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A review by booksnailmail
The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood; Youth; Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
5.0
Ditlevsen’s memoir is unlike any I have read. It resurrected my steady thumping heart and pulled it into the meat of my throat. It stayed there long after the last pages, beating and beating and beating.
The memoir, a trilogy, takes on tough subjects - coming of age in poverty, life set to the background of war, childhood under the roof of parents whose pithy love was saved only for the author’s older brother.
Ultimately, this is a memoir for any lover of literature as Tove finds a powerful anecdote to existential dread, which is writing poetry. Yet, Tove grew up in the 1920s, when far and few women wrote, especially none of her social status. Nevertheless, she writes to survive despite her mercurial mother and patronizing father.
In Dependency, Tove maintains her whimsical and detached tone, even when describing her troubles with pregnancy and addiction, with domestic troubles and miscarriage. I found myself absolutely shattered, yet unable to produce a single tear.
This is a must-read for #womenintranslationmonth - The memoir is fluid yet pointed, like a searing light capable of burning through skin. The writing is tenacious and unforgettable, and I found myself parched for more work from the world of Ditlevsen
The memoir, a trilogy, takes on tough subjects - coming of age in poverty, life set to the background of war, childhood under the roof of parents whose pithy love was saved only for the author’s older brother.
Ultimately, this is a memoir for any lover of literature as Tove finds a powerful anecdote to existential dread, which is writing poetry. Yet, Tove grew up in the 1920s, when far and few women wrote, especially none of her social status. Nevertheless, she writes to survive despite her mercurial mother and patronizing father.
In Dependency, Tove maintains her whimsical and detached tone, even when describing her troubles with pregnancy and addiction, with domestic troubles and miscarriage. I found myself absolutely shattered, yet unable to produce a single tear.
This is a must-read for #womenintranslationmonth - The memoir is fluid yet pointed, like a searing light capable of burning through skin. The writing is tenacious and unforgettable, and I found myself parched for more work from the world of Ditlevsen