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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
3.5 Stars
Read this for Britta Böhler's Nobel Women readalong, for which this was the choice last November. Yes, it took me almost a year to read it! But I am glad I stuck with it. I read about 30% last year, and the rest this month which is by no means the ideal way to read anything. I missed a lot, from the jumping in and our, but more so I think because I think I haven't been choosing to read harder/challenging/older works to read. I want to change that. There were some gems of moments in this one, and one full out paragraph that I transcribed into my journal because I loved it so much.
In terms of the work itself, I found it hard to access. I didn't find the character of Gosta very likable, but people were drawn to him. There is a strong inclusion of religion in several sections but also some more otherworldly things and I was surprized to see both in the same text. I also found it confusing that there were sections that didn't involve Gosta at all, and that I felt I didn't understand him from his own perspective which feels odd given the title. Perhaps it's about how he effected others.
All that said, realizing that it was a challenge to read I have decided to up my reading game because I want to be able to read, understand and enjoy titles like this. I'm thankful that I gave it a shot, and stuck it through. I learned a lot!
Read this for Britta Böhler's Nobel Women readalong, for which this was the choice last November. Yes, it took me almost a year to read it! But I am glad I stuck with it. I read about 30% last year, and the rest this month which is by no means the ideal way to read anything. I missed a lot, from the jumping in and our, but more so I think because I think I haven't been choosing to read harder/challenging/older works to read. I want to change that. There were some gems of moments in this one, and one full out paragraph that I transcribed into my journal because I loved it so much.
In terms of the work itself, I found it hard to access. I didn't find the character of Gosta very likable, but people were drawn to him. There is a strong inclusion of religion in several sections but also some more otherworldly things and I was surprized to see both in the same text. I also found it confusing that there were sections that didn't involve Gosta at all, and that I felt I didn't understand him from his own perspective which feels odd given the title. Perhaps it's about how he effected others.
All that said, realizing that it was a challenge to read I have decided to up my reading game because I want to be able to read, understand and enjoy titles like this. I'm thankful that I gave it a shot, and stuck it through. I learned a lot!
Kul med en bok som jag endast gillade sista 100 sidorna av!
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I began the undertaking of reading this book last spring and finally got around to finishing it over winter break. It’s one of the most famous books within Swedish literature,
written in 1891 and over 400 pages, so I knew it would be a challenge especially considering its more antiquated and unfamiliar language style, but I wanted a challenge. I had a lot of mixed feelings reading this book. It deserves a 10/10 for creativity and is unlike any other book I have read, combining Swedish mysticism and realism into an ancient tale with a special aesthetic quality. The writing is also incredibly imaginative and original, but it was just so winding and roundabout at times which made it frustrating. The plot was also practically nonexistent, strung together by short tales and interludes that briefly refocused on the main character then got lost once again. I did appreciate the reoccurring theme of redemption, but finishing this book was a real struggle, still a fun experience though.
If readers take anything away from this book, it should be this lesson: NEVER underestimate the absolute havoc that a mid, emotionally unavailable and indecisive yet charismatic man can wreak upon society.
written in 1891 and over 400 pages, so I knew it would be a challenge especially considering its more antiquated and unfamiliar language style, but I wanted a challenge. I had a lot of mixed feelings reading this book. It deserves a 10/10 for creativity and is unlike any other book I have read, combining Swedish mysticism and realism into an ancient tale with a special aesthetic quality. The writing is also incredibly imaginative and original, but it was just so winding and roundabout at times which made it frustrating. The plot was also practically nonexistent, strung together by short tales and interludes that briefly refocused on the main character then got lost once again. I did appreciate the reoccurring theme of redemption, but finishing this book was a real struggle, still a fun experience though.
If readers take anything away from this book, it should be this lesson: NEVER underestimate the absolute havoc that a mid, emotionally unavailable and indecisive yet charismatic man can wreak upon society.
Problemet kan vara mig...
Nej men seriöst, jag kände inte alls något intresse för den här boken. Det största problemet för mig var att det inte kändes som en bok utan som en samling noveller utspelade i samma värld. En genuin känsla jag hade medan jag läste boken var att jag kanske fortfarande inte är gammal nog för att förstå den till fullo. Jag får väl försöka läsa om den när jag blir äldre!
Nej men seriöst, jag kände inte alls något intresse för den här boken. Det största problemet för mig var att det inte kändes som en bok utan som en samling noveller utspelade i samma värld. En genuin känsla jag hade medan jag läste boken var att jag kanske fortfarande inte är gammal nog för att förstå den till fullo. Jag får väl försöka läsa om den när jag blir äldre!
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ålderdomligt men vackert språk. Lyckades få mig att gilla de poetiska dragen.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Läs min recension på bloggen: http://www.fiktiviteter.se/2018/05/23/gosta-berlings-saga-av-selma-lagerlof/
29: The Saga of Gosta Berling by Selma Lagerlof...pre-Sweden #7. This was not an easy or quick read. I suspect that I may have just read a Swedish classic, comparable to an English Dickens or Bronte, a Russian Dostoevsky, or an American Melville or Hawthorne, say. It was deep and very thought-provoking, "old," and surely classic in its themes and value. And I should probably read it a second time and more slowly before even saying a thing about it. But for now, that's not happening. Gosta Berling is, from the novel's start, a bit of a failure by society's standards (he's a minister who's been drinking excessively and absent from the pulpit), someone who has disappointed all who hold him valuably in that esteemed position. Yet...those same people do not condemn him when given the chance. The novel certainly has integral elements of change and maturing and forgiveness that seemingly cross years and more of the lives of its main characters. I have to say that one of the things that struck the closest to home was the "death rattle" mentioned in connection to those very near their ends. I'd not heard that term previously. And interestingly or coincidentally enough...this struck so close to my "Swedish" home, as I have been present for only one death in my life, that of my Swedish cousin, generations apart, Ewald...just him and me in the hospital room when he breathed his last breath, with me having sat with him all day reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles. And that challenged breathing, if we could call it that, was certainly what Evald was enduring those last few hours of his life. I am forever affected by that day, that experience. And I absolutely thought of him while reading this novel. I, myself, shall read it again.