roypetter's review against another edition
4.0
Den jeg har likt best av de Saabye Christensen-romanene jeg har lest så langt! :)
tommooney's review
3.0
This started out well - it's also weirdly pretty prescient, being about Oslo slowly coming back to life after the disastrous consequences of World War 2.
The writing is lovely, the detail intruiging, the characters rounded and real.
But it truly is the most plotless book I've read. Nothing happens. Which is fine for a couple hundred pages but at almost 500 it gets a bit boring.
The writing is lovely, the detail intruiging, the characters rounded and real.
But it truly is the most plotless book I've read. Nothing happens. Which is fine for a couple hundred pages but at almost 500 it gets a bit boring.
thebooktrail88's review
4.0
VISIT THE LOCATIONS IN THE NOVEL
What a unique read. Echoes of the city is many things – a tale of one city, a series of stories of those who live there and a snapshot of history and human emotion.
It also works extremely well as a guide book! There’s so many mentions of street names, city landmarks and statues to note moments in history etc that you could literally walk around the city with this book in your hand and discover much more than you normally would.
The characters who live at Kirkeveien are delightful characters to meet in a novel. It’s just after WW2 and we get to meet them gradually, all of them with fascinating stories and their hopes and dreams. It’s through their stories that we really start to explore and discover the real face of Oslo as the city moves from wartime into peacetime.
This is when the structure of the book really comes into its own. It’s uniquely set out with chapters on characters interspersed with notes and minutes from the Norwegian Red Cross. This is the organization which has played a major role in the city in helping developing it and mapping it out. Through the Red Cross, we see how the city has changed, is changing now and adapting to the changing times. Then when we meet the characters again, we see how the city and the people, the people and the city live side by side, and how the stories of one intertwine with those of the other.
This really is a unique and insightful read. A novel that’s hard to categorise as it carves out its own niche. First of a trilogy that I am very much looking forward to revisiting.
marite's review against another edition
5.0
Denne har vært på leselista en stund. Vi snakker om en god, gammeldags roman man vil sette alt annet til side for. Stor leseropplevelse. Det er en dyp melankoli i denne fortellingen, alle personene har en veldig avstand til hverandre, her er det ikke mye nostalgi å spore, den tidlige etterkrigstiden er slett ikke lys og optimistisk. Christensen skaper et sterkt engasjement for personene sine, så her er det ikke annet å gjøre enn å gi seg i kast med de neste bøkene i kvartetten.
sumlittlebee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thelunacia's review against another edition
4.0
Liker virkelig Lars Saabye Christensens måte å skrive på i denne boka. Han klarer å skape en atmosfære som gjør at man føler ar man er der.
yawa's review against another edition
3.0
Om det ikke var for de nydelige skildringene av mitt kjære Oslo, hadde jeg ikke orket å fullføre denne historien. Og av samme grunn kommer jeg også til å lese de neste bindene når de en gang kommer. Men jeg må si jeg gir blanke i karakterene utover byen selv.
annelihelene's review against another edition
4.0
Litt treg og forvirrende i starten, men kom kjapt inn i det og da var det igrunn umulig å legge den fra seg. Måten karakterene er fremstilt er helt fantastisk og man blir tatt med på en spennende reise gjennom et knippe hverdagslige liv som byr på både gode og vonde øyeblikk.
outandabout's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This slice of life novel is like living for awhile in post-war Oslo with family and old friends. While there is a plot and a few subplots, they are subtle. The real power of the novel is in the characters and in how their lives intersect and influence each other. A definite recommend for anyone looking for a slower pace of life for a little while.
This quote from the prologue sets the mood and the pace perfectly while giving a rich description of the place and time.
This quote from the prologue sets the mood and the pace perfectly while giving a rich description of the place and time.
Let us continue, not that there is any rush; on the contrary we have plenty of time. But to those who wish to accompany us, please adjust to our pace. That is the custom here.
Standing at the back is the best. From there you can see everything you leave behind. However it is not Jesper steering the tram. Not even the conductor is steering. It is the rails. It is the people who laid the rails, who perhaps died years ago, who are still steering the tram.
She looks at her hands. They are getting old, too. They are changing color. They are getting liver spots. They are disgusting. She tries to pull off her wedding ring, which Halfsan bought at David Andersen‘s in 1916 and he slipped on her finger in April of the same year, when her hands were young, before they had their hands full.
“Because the humdrum will lead us to happiness.”
refleksvest's review against another edition
5.0
Nydelig historie, nydelig språk, Lars Saabye Christensen på sitt beste.