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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Hverken god eller dårlig. Mere kedelig end spændende. Men så igen, jeg er virkelig ikke fan af noveller, hvor man skal lede efter den skjulte mening. Det gider jeg simpelthen bare ikke. Den eneste historie, der faktisk gjorde et indtryk på mig var 'Peter og Rosa'. Meget gribende slutning.
Favourites: The Young Man with the Carnation, The Sailor Boy's Tale, The Dreaming Child, Peter and Rosa
I love to read but I don't understand loving words, the sound of them, the interplay of them. The value of words and reading to me is to share information and ideas. Isak Dinesen makes me start to understand people who love words.
The Young Man with the Carnation
I particularly appreciated the complexity of the story — short stories imbricated one into the other, adding layers of depth to the atmosphere, not necessarily the characters.
To me, Charlie is a young man who set himself some clearly defined goals: getting out of poverty, marrying a beautiful girl, having his talent recognized. He has strived for it, but now that they have been realized — what else is there for him to look for? Are they all he was expecting from them?
He obviously isn't getting that much happiness from achieving them. Instead, he feels empty, and identifies with the hollow ships, resonating with his hollow mind. A life of privilege made him unable to talk about what is important, and he pressures himself to produce what others expect (another novel about the poor, but it is hard to do so when you are so enstranged from them). However, in the last pages, this "deus ex-machina" intervention from the Lord guarantees that he will have just enough hardship to continue writin — writing is a tortuous process, although feeling empty and inadequate doesn't seem to me like the hardships that get the most inspiration out of someone.
Him telling his stories to the sailors, creating a new narration, felt to me as if he was finding his voice again. For a moment, he was free of all expectations, of the image that is imposed on him by his now peers. It gave him a new freedom of expression.
It is quite ironic that the short story is not called after its protagonist, but after a man he meets for maybe two minutes. However, this young man with the carnation is the symbol of his lost ingenuity and sense of wonder at life, of a time when pleasures were simpler.
Both the main story and the one about Lady Helena are about finding the place you belong in in this world, although Lady Helena is a lot more relentless about it. Charlie does not have the courage to give up his newfound comfort and find his place, he is not strong enough to detach himself from this society based on appearances. On the contrary, the seamen represent this adventure, this detachment from the community, and the ability to make any place your home — as long as they have women and some whiskey.
I particularly appreciated the complexity of the story — short stories imbricated one into the other, adding layers of depth to the atmosphere, not necessarily the characters.
To me, Charlie is a young man who set himself some clearly defined goals: getting out of poverty, marrying a beautiful girl, having his talent recognized. He has strived for it, but now that they have been realized — what else is there for him to look for? Are they all he was expecting from them?
He obviously isn't getting that much happiness from achieving them. Instead, he feels empty, and identifies with the hollow ships, resonating with his hollow mind. A life of privilege made him unable to talk about what is important, and he pressures himself to produce what others expect (another novel about the poor, but it is hard to do so when you are so enstranged from them). However, in the last pages, this "deus ex-machina" intervention from the Lord guarantees that he will have just enough hardship to continue writin — writing is a tortuous process, although feeling empty and inadequate doesn't seem to me like the hardships that get the most inspiration out of someone.
Him telling his stories to the sailors, creating a new narration, felt to me as if he was finding his voice again. For a moment, he was free of all expectations, of the image that is imposed on him by his now peers. It gave him a new freedom of expression.
It is quite ironic that the short story is not called after its protagonist, but after a man he meets for maybe two minutes. However, this young man with the carnation is the symbol of his lost ingenuity and sense of wonder at life, of a time when pleasures were simpler.
Both the main story and the one about Lady Helena are about finding the place you belong in in this world, although Lady Helena is a lot more relentless about it. Charlie does not have the courage to give up his newfound comfort and find his place, he is not strong enough to detach himself from this society based on appearances. On the contrary, the seamen represent this adventure, this detachment from the community, and the ability to make any place your home — as long as they have women and some whiskey.
Shorter tales than the Seven Gothic Tales, but suffused with the same glittery dark mood. These are unlike other works I’ve found, and I’m so grateful they exist.
Highlights are:
Young Man with the Carnation
Sorrow-Acre
The Heroine
The Fish
and especially the swooning, passionate...
Peter and Rosa.
Highlights are:
Young Man with the Carnation
Sorrow-Acre
The Heroine
The Fish
and especially the swooning, passionate...
Peter and Rosa.
DNF at 82 pages. The first four stories didn't work for me. Not sure what was missing, but I just don't want to continue.
(English below)
Jeg læste Karen Blixens Den afrikanske farm for en del år siden efterhånden, og har lige siden ønsket at læse mere af hende – og da fire af hendes værker for nyligt blev genudgivet i flotte nye udgaver, tænkte jeg at tiden var inde!
Vinter-eventyr er god læsning. Den første forhindring var at vænne sig til det relativt gammeldags sprog, der visse steder gjorde historierne meget formelle og en anelse unaturlige at læse. Men det var uden tvivl også en del af deres charme, dette sprog. De blev trods alt skrevet i en tid, hvor det var normal brug, og derfor var det også en fin lille indsigt i en anden tid.
På samme made var historierne selv små vinduer ind til et ældre Danmark, og jeg var overrasket over at se, hvor meget det danske aristokrati mindede om diverse udenlandske i samme tidsperiode – som jeg har læst en del om i andre både faglitterære og skønlitterære bøger.
’Peter og Rosa’ var en af mine favoritter, ligeledes var ’En historie om en perle’ og ’Heloïse’. Enkelte fortællinger fangede jeg ikke meningen af, som f.eks. ’Alkmene’, som dog var ganske smukt og interessant skrevet alligevel, og en del virkede også til at have nogle løse ender hist og her. Noget, der syntes af betydning, ville blive nævnt, og jeg kunne tænke ’det var interessant, hvorfor reagerede hun sådan?’, men det blev aldrig forklaret yderligere og ofte slet ikke nævnt igen, og jeg endte ud med at føle mig en anelse snydt.
Jeg blev også træt i længden af de relativt lange, filosofiske dialoger og enetaler i mange af fortællingerne. Næsten alle karaktererne ledte efter en dybere mening, eller forsøgte at diskutere en dybere mening, eller opdagede en dybere mening. Det kunne godt være interessant indimellem, men det blev næsten for meget. Efter min mening behøver der ikke – eksplicit i hvert fald – gøres op med ’sandheden’ i en sådan grad i noveller af den længde. Det bremsede lidt historiernes flow, hvilket var synd, da mange af dem havde interessante handlinger ellers.
De hedder vinter-’eventyr’, men de er ikke eventyr som sådan. Det er ikke det onde mod det gode, med en rejse og forhindringer og hjælpere undervejs. Der er ikke nogen særligt lykkelige slutninger, heller. Lige modsat, så virker mange af Blixens karakterer ulykkelige i en eller anden grad, også (og måske især) når der ikke umiddelbart er nogen tydelig grund til at være det. Nogle af dem virker næsten opsat på at være ulykkelige, ligegyldigt hvad.
Jeg kan godt se, at der er en del kritikpunkter i min anmeldelse, men jeg vil stadig anbefale denne samling – det er underholdende og opfindsom læsning, og det er ikke mindst et godt indblik i en anden tid, med andre samfundsforhold og andre idealer. Jeg tror ikke, jeg er færdig med Karen Blixen endnu.
3,5 stjerner /NK
Karen Blixen – writing under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen – is a treasured Danish writer. Many years ago, I read her book Out of Africa (in Danish), the autobiographical novel behind the film starring Meryl Streep, and enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Ever since, I’ve been meaning to read more of her works, and when recently four of her books where republished in beautiful new editions, I thought it was time!
I really enjoyed this collection. The first hurdle, however, was to get used to the rather old-fashioned, even in places archaic language. It can be very formal and stiff, but that becomes its charm, too – after all, it was written in a period where this was perfectly normal, and I always enjoy getting little insights into earlier periods in this way.
In much the same way, the short stories – or tales – themselves provide a window into an older Denmark, one that in particular has personal interest for me, being Danish. I was surprised to see that not much was different from other countries at that time, at least when it comes to the aristocracy, who are often Blixen’s main characters (write what you know, you know).
‘Peter and Rosa’ was a favourite, as was ‘The Story of a Pearl’ and ‘Heloïse’. Some I didn’t quite get the point of, like ‘Alkmene’, though it was interestingly written, and some seemed to have a great many loose ends throughout the story. Something would be mentioned, and I thought ‘that was interesting, why is she reacting like that?’ but it would never be elaborated on or returned to, and in that I felt slightly cheated.
I did tire somewhat of the rather long, philosophical dialogues and speeches in many of the stories. It seemed that almost all of the characters were seeking some higher truth, or trying to discuss a higher truth, or came upon a higher truth. It was interesting, sure, but also a bit overdone, and written in a very grand way, discussing very grand people. It halted the story’s progress and slowed the whole thing down, which was a shame, because I very much liked the plot of most of them. But again, they are ‘tales’, not short stories, so perhaps they need that element?
When I say tales, they are not ‘fairy’ tales. There is no good against evil, and for the most part no journey with obstacles and helpers. There are no particularly happy endings, either. In fact, many of Blixen’s characters don’t seem that happy at all, though there appears to be no clear reason not to be – some of them come across as almost intent on being unhappy with one or other aspect of their life.
I realise there seems to be rather a few points of critique in this review, but I did enjoy reading this collection. It was not stellar, and it didn’t keep me up at night, but it was nicely enjoyable and provided a window into a time with other societal relations, other ideals, than today. I am sure I’ll read more Blixen in the future.
3.5 stars /NK
Jeg læste Karen Blixens Den afrikanske farm for en del år siden efterhånden, og har lige siden ønsket at læse mere af hende – og da fire af hendes værker for nyligt blev genudgivet i flotte nye udgaver, tænkte jeg at tiden var inde!
Vinter-eventyr er god læsning. Den første forhindring var at vænne sig til det relativt gammeldags sprog, der visse steder gjorde historierne meget formelle og en anelse unaturlige at læse. Men det var uden tvivl også en del af deres charme, dette sprog. De blev trods alt skrevet i en tid, hvor det var normal brug, og derfor var det også en fin lille indsigt i en anden tid.
På samme made var historierne selv små vinduer ind til et ældre Danmark, og jeg var overrasket over at se, hvor meget det danske aristokrati mindede om diverse udenlandske i samme tidsperiode – som jeg har læst en del om i andre både faglitterære og skønlitterære bøger.
’Peter og Rosa’ var en af mine favoritter, ligeledes var ’En historie om en perle’ og ’Heloïse’. Enkelte fortællinger fangede jeg ikke meningen af, som f.eks. ’Alkmene’, som dog var ganske smukt og interessant skrevet alligevel, og en del virkede også til at have nogle løse ender hist og her. Noget, der syntes af betydning, ville blive nævnt, og jeg kunne tænke ’det var interessant, hvorfor reagerede hun sådan?’, men det blev aldrig forklaret yderligere og ofte slet ikke nævnt igen, og jeg endte ud med at føle mig en anelse snydt.
Jeg blev også træt i længden af de relativt lange, filosofiske dialoger og enetaler i mange af fortællingerne. Næsten alle karaktererne ledte efter en dybere mening, eller forsøgte at diskutere en dybere mening, eller opdagede en dybere mening. Det kunne godt være interessant indimellem, men det blev næsten for meget. Efter min mening behøver der ikke – eksplicit i hvert fald – gøres op med ’sandheden’ i en sådan grad i noveller af den længde. Det bremsede lidt historiernes flow, hvilket var synd, da mange af dem havde interessante handlinger ellers.
De hedder vinter-’eventyr’, men de er ikke eventyr som sådan. Det er ikke det onde mod det gode, med en rejse og forhindringer og hjælpere undervejs. Der er ikke nogen særligt lykkelige slutninger, heller. Lige modsat, så virker mange af Blixens karakterer ulykkelige i en eller anden grad, også (og måske især) når der ikke umiddelbart er nogen tydelig grund til at være det. Nogle af dem virker næsten opsat på at være ulykkelige, ligegyldigt hvad.
Jeg kan godt se, at der er en del kritikpunkter i min anmeldelse, men jeg vil stadig anbefale denne samling – det er underholdende og opfindsom læsning, og det er ikke mindst et godt indblik i en anden tid, med andre samfundsforhold og andre idealer. Jeg tror ikke, jeg er færdig med Karen Blixen endnu.
3,5 stjerner /NK
Karen Blixen – writing under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen – is a treasured Danish writer. Many years ago, I read her book Out of Africa (in Danish), the autobiographical novel behind the film starring Meryl Streep, and enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Ever since, I’ve been meaning to read more of her works, and when recently four of her books where republished in beautiful new editions, I thought it was time!
I really enjoyed this collection. The first hurdle, however, was to get used to the rather old-fashioned, even in places archaic language. It can be very formal and stiff, but that becomes its charm, too – after all, it was written in a period where this was perfectly normal, and I always enjoy getting little insights into earlier periods in this way.
In much the same way, the short stories – or tales – themselves provide a window into an older Denmark, one that in particular has personal interest for me, being Danish. I was surprised to see that not much was different from other countries at that time, at least when it comes to the aristocracy, who are often Blixen’s main characters (write what you know, you know).
‘Peter and Rosa’ was a favourite, as was ‘The Story of a Pearl’ and ‘Heloïse’. Some I didn’t quite get the point of, like ‘Alkmene’, though it was interestingly written, and some seemed to have a great many loose ends throughout the story. Something would be mentioned, and I thought ‘that was interesting, why is she reacting like that?’ but it would never be elaborated on or returned to, and in that I felt slightly cheated.
I did tire somewhat of the rather long, philosophical dialogues and speeches in many of the stories. It seemed that almost all of the characters were seeking some higher truth, or trying to discuss a higher truth, or came upon a higher truth. It was interesting, sure, but also a bit overdone, and written in a very grand way, discussing very grand people. It halted the story’s progress and slowed the whole thing down, which was a shame, because I very much liked the plot of most of them. But again, they are ‘tales’, not short stories, so perhaps they need that element?
When I say tales, they are not ‘fairy’ tales. There is no good against evil, and for the most part no journey with obstacles and helpers. There are no particularly happy endings, either. In fact, many of Blixen’s characters don’t seem that happy at all, though there appears to be no clear reason not to be – some of them come across as almost intent on being unhappy with one or other aspect of their life.
I realise there seems to be rather a few points of critique in this review, but I did enjoy reading this collection. It was not stellar, and it didn’t keep me up at night, but it was nicely enjoyable and provided a window into a time with other societal relations, other ideals, than today. I am sure I’ll read more Blixen in the future.
3.5 stars /NK
These are more like parables and morality tales. Not sure I 'got' any of them.
I don't remember who told me that Isak Dinesen wrote incredible short stories. I was told I needed to read this book. I am so glad I did. These have to be some of the very best short stories ever written.