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A review by pineconek
Childhood, Youth, Dependency: The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
The title of this trilogy-memoir truly sets the tone of it, and we get what's on the tin.
In other words, we see Tove's life unfold in three acts: first, a childhood of poverty, self doubt, and squashed ambition. Then, a youth of false promises, false starts, all against the terrifying backdrop of early 1930s European politics. And we culminate in the personal tragedies of dependence, soured relationships, broken dreams. Overarching themes include art-as-lies, searching for a savior, searching for self reliance, and facing yourself.
The trilogy is written with remarkable maturity and nothing feels embellished to make the author look better than she is. All flaws are on display, including those that she can't quite justify to herself either. It's a painfully naked read, and feels extremely intimate and vulnerable. I cannot overstate the rawness of it.
Recommended if you are interested in a first-hand account of "woman as tortured artist" that feels simultaneously honest and voyeuristic, and want to have a rock in your stomach whenever you think back to reading this (which is how I currently feel, writing this review). These emotions are uncomfortable, 's all. 4.5 stars on SG rounded up to 5 on GR.
In other words, we see Tove's life unfold in three acts: first, a childhood of poverty, self doubt, and squashed ambition. Then, a youth of false promises, false starts, all against the terrifying backdrop of early 1930s European politics. And we culminate in the personal tragedies of dependence, soured relationships, broken dreams. Overarching themes include art-as-lies, searching for a savior, searching for self reliance, and facing yourself.
The trilogy is written with remarkable maturity and nothing feels embellished to make the author look better than she is. All flaws are on display, including those that she can't quite justify to herself either. It's a painfully naked read, and feels extremely intimate and vulnerable. I cannot overstate the rawness of it.
Recommended if you are interested in a first-hand account of "woman as tortured artist" that feels simultaneously honest and voyeuristic, and want to have a rock in your stomach whenever you think back to reading this (which is how I currently feel, writing this review). These emotions are uncomfortable, 's all. 4.5 stars on SG rounded up to 5 on GR.