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kristiane_bs's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
lene_kretzsch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
DNF. A dreary, seemingly endless slog never enlivened by the slightest hint of grace, humour, or literary beauty. I'd rather binge on lutefisk than continue reading this.
vanvicki's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
3.25
sharongrigg's review
3.0
Starts out good but seems to lose its way after the main event. Lots of unanswered questions by the end.
gulshanbatra's review
4.0
So, I got this from the local library on reading the jacket blurb, and was expecting some deep, dark, multi-layered and character-rich mystery - you know, the usual page turner, gripping you, yada, yada...
this is nothing of the sort. I almost abandoned it - twice. In the end, I'm satisfied I didn't give up on it.
The book is written very tenderly, and i'm surprised at the amount of pain that the author has managed to convey through her words. The writing is half-way artistic and colorful, kind of like a semi-finished Murakami. That's both a good thing and bad thing. Good because it is not very bulky and heavy to read and lug around(!), and bad because there are instances where I felt I wanted her to scrape at the wounds a little more - i know, sounds sadistic, but there i was.
Overall, the author brings the disparate threads together quite nicely, though the back-and-forth jumping through the timeline is a bit irritating, on more than one occasions.
I'd probably look for more by Linn U. - this book was certainly good enough for that.
this is nothing of the sort. I almost abandoned it - twice. In the end, I'm satisfied I didn't give up on it.
The book is written very tenderly, and i'm surprised at the amount of pain that the author has managed to convey through her words. The writing is half-way artistic and colorful, kind of like a semi-finished Murakami. That's both a good thing and bad thing. Good because it is not very bulky and heavy to read and lug around(!), and bad because there are instances where I felt I wanted her to scrape at the wounds a little more - i know, sounds sadistic, but there i was.
Overall, the author brings the disparate threads together quite nicely, though the back-and-forth jumping through the timeline is a bit irritating, on more than one occasions.
I'd probably look for more by Linn U. - this book was certainly good enough for that.
johannalm's review
2.0
The Cold Song, Linn Ullmann
Award winning Norwegian writer brings the reader into the very dysfunctional world of Jon and Siri and their two daughters who live in Oslo Norway. The father is a philandering, self center writer suffering from writer's block. Siri, the mom, is a workaholic chef and restaurant owner who has lots of unresolved issues with her distant and unkind mother. The older daughter, Alma, has lots of anger issues that keep getting her kicked out of school. The grandmother, whose home they stay at in the summers, has a close relationship with a woman who takes care of her and who everyone else is afraid of. When the nanny hired for a summer to watch the younger daughter goes missing, the family is forced to face their issues which they do poorly. The nanny's inconsolable parents won't let go and continue to try and find out what happened. The reader knows what happened and waits for the rest of the characters to get there. Lots of screwed up people in this book who are unhappy or angry or nasty without any explanation for why. Many probably could have prevented the murder if they were just a tad kinder, but no one cared enough. Very atmospheric but I was not happy with the lack of insight into what made all these people tick so oddly.
Award winning Norwegian writer brings the reader into the very dysfunctional world of Jon and Siri and their two daughters who live in Oslo Norway. The father is a philandering, self center writer suffering from writer's block. Siri, the mom, is a workaholic chef and restaurant owner who has lots of unresolved issues with her distant and unkind mother. The older daughter, Alma, has lots of anger issues that keep getting her kicked out of school. The grandmother, whose home they stay at in the summers, has a close relationship with a woman who takes care of her and who everyone else is afraid of. When the nanny hired for a summer to watch the younger daughter goes missing, the family is forced to face their issues which they do poorly. The nanny's inconsolable parents won't let go and continue to try and find out what happened. The reader knows what happened and waits for the rest of the characters to get there. Lots of screwed up people in this book who are unhappy or angry or nasty without any explanation for why. Many probably could have prevented the murder if they were just a tad kinder, but no one cared enough. Very atmospheric but I was not happy with the lack of insight into what made all these people tick so oddly.
flogigyahoo's review
2.0
Linn Ullmann's novel, The Cold Song, has ben on my WTR list since it came out, and I was glad to see it while visiting my family this holiday season. Ullmann tells the story of Siri and Jon, their strange marriage, 2 daughters Alma and Liv, Siri's alcoholic mother, Jenny, and Milla, the young au pair who goes missing. Siri runs restaurants, Jon is a well known writer who cannot write anymore, and a philanderer, Alma is a very precocious, weird child who is hard to understand, Jenny cannot stop grieving for her dead son, who drowned when he was 12 while Siri watched. Ullmann weaves her story from one character to the next, returning to the same scene again and again, even from one character's point of view. Too too much. The tragedy of Milla is not the important story here and it should be. At over 300 pages this novel is much too long.
joreads7's review
3.0
OH MY GOD I am sick of books where literally nothing happens. This novel even had a murder in it and still nothing happened. Ullmann is a good writer, so if you like her prose, and absolutely no plot you will enjoy? this book.