Reviews

The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann

kristen_howe's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

crimsonpermanentassurance's review against another edition

3.0

An odd book: Odd in construction, odd in substance; and however well-written, it left me cold and feeling oddly detached.

berthe33's review

4.0

Secrets past and present seem to rule this family. It is all in what no one WANTS to talk about, nothing substantive, everythin surface...so like today's families. Ullman's writing is precise, undemonstrative, very like Siri and her family. A great study in family dynamics...and nothing will really change.

letterbetty's review

2.0

Promising but plot holes and crappy characters ruined it for me.

bgg616's review

4.0

It seems that all the characters, except maybe the youngest child who is in preschool, is dysfunctional, with secrets. Despite the dark premise, a young woman disappears and isn't found for years, it is a book that I kept reading to find out what these secrets were.

hblene's review against another edition

3.0

Linn Ullmann's skrivemåte <3 En bok som bør leses på norsk. Jeg kan ikke tenke meg at denne er like fin på engelsk.

Veldig nydelig skrevet bok, men...... that's it?

kimgabriel's review against another edition

2.0

Nordic Noir can be pretty tough slogging but it is usually leavened by the mystery. This is Nordic Noir without the mystery. Which means it is just a tough slog. I am not of the school that believes I have to "relate" to the characters in a novel nor am I the least put off if I can't "identify" with them. It isn't like I am looking to join a social club or start a family. But I do need to feel something for them other than shock and awe at their gobsmacking dysfunction. I have to feel that there is a "take away"--something that has attached to some of the velcro pieces in my head or heart or gut. That clings. That I can pull out at some later time on purpose to re examine or that seems to nudge loose of its own accord and comes to me at off hours for no good reason except it does. I can't say that that happened at all with this novel. The main characters, indeed nearly all of the characters, struck me as blighted. Off. Not right. There is no particular reason why they are so. I don't see any light at the end of this tunnel albeit I suspect that the ending is supposed to hint at some kind of possible redemption/salvation/transformation. Too little too late for me. Even the dog was depressed. What is the point of page after page of people suffering from anhedonia?

msaari's review against another edition

3.0

Aika erikoinen kirja. Tapahtumien pohjana on murha, mutta ei tämä mikään dekkari ole, koska murhaa ei varsinaisesti selvitetä; teoksessa ei näy poliisin poliisia. Sen sijaan tarkastellaan rikkinäistä perhettä, jossa mummo sortuu 20 vuoden kuivan kauden jälkeen ryyppäämään, äiti raataa itsensä tärviölle kahden ravintolan pyörittäjänä, isä on epäonnistunut kirjailija ja uskoton pettäjä ja vanhempi tytär purkaa traumojaan käyttäytymällä koulussa huonosti.

Kaikkiaan aika jännä juttu, rikkinäisten perhekuvausten ystäville. Ei nyt ihan timanttisin teos, mutta sen verran mielenkiintoinen ja kiinnostavalla tavalla häiriintynyt ja vinksallaan, että nappasin Linn Ullmanilta toisenkin kirjan luettavaksi.

mlbeesreads's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed reading this book! While many things were left unresolved I really did miss the characters when I finished. 

johnsonsteph's review

3.0

3.5. An engaging and quick read. Heavy echoes of To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, James Joyce, and Carver's "A Small, Good Thing."