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A review by lauren_endnotes
A Change of Time by Ida Jessen
4.0
"There is a freedom in which one is unseen. Such is the life of a widow. When the days of mourning are gone, the grief has become tiresome to one's surroundings...they must live with becoming grey in the eyes of the world..." (pg 81)
• A CHANGE OF TIME by Ida Jessen, translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken, 2015/2019. Archipelago @archipelagobooks
We meet "L" through her diary entries in the early 20th-century rural Denmark. At the beginning of the novel, we learn that L's husband, a prominent community doctor Vigand Bagge, is on his deathbed.
L's diary retraces her life and marriage to Vigand, who is portrayed as an emotional void, neglectful, and cruel. Through 22 years of marriage, L's identity has been worn down by Vigand (we do not even learn L's name until the last quarter of the book!), in many ways rendering her invisible to herself and to society. When he passes away, she enters a new chapter - a change of time - to reanimate and renew her own identity, and to step out of the dark loneliness she has endured for decades.
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"Bitterness is a very soft and comfortable armchair from which it is difficult indeed to extract oneself once it is decided to settle in." (pg 143)
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A quiet and layered emotional story of grief, devotion, and restraint. Highly recommended for all, but especially if you like the "quiet /small life" works of John Williams, Hernán Diaz, Willa Cather and others.
• A CHANGE OF TIME by Ida Jessen, translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken, 2015/2019. Archipelago @archipelagobooks
We meet "L" through her diary entries in the early 20th-century rural Denmark. At the beginning of the novel, we learn that L's husband, a prominent community doctor Vigand Bagge, is on his deathbed.
L's diary retraces her life and marriage to Vigand, who is portrayed as an emotional void, neglectful, and cruel. Through 22 years of marriage, L's identity has been worn down by Vigand (we do not even learn L's name until the last quarter of the book!), in many ways rendering her invisible to herself and to society. When he passes away, she enters a new chapter - a change of time - to reanimate and renew her own identity, and to step out of the dark loneliness she has endured for decades.
.
.
"Bitterness is a very soft and comfortable armchair from which it is difficult indeed to extract oneself once it is decided to settle in." (pg 143)
.
.
A quiet and layered emotional story of grief, devotion, and restraint. Highly recommended for all, but especially if you like the "quiet /small life" works of John Williams, Hernán Diaz, Willa Cather and others.