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A review by etlis
Often I Am Happy by Jens Christian Grøndahl
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I badly want to give this book a 5-star rating because of how beautifully written and unique it was. I loved everything about it and I couldn't put it down EXCEPT...
1. When they used the N-word to describe a Filipina maid
2. During the scene when she casually saw a young Filipina in the train station and made comment about Filipino workers always Skyping with family back home who live in Palm huts and made fun of Filipinas having English names but supposedly speak Spanish in the Philippines
I couldn't let that go because those scenes were IRRELEVANT to the story. The scenes did not contribute to the story AT ALL.
I can see how the writer thinks this paints a picture of the current state of Denmark but he was able to do that with painting scenes of changed/modernized streets, just as well. So why single out those two scenes if he's not going to make it relevant to the story.
Our protagonist (Ellinor) supposedly grew up in a diverse neighborhood with a hardworking mother. You would think that such an environment would make Ellinor more acceptable or at the very least "tolerating."
These two scenes just paints a picture of how the author feels about Filipinos in Denmark rather than Ellinor's. This books was published in 2017, which makes these two scenes feel more prejudiced. I would have understood it if it was written decades ago or if the author meant to use those scenes as key points to the story. Maybe he was meant to use them as a way to show that Ellinor is not perfect, which was in the blurb ( I think). Something about not really understanding other people's personality or MAYBE (and I'm giving him way too much credit and I'm probably overeaching here) he just wanted to show that society put grieving people on a pedestal and this is his way of breaking that.
I really truly loved the writing and the premise. The flow of words were lyrical but I can't move past these two scenes. As I write this, I was planning to give it at least 3 stars but knowing how amazing the author is at writing, he has no excuse for something so prejudiced. He knew exactly what he wrote and with how short this novel it, he purposefully wanted to include those scenes.
1. When they used the N-word to describe a Filipina maid
2. During the scene when she casually saw a young Filipina in the train station and made comment about Filipino workers always Skyping with family back home who live in Palm huts and made fun of Filipinas having English names but supposedly speak Spanish in the Philippines
I couldn't let that go because those scenes were IRRELEVANT to the story. The scenes did not contribute to the story AT ALL.
I can see how the writer thinks this paints a picture of the current state of Denmark but he was able to do that with painting scenes of changed/modernized streets, just as well. So why single out those two scenes if he's not going to make it relevant to the story.
Our protagonist (Ellinor) supposedly grew up in a diverse neighborhood with a hardworking mother. You would think that such an environment would make Ellinor more acceptable or at the very least "tolerating."
These two scenes just paints a picture of how the author feels about Filipinos in Denmark rather than Ellinor's. This books was published in 2017, which makes these two scenes feel more prejudiced. I would have understood it if it was written decades ago or if the author meant to use those scenes as key points to the story. Maybe he was meant to use them as a way to show that Ellinor is not perfect, which was in the blurb ( I think). Something about not really understanding other people's personality or MAYBE (and I'm giving him way too much credit and I'm probably overeaching here) he just wanted to show that society put grieving people on a pedestal and this is his way of breaking that.
I really truly loved the writing and the premise. The flow of words were lyrical but I can't move past these two scenes. As I write this, I was planning to give it at least 3 stars but knowing how amazing the author is at writing, he has no excuse for something so prejudiced. He knew exactly what he wrote and with how short this novel it, he purposefully wanted to include those scenes.