Reviews

The House with the Blind Glass Windows by Herbjørg Wassmo

lisefaerch's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Velskrevet, hjerteskærende, brandlevende og tankevækkende. At dette er Wassmos debutroman er næsten ikke til at tro.

amelieoboken's review against another edition

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emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

dagdraumar's review against another edition

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5.0

Denne likte jeg godt. Wassmo skriver godt, og det er noe spesielt med nordlendinger, fiskevær og fordums tider.

ritte's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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enboknagrakopparte's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

martafvduarte's review against another edition

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3.0

Chateia-me!

Tora já tinha todos os motivos do mundo para ser uma criança infeliz. Chateia-me que o autor ainda tenha arranjado maneira de a criança ser vítima de abuso sexual e que ainda por cima tenha feito disso o ponto central da história. Chateia-me que este seja um tema recorrente em tantos livros e chateia-me estar a ler um livro e a imaginar que houve uma qualquer reunião em que um qualquer editor disse “para isto ser mesmo dramático, ela vai ter que sofrer abusos sexuais! Isso é que vai vender!”. Não precisava nada desse acontecimento para ter sido uma história interessante. Parece-me que podia ser mais explorada a questão da guerra e do pai alemão. Talvez esse tema tenha ficado guardado para os livros seguintes.
Apesar disso, e da história parecer uma sucessão de acontecimentos relativamente aleatórios, a escrita é agradável e deixou alguma curiosidade sobre como será desenvolvida a história nos livros seguintes.

bucket's review against another edition

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4.0

My heart ached the whole time I read this novel - for Tora especially but also for her mother, for her aunt, for her friend Sol and Sol's mother. These women do not have easy lives, but Tora's burden is most difficult to bear. She's just 11, but she is abused both sexually and physically by her stepfather, her mother puts up an invisible wall of sorrow and silence, and she is an outcast because her father was a German soldier (the novel takes place in post-World War II Sweden).

The early pages of the novel are a bit choppy as various characters are introduced and background information is shared, but it soon settles into a good rhythm with Tora at the forefront. The ending is exceptional - Tora's waking dreams and nightmares are palpable and visceral. Absolutely deserves its international reknown.

This is the first in a trilogy about Tora, but I'm not certain the other two novels have been translated - I'll have to check into it.

Themes: Sweden, girl coming of age, violence/abuse, poverty, winter, women, female solidarity, post-WW2, Nordic literature

gmoose's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a little above my reading level in Norwegian, plus all the dialog is written in dialect, which is tricky for me. Still, I loved this tragic story and will read the next book in the series for sure.

majas's review against another edition

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5.0

"Kan noget være både sørgeligt og dejligt på én gang?"

Huset med den blinde glasveranda er både sørgelig og dejlig, brutal og smuk på en gang. Den er fyldt med en 11-12 årig piges traumer og angst men også hendes håb og drømme for den barske verden hun lever i.
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