tilda_bernhardt's review against another edition
4.0
”saker som man annars hade gjort med lust blev endast sådant som man borde göra”
”folk visar ett och tycker ett annat”
”jag har småningom lärt mig att alla, precis alla och av alla storlekar är ute efter att få. de vill ha”
”folk visar ett och tycker ett annat”
”jag har småningom lärt mig att alla, precis alla och av alla storlekar är ute efter att få. de vill ha”
halftimelord's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jaspie's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first adult novel by Tove Jansson that I've read and, as a massive fan of the Moomin sagas, I approached it eagerly. And I wasn't disappointed... until the very end, hence the 4 stars rather than 5. To explain why would probably be a spoiler, so I won't do that.
Atmospherically this reminded me of "Moominland Midwinter." Jansson's description of the land in the grip of a Scandinavian winter echoes that work; one gets the sense of the beautiful desolation the characters are living in. And the writing is spare, crisp. Not a word is wasted, no phrase is overblown. The characters are drawn in clear, precise strokes - in the course of the novel, via the neat descriptions and the conversations you learn about the people in great detail; and those conversations are realistic, true to each character as they speak, lending a realism to the whole story.
So in short, it's a real pleasure to read. It may only be me who finds the ending disappointing, others may like it. But even if you reach the final chapter and experience the same reaction as mine, just relish the pleasure of having read the rest of it.
Atmospherically this reminded me of "Moominland Midwinter." Jansson's description of the land in the grip of a Scandinavian winter echoes that work; one gets the sense of the beautiful desolation the characters are living in. And the writing is spare, crisp. Not a word is wasted, no phrase is overblown. The characters are drawn in clear, precise strokes - in the course of the novel, via the neat descriptions and the conversations you learn about the people in great detail; and those conversations are realistic, true to each character as they speak, lending a realism to the whole story.
So in short, it's a real pleasure to read. It may only be me who finds the ending disappointing, others may like it. But even if you reach the final chapter and experience the same reaction as mine, just relish the pleasure of having read the rest of it.
blok_sera_szwajcarskiego's review against another edition
"Uczciwa oszustka" bardziej przypomina atlas emocji niż książkę fabularną. Czy jest to wada? Moim zdaniem nie, ale wiem, że łatwo się będzie przez to odbić od tego tytułu.
To nie jest historia pełna akcji, jednak klimat dawnej północy, śniegu i nadmorskiego miasteczka przesyca każdą jej stronę. A głównej osi wydarzeń w ruch nie sprawia cel bohaterek, a chemia między nimi. To opowieść o wpływie jednego człowieka na drugiego, odcięciu się od realnego świata i byciu "przyziemnym" aż do przesady. O oszukiwaniu siebie, ale też innych, o budowaniu światopoglądu, stawianiu sobie wyzwań, podejrzliwości, wierze i ludziach.
Nie jestem w stanie ocenić jej w skali 5, ani nawet 10 gwiazdek. "Uczciwa oszustka" po prostu jest, tak samo jak jej emocje i bohaterki, i podejrzewam że zostanie ze mną na długo. Że historię Anny Aemlin i Katri Kling przeczytam jeszcze nie raz i nie dwa.
To nie jest historia pełna akcji, jednak klimat dawnej północy, śniegu i nadmorskiego miasteczka przesyca każdą jej stronę. A głównej osi wydarzeń w ruch nie sprawia cel bohaterek, a chemia między nimi. To opowieść o wpływie jednego człowieka na drugiego, odcięciu się od realnego świata i byciu "przyziemnym" aż do przesady. O oszukiwaniu siebie, ale też innych, o budowaniu światopoglądu, stawianiu sobie wyzwań, podejrzliwości, wierze i ludziach.
Nie jestem w stanie ocenić jej w skali 5, ani nawet 10 gwiazdek. "Uczciwa oszustka" po prostu jest, tak samo jak jej emocje i bohaterki, i podejrzewam że zostanie ze mną na długo. Że historię Anny Aemlin i Katri Kling przeczytam jeszcze nie raz i nie dwa.
crisadmaiora's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
affiknittyreads's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
holly_astle's review against another edition
3.0
Everything is very subtle in this book, it creates tension and anxiety without anything of much importance happening.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
A strange, spare narrative set over one winter in a tiny Swedish hamlet. Cut off from the wider world, the neighbours spy on one another, as they fish, build boots, crochet, and keep house. Katri, the central character, is described as having "yellow eyes" and is followed everywhere she goes by her silent, yellow-eyed dog. She only cares about her brother, Mats, and wishes to create a more comfortable life for him. Anna Aemelin is an artist, living alone in a the village's only large house, maintaining a shrine to her dead parents, and drawing beautiful pictures of the forest floor. Katri decides that she and Mats will move in with Anna, to become her caretakers. A story unfolds, in which Katri forces Anna to face the lies she has been telling herself, and the lies she has been told by others. As they spend time with one another, Katri's own fiercely-held beliefs about the world begin to crumble too. A book infused with anxiety, capturing the small fears that can hold us back, and how deeply limited we can become when we refuse to see beyond our own small horizons. Like much of Jansson's later work, it is bleak but infused with spiky humour. I enjoyed this, but it didn't capture my attention in the way some of her novels do.