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A review by su1896
The Antarctica of Love: A Novel by Sara Stridsberg
4.0
“The difficult thing is giving someone something she’s never had before.”
“Why is that difficult?”
“Because, no matter how beautiful it is, if she’s never seen beauty before, she won’t recognise it”
“Beneath the surface time took on a different dimension; the water’s inertia and gentle resistance slowed down earthly time and transformed it into underwater time, time that moved more slowly without the sounds from up above that could measure it out and give it definition. Nothing happened down there, nothing much at least; the shadow of a gleaming perch swimming past a little further on, particles descending in the serried rays of sunlight quivering through the water. What happened down there was slower than anything happening up on land. There was hardly any need to rise to the surface for air; when I was down there I didn’t need oxygen, or food, or love. ”
I kept thinking about it the whole week. It has this haunting quality about it that keeps you thinking, keeps you wanting and reading more.
It is a very raw and sad book about the reality of many things in life. About someone who gave up. Just gave up.
And out of the snippets and flashbacks, the part about Eskil broke my heart the most.
“Since that time I have always had his little mouth against my ear, I still listen for those breaths that never come. ”
“Why is that difficult?”
“Because, no matter how beautiful it is, if she’s never seen beauty before, she won’t recognise it”
“Beneath the surface time took on a different dimension; the water’s inertia and gentle resistance slowed down earthly time and transformed it into underwater time, time that moved more slowly without the sounds from up above that could measure it out and give it definition. Nothing happened down there, nothing much at least; the shadow of a gleaming perch swimming past a little further on, particles descending in the serried rays of sunlight quivering through the water. What happened down there was slower than anything happening up on land. There was hardly any need to rise to the surface for air; when I was down there I didn’t need oxygen, or food, or love. ”
I kept thinking about it the whole week. It has this haunting quality about it that keeps you thinking, keeps you wanting and reading more.
It is a very raw and sad book about the reality of many things in life. About someone who gave up. Just gave up.
And out of the snippets and flashbacks, the part about Eskil broke my heart the most.
“Since that time I have always had his little mouth against my ear, I still listen for those breaths that never come. ”