Suzanne BrøggerReseñas

Indeholder "Katzes Bog", "1. Mezzaninen", "2. Lysestagen", "3. Personlighed", "4. Budskabet til Garzia", "5. Dragesæd", "6. Konsulen", "7. Mislykket mord", "8. Ægtesengen", "9. Den gule hætte", "10. Olie i munden", "11. Manden i brønden", "12. Barberblade", "13. Drømme", "14. Barnet", "15. Befrielsen", "16. London", "Myrens bog", "1. Den lille røde dukkevogn", "2. Faldet", "3. Paradisøen", "4. Lidenskab", "5. Jadekatten", "6. Inshallah", "7. Gældsbrevet", "8. Branden", "9. Kasbahens kvinder", "10. Forbrydelsen", "11. Triumf", "12. Ta' pisken med", "13. Judaskysset", "14. Kuppet", "15. Guldturneringen", "16. Maraton", "Orms bog", "Tobias' bog".

???

Suzanne Brøgger har noget med katte. Hun har haft kat i mange år, og i Linda Evangelista Olsen – bogen er opkaldt efter en af dens kælne hovedpersoner – skriver hun om sit liv gennem kattebriller, og da det på tværs af kulturer er udbredt at forbinde katten med det kvindelige, bliver det også en feministisk fortælling om frigørelse og selvstændighed.

Jeg-fortælleren var allerede en berejst kosmopolit og berømthed, da hun stødte ind i sin første kat. Det skete (selvfølgelig) i Løve på Sjælland, hvor hun kom kørende på cykel. Katten faldt hun i snak med, men hun måtte bruge sine bedste overtalelsesevner for at få netop dén kat lokket fra familien, der hellere ville af med en af de andre killinger.

Shahbanou, som hun ender med at navngive katten, bliver et fast holdepunkt de næste mange år. En livspartner, der tvinger hende til at slå sig ned og dermed giver hende disciplinen til at få skrevet nogle bøger, men også et yndefuldt (hunkøns)væsen, der går gennem livet med elegance, værdighed og en stærk egen vilje. Et symbol på den moderne frigjorte kvinde, selvfølgelig, men også et dyr med jagtinstinkt der ikke finder sig i ret meget.

Snart kan hun slet ikke forestille sig et liv uden kat. Katten bliver en lakmusprøve for de mænd hun møder, for hvis de ikke kan acceptere katten – som den svensker hun flytter over til på et tidspunkt – så kan de nok heller ikke acceptere hendes uafhængighed. Da hun endelig møder manden, der bliver hendes livslange kærlighed, spiller katten igen en vigtig rolle:

”Et sådant menneske dukkede op en dag. Det var den sødeste litteraturforsker, man kan tænke sig. Han var inviteret til te, og blev livet ud. Og det skyldtes, uden tvivl, at han havde medbragt spegesild og hjertemad, som Shahbanou straks kunne goutere.
Jeg lagde ham ned i min mors seng – andet leje havde jeg ikke. Og da han selv var moderløs, virkede det som om han stortrivedes. Han havde oven i købet den usædvanlige, næsten uhyggelige egenskab: Han var ikke bange for hexe.” (s. 91)

Der er ikke noget overraskende i handlingen, men bogen er utroligt velskrevet og som citatet viser, så integrerer den uden besvær katte- og menneskemytologi. Man må glæde sig over, at en seksuelt frigjort kvinde med egen karriere ikke længere ses som en mis-forståelse, og det kan man passende tænke over, mens man læser Suzanne Brøggers lille bog om livet med kat.½

Monogamie - der Kannibalismus unserer Zeit

Indeholder "Vølvens spådom", "Oversætterens note", "Efterskrift af Vigdis Finnbogadottir".

Glimrende gendigtning af et gammel kvad.

Boek niet uitgelezen. Bij blz. 100 gestopt (van de ruim 500!!). Ik vond het te onsamenhangend geschreven. Er waren wel boeiende passages, maar niet boeiend genoeg, helaas....½

I did not enjoy this book at all. I found it incredibly slow going and I just plodded my way through it. It's a family saga where madness seems to move from generation to generation, but the author's writing style was just not appealing to me at all. I really didn't like the book in the least.

Susanne Brøggers har nået det vigtigste mål med sin gendigtning: Hun har gjort det gamle kvad tilgængeligt for et moderne publikum. Det er selvfølgelig en fordel af kende grundfortællingerne og de mange figurer i forvejen, men sådan er det jo med al digtning fra en fremmed verden.

I digtet stiger den ældgamle Vølve op af undergrunden for at fortælle historien om verdens skabelse, undergang og genkomst. Sproget er fyldt med dunkle hentydninger, men versenes historie er egentlig ret gennemskuelig. Måske har Ringenes Herre forberedt mig på mærkelige nordiske navne.

Interessant er navngivningen af verden: Hvor det i Biblen tilkommer gud på egen hånd, så er det her menneskene til, der mødtes på ”tinge” og blev enige om navne til alt. Alligevel går det hurtigt ned ad bakke med splid, krig og drab, mens Vølven gang på gang henvender sig til læseren i et vredt tonefald: ”Var der mere I ville vide?” Og selvfølgelig er der det, for menneskets trang til at høre om død og ødelæggelse er umættelig, dengang som nu.

”Bror skal bekæmpe
bror,
søskende bryde
slægtsbånd,
hårdhed skal herske
og hor;
krigstid, kamptid,
kløvede skjolde,
ulvetid, stormtid
til verden ender
og ingen skåner
nogen.”

Forudsiges det, og alligevel slutter digtet positivt:

”Dér skal skyldfri skarer
mødes og leve
lykkedage
i lys,
evigt.”

Til gengæld er jeg ikke sikker på, at der er grundlag for Brøggers feministiske tolkning – hun lægger meget vægt på, at det for en gangs skyld er en kvinde, der fortæller historien – eller for at hun har skrevet kristendommens komme, der i de overleverede versioner slutter digtet af. På sin vis lægger hele historien om de gamle guders fald og verdens nye begyndelse perfekt op til den nye tro. Det er dog kun mindre indvendinger mod et vigtigt og vellykket projekt.

I received this book by luck of the draw and was really excited to get going on it, sure it would be an engaging and interesting read. Unfortunately, the exact opposite was true. I managed to struggle through the first sixty pages or so, and then dropped the book entirely, which is extremely unusual for me to do. I was unable to sympathize with the characters and the plot was slow moving, but I did like Ms. Brogger's writing style. All told, I think I will go find another of this author's books before passing final judgement on her. This book though...you won't want to read it.½

I found The Jade Cat a very difficult read and it took several attempts and months to finish this book. While I thought the subject matter sounded interesting the style of writing and the characters were tedious. I could not follow the story very easily. Also, the characters were not engaging even in their dysfuntionality. I could not find sympathy or connect with any of them. Unfortunately, this book was not as captivating as the description made it to be.

This book is a tedious read and is poorly written. The first few chapters introduce a set of characters some of whom are not mentioned in the book thereafter, the remaining characters are not dynamic. The point of view jumps around from character to character, but they all sound like the same person. The book seems to be about the destruction of a family and is quite depressing. Neither was the plot of interest, nor were the characters at all likable. I would not recommend it at all.

"Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.". I requested The Jade Cat because the synopsis on Library Thing sounded very interesting, memories of three generations of a Jewish family. Unfortunately, I tried several times to start reading the book, had it in the Dr's office this afternoon with a long wait but the style was very confusing for me and also remembering all the characters.
The translation also didn't help. For example, page 314, "...Bekka had met an Irish solicitor and fallen for him hook, line and sinker. And vice versa" My ARC also had missing pages.

I gave this book my very best effort, but after two months of trying to read it, I simply can't get through it. It's overloaded with seemingly insignificant details, and there are so many characters that it is difficult to follow. I really wanted to like the book, but I just could not get through it.

This novel follows the wealthy high-class Løvin family of the early Twentieth century, through their daughter Li's regression into adult childhood, then withering away into low-class irrelevance and madness.

There is a strong sense of class throughout the novel. Katze and the others of her generation are always aware of their circumstances and maintaining respectability. The story is broad, reaching from the family's ancestors in the mid-1800's through the early 1990's. Yet the narration is distant, and we rarely get a solid visual scene or hear the characters own voices. Sometimes I got the feeling that the plot was being summarized. Still, the story of the family does stay interesting.

This is a novel of characters; the force of Katze's hardness and misanthropy (she declares, "Men are riff, women are raff. Human beings are riffraff.") echoes around the family. Though the Løvin family survives the war and its hardships, it never quite comes to its previous wealth and status.

Like other reviewers, I found the narration a bit "overloaded". The style was a little difficult to get used to.

Read my full review here: http://whatyouread.blogspot.com/2009/10/jade-cat.html

There is a reason that gems are framed with metals: to accentuate their beauty and hold them in place. The Jade Cat by Suzanne Brogger though is like a series of gems with no frames at all. There are fascinating sentences, even paragraphs. But they were lost in a see of actions and connections. The value of the gems, at least in my eyes, was lost as the good segments were overshadowed by the lack of focus. It felt like we meet a new character or location on every single page. I think this was the first time I got sensory overload from a book.

I regret the above, because the book sounded exciting. I would have loved to follow a three or more generations of a Jewish Danish family around the world thoughout a long 20th century. But for me they were lost in the cavalcade.

I am grateful for having received an ARC. But I have to mention two physical characteristics of the book that hopefully will be corrected by the time of the final version. First of all the font was hard to read. The bulging letters tired my eyes fast and made it hard to follow the lines. Second, there were blank pages in the book with the text missing (61/62, 333/334). I know I was reading an “uncorrected proof” so these are not criticism for the final product.

I could not agree with sskwire's review any more! As I was reading this book I kept coming here to check for reviews of folks who had read it to see if I was just dense for not being able to follow this book. I was relieved to see your review, which stated in plain terms my same response to the story. The only difference is that I can not give as high a rating as they did because I'm reviewing what I had in front of me.

If I knew Danish and had read the book in its original language than this would be a very different review, but I feel like I owe it to other's that may be interested in reading this book to give a fair assessment of what I actually read. I don't think I've felt an anxiety in finishing a book even remotely close to that which I felt MANY times while reading this. To be sure, there were portions of it that were interesting, but then out of nowhere you are thrust into another story which is always changing and does not allow for a cohesive way of following it all.

There is simply way too much going on in this book to truly care what happens to these characters, which is extremely frustrating. The point of reading is to immerse yourself in the world that the author creates and emote with the characters as they experience life's twists and turns. In the first 50 pages alone, you are inundated with so many characters and it's not extremely clear who you should really be keeping track of or not. To me, this is a huge failure on the part of the author, because as it begins you should really be getting a feel for what all is going on(especially if it's not a sequel or the characters were not familiar beforehand).

This book sounded incredible and had the makings to be something fantastic by telling of generations of family and wrapping them up in what should have been one cohesive book, but the disregard for structure and even an interesting story made this too frustrating to recommend to anyone.

This book sounded really interesting when I clicked to request it for review. I do still believe there is an interesting tale to tell however something was lost in the translation. I had a hard time following the story and the characters. It jumped around a bit and didn't flow in a way that made it easy to understand.
Perhaps it was just a issue of how it was translated vs. how the story was actually written. There is some meat to it, but difficult to get through. If I knew Danish, I would be curious to read it in its original language.

Reviewing a translation is a difficult project. One doesn't want to blame the author for the faults of the translator, or accuse the translator of poor work when they have second-rate material to work with.

As a result I'm not sure who's to blame for my less-than-enthusiastic response to this novel. Is the choppy writing style Brogger's style? Or is it a translation problem? I'm not sure, but I do know that the short declarative sentences couples with the rapid jump cuts from scene to scene, character to character, and sometimes decade to decade, were hard to follow in ways that interfered with what should have been an intriguing family story about assimilated Jews in Denmark from WWII to the present day.

I'm an intrepid reader of all sorts of things, but ever time the book caught my interest, it dropped the subject before it was developed and moved on again. It's a shame, because I really wanted to read the novel that I thought it could have been.

Points to all "early" feminists, who are aware of the problems of masculinity as well as femininity! In addition I especially admired the way criticism of ideal family was tied together with the fight against capitalism and over-consumption. The problem of "natural beauty" and feminism was well-handled and observing minor things, like the use of pants, was refreshening.

Those carried through the first half of the book, then the point was lost somewhere among examples of rape and way too long interviews. Also the fact that the book was a little outdated in thirty years started bothering a bit... (For example: I think promiscuity among women is more common nowadays than among men.)

En kärleksfull prosadikt om Tone, en mycket stark och samtidigt — i ordets positiva bemärkelse - udda kvinna som levde i Köpenhamn och som dog en smärtsam död för någon tid sedan. Suzanne Brogger var en av Tones många vänner. Boken är en hyllning till henne.

"Sorg och glädje, livets dans och det sista tärningskastet, men framför allt sättet att leva — och dö, levnads- och dödskonsten är vad denna bok handlar om, och demonstrerar."

Bengt Berg i Expressen

En historia om en släkts undergång. Som inte engagerar alls. Brögger för penseln med svepande drag från 1920-tal till 1990-tal. Men inget fastnar. Inget blir tydligt. Nästan allt måste gissas, eller förblir outsagt. Ingen fördjupning, vare sig i skeenden eller personporträtt. Kanske upplever man världen såhär om man går drogad igenom den?

Nej, detta var en stor besvikelse. Dessutom tycker jag att ett verk som detta skull vara bättre översatt. Det är inte direkt dåligt, men alltför ofta lyser danska igenom. Det är inte så att man "gärna vill något" eller "ödelägger" något på svenska lika ofta som på danska.

Mennesker man synes at kende - så er det en rigtig god bog

Ik vond het een lastig te lezen boek, moeilijk te volgen. Desondanks wil ik het over een paar jaar weer proberen. Ben benieuwd of ik er dan anders tegenaan kijk.