eleni_erato's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicide
Minor: War and Sexual assault
lauramolenaar's review against another edition
4.0
Sommige zinnen zijn mooi poëtisch; sommige zinnen zijn té poëtisch.
asofiac's review against another edition
3.0
Det tar emot lite att bara ge den en trea, när första tredjedelen var bland det bästa och finaste jag läst. Kommer kanske tillbaka till den igen!
dissendiumnox's review against another edition
2.0
2/5
Je n'accroche pas du tout au style, plutôt fragmentaire, presque bordélique...
Je n'accroche pas du tout au style, plutôt fragmentaire, presque bordélique...
dangaus_melsvumo's review against another edition
4.0
Knygą įvardinčiau kaip arčiau žemės esančiam skaitytojui subalansuotą Škėmos egzistencializmo versiją. Mažai optimizmo, daug ryžtingos akistatos su bauginančia žmogaus psichologija. Labai gražūs svarstymai apie žmogaus santykį su menu.
golivia's review against another edition
2.0
Eh?? Alla hans böcker gör mig förvirrad. Varför? Misären tar verkligen inte slut när det kommer till Tunström.
thebobsphere's review
2.0
Argh! I just finished one disappointing book only to face ANOTHER let down, the worst thing is that generally I like books in this vein.
Solveig is trampled by a herd of cows, while on her way to sing in a choir performing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and her husband cannot cope with this loss. As a result he moves away and his action effects two generations of his family, in the most complex way possible.
Sounds great but i found the novel to be quite tedious at times but thankfully the chapters are short and I was able to read it at a good pace.
Lets hope I wont have a hat trick of dull books!
Solveig is trampled by a herd of cows, while on her way to sing in a choir performing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and her husband cannot cope with this loss. As a result he moves away and his action effects two generations of his family, in the most complex way possible.
Sounds great but i found the novel to be quite tedious at times but thankfully the chapters are short and I was able to read it at a good pace.
Lets hope I wont have a hat trick of dull books!
expendablemudge's review
3.0
Rating: baaarely 3* of five
Well, the Nordic reputation for gloom and depression and sadness and cheerlessness is safe again, thank goodness. I thought a book with Christmas in the title, especially a piece of Christmas music that's renowned for being, if not jolly, then upbeat could make the reader smile! No, no, not part of the character of Tunstrom's novel, no smiling, no no, none of that!
Death. Lots of that, and only some of it physical. The psychic deaths of everyone in this book take place in locales that are lovely to look at and lushly described, as if to counterpoint the misery and sadness the humans in these places carry around with them.
I still think it would be delightful to visit Sweden, and one day before I die I WILL see New Zealand in the flesh so to speak, despite the author's best efforts to make me perceive these places as sinks of hopelessness and the futility of human happiness.
Since the work is a translation, I have no idea if the writing is good or not, so I make no comment thereon. But this is one gloomfest of a novel, and I will never, ever pick it up again. Should anyone offer me another novel by Tunstrom, I will politely decline the opportunity to make myself wretchedly depressed by reading it, tear-dampened kleenex crumpled in one clenched fist and suicidally large dose of pills in the other, searching desperately for a glimmering of a reason not to end this wasted, purposeless thing I've not-so-laughingly called my life.
So, on balance, not really recommended.
Well, the Nordic reputation for gloom and depression and sadness and cheerlessness is safe again, thank goodness. I thought a book with Christmas in the title, especially a piece of Christmas music that's renowned for being, if not jolly, then upbeat could make the reader smile! No, no, not part of the character of Tunstrom's novel, no smiling, no no, none of that!
Death. Lots of that, and only some of it physical. The psychic deaths of everyone in this book take place in locales that are lovely to look at and lushly described, as if to counterpoint the misery and sadness the humans in these places carry around with them.
I still think it would be delightful to visit Sweden, and one day before I die I WILL see New Zealand in the flesh so to speak, despite the author's best efforts to make me perceive these places as sinks of hopelessness and the futility of human happiness.
Since the work is a translation, I have no idea if the writing is good or not, so I make no comment thereon. But this is one gloomfest of a novel, and I will never, ever pick it up again. Should anyone offer me another novel by Tunstrom, I will politely decline the opportunity to make myself wretchedly depressed by reading it, tear-dampened kleenex crumpled in one clenched fist and suicidally large dose of pills in the other, searching desperately for a glimmering of a reason not to end this wasted, purposeless thing I've not-so-laughingly called my life.
So, on balance, not really recommended.
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