dread hanging over them, many of the characters are elderly or middle-aged and looking at the ends of their health/lives. Some of the characters reappear, and honestly (perhaps because I was reading an egalley on kindle) it was hard to tell sometimes if the stories were meant to connect, if ALL of the stories are mean to connect (like maybe these are all residents of one small town, for example), or even if the same names were reused and they were not meant to connect at all. And while I had some favorites here, reading an entire collection of 30+ stories featuring dread and sadness is...exhausting.
Favorites:
"A Lovely Spot": a couple (husband and wife? brother and sister?) go to a family cabin. She is paranoid, he starts to feel it after too much wine.
"Thomas F's Final Notes to the Public; Carl Lange": An officer comes to Carl's apartment and accuses him of a crime. Carl is upset and wonders how he could be accused of such a thing--and possibly wonders if he might have actually forgotten? He cuts his hair, shaves, and his stress reaction is somewhat odd but also understandable. Cop sees it as very odd. (Is this the Carl from the story "Carl"?)
The 30-odd short stories in this collection vary from being very short to more typical short-story length.
All or nearly all of these stories show slices of regular life for very regular people. All are frustrated and/or bored or the stories just have a feeling of dread hanging over them, many of the characters are elderly or middle-aged and looking at the ends of their health/lives. Some of the characters reappear, and honestly (perhaps because I was reading an egalley on kindle) it was hard to tell sometimes if the stories were meant to connect, if ALL of the stories are mean to connect (like maybe these are all residents of one small town, for example), or even if the same names were reused and they were not meant to connect at all. And while I had some favorites here, reading an entire collection of 30+ stories featuring dread and sadness is...exhausting.
Favorites:
"A Lovely Spot": a couple (husband and wife? brother and sister?) go to a family cabin. She is paranoid, he starts to feel it after too much wine.
"Thomas F's Final Notes to the Public; Carl Lange": An officer comes to Carl's apartment and accuses him of a crime. Carl is upset and wonders how he could be accused of such a thing--and possibly wonders if he might have actually forgotten? He cuts his hair, shaves, and his stress reaction is somewhat odd but also understandable. Cop sees it as very odd. (Is this the Carl from the story "Carl"?)
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes