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A review by aastakyvik
I skumringen synger svarttrosten by Linda Olsson
2.0
This was a difficult novel to rate. After reading the first third of the book I was sure it was going to be one of my new favourite books, but after finishing it I just felt confused about what I actually felt around it. It was a tender story with beautiful writing, and sometime it reminded me a bit of Fredrik Backman, but a tad darker.
While I loved Otto, and felt like he was a fully realised character, the other two felt a bit off sometimes. Elisabeth was kinda interesting at the start, but as I read she reminded me more and more of an angsty and depressed teen from a YA novel, rather than a mature 50 year old woman. She had some growth throughout the story, but it felt forced and she never really read as a real person to me. Elias' pictures are a big part of Elisabeths arc, but while his pictures was supposed to stay important he himself faded out sometimes through the novel, and what first was a novel written in three point of views, got unbalanced when Elias got less of a role. I didn't really feel like I got to know him, it was kind of like he only was there to be someone to push Elisabeth out of her shell and nothing more. He's hinting to his sexuality at the start, in saying that beatings happen to people like him, but his sexuality doesn't really get explored. He gets a boyfriend and seems to be happy at the end, but nothing is ever really talked about which felt too easy after his troubled start.
The story is highly character driven, which is a shame given that only one of the three characters (in my opinion) is fully realised. I personally didn't have anything against the open ending, but I also didn't care for what happened to Elisabeth, only about how hurt Otto would be, which I feel says a lot. At the end I'm giving this three stars, but I'm still excited to read another book from Olsson as I loved her writing style.
While I loved Otto, and felt like he was a fully realised character, the other two felt a bit off sometimes. Elisabeth was kinda interesting at the start, but as I read she reminded me more and more of an angsty and depressed teen from a YA novel, rather than a mature 50 year old woman. She had some growth throughout the story, but it felt forced and she never really read as a real person to me. Elias' pictures are a big part of Elisabeths arc, but while his pictures was supposed to stay important he himself faded out sometimes through the novel, and what first was a novel written in three point of views, got unbalanced when Elias got less of a role. I didn't really feel like I got to know him, it was kind of like he only was there to be someone to push Elisabeth out of her shell and nothing more. He's hinting to his sexuality at the start, in saying that beatings happen to people like him, but his sexuality doesn't really get explored. He gets a boyfriend and seems to be happy at the end, but nothing is ever really talked about which felt too easy after his troubled start.
The story is highly character driven, which is a shame given that only one of the three characters (in my opinion) is fully realised. I personally didn't have anything against the open ending, but I also didn't care for what happened to Elisabeth, only about how hurt Otto would be, which I feel says a lot. At the end I'm giving this three stars, but I'm still excited to read another book from Olsson as I loved her writing style.