Reviews

The Half Brother: A Novel by Lars Saabye Christensen, Kenneth Steven

vlide's review against another edition

5.0

Што да речам а да не испадне клише... Кога ја зедов по препорака, првото и единствено нешто што ме одвратуваше да ја започнам е нејзината преобемност. Но испадна оноа исто што го забележав кај Штајнбековата „Источно од рајот“. На еден ненаметлив начин, фабулата полека се отплеткува и ноншалантно навлегува во умот, за да после тешко може да биде исфрлена. „Проблемот“ со сите тие coming of age книги е секаде таков. Ја читаш за да осознаеш нешто повеќе за туѓото созревање, за на крај самиот да се почувствуваш “повисок“ за една педа.
Наративот е релативно лесен но длабок. Нешто како што Торнаторе би ја режирал „Источно од рајот“ на Штајнбек. Приказна за злосреќните случки на двајца браќа, едниот роден по чиста случајност, додека другиот (протагонистот) со физичка аномалија на џуџе и его на слон како се обидува да го отсонува својот сон да биде конечно забележан меѓу светот.
Топла препорака од мене.

annapavelsen's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.75

carola's review against another edition

5.0

Zelfs na een nachtje slapen twijfel ik nog of die vijfde ster er nou wel of niet bij moet. Ik heb genoten van dit meeslepende verhaal en van de heerlijke, merkwaardige personages. Nergens verdwaalde ik in de lange zinnen, de volle bladspiegel of de langere hoofdstukken. Christensen laat ook heel prettig ruimte voor eigen interpretatie, zonder dat de open plekken voelen als irritante gaten. Ik heb alles verslonden.
Maar waarom, waarom heb ik zo vaak moeten lezen dat

Spoiler

iets gefluisterd wordt?

(hier staat geen echte spoiler over het verhaal, dit gaat over iets opvallends qua taal. Omdat je een liedje ook niet meer normaal kunt horen nadat je een 'mama appelsap' hebt ontdekt, heb ik dit toch even als spoiler verborgen). Gezien de verder prachtige taal zou ik bijna denken dat er een diepere gedachte achter zit, of is dit gewoon een kwestie van redactie of vertaling?

Dit boek haalde me uit bed toen ik ver voor de wekker wakker werd. In plaats van me nog even om te draaien, genoot ik van dit boek. Zo'n boek verdient het niet om een ster minder te krijgen vanwege één herhalend woordje, denk ik dan. Hoppa, vijf sterren. Ga dit lezen.

mvecc's review against another edition

5.0

4.5
Cada familia es un mundo y este libro no deja de demostrarlo.

agusto74's review against another edition

2.0

Var veldig skuffet med denne boka. Han er en fantastisk komiker, kannskje den beste jeg har lest, men dette, dette er en seriös og, desverre, daarlig bok.

canadianbookworm's review against another edition

4.0

https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-half-brother.html

veslemyhj's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

eugen_wzrd's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

sherylk's review against another edition

3.0

WOW. This was quite an epic. Recommended by my Norwegian friend Stig, this book possessed me for months. It was about three generations of a family living in Oslo during and after WWII. Translated from the original Norwegian, it was written very subtly, with moments sometimes not hitting me until I was a few pages past the scene. The character development was really good, and the narrative as a whole was ... epic. Perhaps my only hesitation in a stronger recommendation was the length - I definitely got lost at points in the book, willing it to get to the next chapter.

arirang's review against another edition

5.0

Upping this to 5 stars as still lives in my memory 15 years later