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A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding
Are we free to create our own destinies or are we just part of a system beyond our control?
A joyful family saga about free will, forgiveness, and how we are all interconnected.
In October 1989, a set of triplets is born, and it is this moment their father chooses to reveal his affair. Pandemonium ensues.
Over two decades later, Sebastian is recruited to join a mysterious organisation, the London Institute of Cognitive Science, where he meets Laura Kadinsky, a patient whose inability to see the world in three dimensions is not the only thing about her that intrigues him. Meanwhile, Clara has travelled to Easter Island to join a doomsday cult, and the third triplet, Matilda, is in Sweden, trying to escape from the colour blue.
Then something happens that forces the triplets to reunite. Their mother calls with worrying news: their father has gone missing and she has something to tell them, a twenty-five-year secret that will change all their lives …
A joyful family saga about free will, forgiveness, and how we are all interconnected.
In October 1989, a set of triplets is born, and it is this moment their father chooses to reveal his affair. Pandemonium ensues.
Over two decades later, Sebastian is recruited to join a mysterious organisation, the London Institute of Cognitive Science, where he meets Laura Kadinsky, a patient whose inability to see the world in three dimensions is not the only thing about her that intrigues him. Meanwhile, Clara has travelled to Easter Island to join a doomsday cult, and the third triplet, Matilda, is in Sweden, trying to escape from the colour blue.
Then something happens that forces the triplets to reunite. Their mother calls with worrying news: their father has gone missing and she has something to tell them, a twenty-five-year secret that will change all their lives …
544 pages, Hardcover
First published March 14, 2019
About the author
Amanda Svensson
32 books106 followersAmanda Svensson är bosatt i Malmö. Hon är verksam som kulturjournalist och debuterade med den uppmärksammade Hey Dolly (2008).
Amanda Svensson nominerades till Augustpriset 2011 för Välkommen till den här världen: med motiveringen:
”En oliksidig triangel är inte perfekt, konstaterar författaren till den här romanen, om kärlek, vänskap och en ödesdiger svartsjuka. I 'Välkommen till den här världen:' svingar sig Amanda Svensson suveränt mellan olika språknivåer och skildrar färgsprakande, lekfullt och hektiskt tre unga människor på jakt efter mening i Köpenhamns elektrifierade natt. En nattklubbstragedi, en hela-havet-stormarlek på liv och död. Det är intensivt, det är innovativt och det är alldeles alldeles underbart.”
Amanda Svensson nominerades till Augustpriset 2011 för Välkommen till den här världen: med motiveringen:
”En oliksidig triangel är inte perfekt, konstaterar författaren till den här romanen, om kärlek, vänskap och en ödesdiger svartsjuka. I 'Välkommen till den här världen:' svingar sig Amanda Svensson suveränt mellan olika språknivåer och skildrar färgsprakande, lekfullt och hektiskt tre unga människor på jakt efter mening i Köpenhamns elektrifierade natt. En nattklubbstragedi, en hela-havet-stormarlek på liv och död. Det är intensivt, det är innovativt och det är alldeles alldeles underbart.”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
April 17, 2023
Camp is a hard one to pull off. Coupled with a queer sensibility at its best, camp is an inversion of what we might otherwise call "good", a seemingly lowbrow challenge to bourgeois taste and sensibility. One could imagine a world in which this book gets camp right: a send-up of an over-serious systems novel, cloaked in the melodramatic language of soap opera, landing a solid blow against middlebrow Swedish literary tastes. But that's not how this hits. Svensson's doorstopper, translated from the Swedish original Ett system så magnifikt att det bländar by Nichola Smalley, is a case of camp gone awry. For one thing, the queer sensibility is discarded, immediately raising the question of what lens we should be viewing the critique. We are left with an odd mashup of jaunty hetero storytelling with a gloss of pseudo-philosophical nonsense. It's an imprecise critique, at best, that looks dangerously close to the subject of the satire. This book is so inane that at times I wondered if it was in on its own joke. I'm still not sure. If you squint hard enough, you can turn this into a self-parody or find other nice things to say about it. But while I applaud charitable readings of bad novels, every positive spin I've heard of this sounds a bit tortured. All in all, a deeply unsatisfying reading experience.
March 31, 2023
I was attracted to this book by the word "system" in the title. I am a big fan if so-called "systems novels". It is hard to define what are those, but here is one attempt of definition:
"For several decades now, what’s sometimes called the “systems novel” has been a persistent but influential part of the literary avant-garde. They’re trying to get away from psychological individualism and to get at the way that complex systems – astrophysics, economics, climate, digital technology or what have you – interact to create the spaces in which individual lives (AKA the stuff of the old-fashioned novel) are lived. Where a traditional novel would typically major on a character’s memories, feelings and human relationships, a systems novel might be more interested in the character’s moment-by-moment perceptions of the sense-world around them and the way larger forces act on that world."*
I would not necessary agree that all of these novels lack a psychological depth, but we have to start somewhere with the definition. We talk here about the writers like Gaddis, Pynchon, Bolano, DFW, Helen deWitt. And I am always on a look out for a woman to add to this list. Last year, Tomb of Sand: WINNER OF THE INTERNATION BOOKER PRIZE 2022's got pretty close to this intersection of the novels (but in its very special gentle and exuberant way). So when I've seen this book nominated for the IB this year, I've decided I'll read it.
It has also attracted my attention that it was about triplets. Twins, orphans and doppelgängers are well represented in fiction. While triplets used to be a rare fish. But I've recently listened with my family to the audio version of The Latecomer, a novel about upper-middle class Jewish family dynamics and in general a social commentary on modern America. We as a family enjoyed it greatly. The triplets were at the core of that story and it was psychologically astute and very moving at the end. So maybe subconsciously I was looking for some continuation of that story.
After I've spent three paragraphs explaining my choice, I have to move on to a sort of anti-climax. I've read this book. It was an easy read. But it is not what I was looking for. Instead, it is a type of global commercial novel pushing a set of necessary buttons:
-Take Big Themes: climate change, neuroscience, mental illness and trauma here;
-Add Characters: neurotic, educated mid-twenties;
-Add Settings (preferably more than one): a global city (London here) and an "exotic" location (Easter Island here but it practically does not mention any locals -only the colony of eco-tourists of a sort);
-Add a bit of confusion, a possible conspiracy theory or a secret. That would make people turn the pages;
-Pepper with a few culturally significant names, occasionally with a tragic fate but not necessary for a mix;
-Add occasionally mysterious but more often simply convoluted dialogue with a lot of foreshadowing.
And you might have something appealing to the "broad global audience". You might even get a streaming company to buy the rights eventually to produce a show. Who knows. Though I think as a show it might work marginally better.
I am sure some people call this novel "playful" and "quirky". It is a well meaning and kind story even if not very plausible (who cares if it is "playful"). I've had an impression the book aspired to some philosophical depth. But it comes across on the level that everything is connected to everything which is hardly a profound new thought, especially if it helped by the plot's numerous coincidences. I would probably enjoy it more if I were on a beach holiday. However, it is not the time for a beach yet in our hemisphere.
*
The definition of "systems novels" is taken from this article:
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture...
"For several decades now, what’s sometimes called the “systems novel” has been a persistent but influential part of the literary avant-garde. They’re trying to get away from psychological individualism and to get at the way that complex systems – astrophysics, economics, climate, digital technology or what have you – interact to create the spaces in which individual lives (AKA the stuff of the old-fashioned novel) are lived. Where a traditional novel would typically major on a character’s memories, feelings and human relationships, a systems novel might be more interested in the character’s moment-by-moment perceptions of the sense-world around them and the way larger forces act on that world."*
I would not necessary agree that all of these novels lack a psychological depth, but we have to start somewhere with the definition. We talk here about the writers like Gaddis, Pynchon, Bolano, DFW, Helen deWitt. And I am always on a look out for a woman to add to this list. Last year, Tomb of Sand: WINNER OF THE INTERNATION BOOKER PRIZE 2022's got pretty close to this intersection of the novels (but in its very special gentle and exuberant way). So when I've seen this book nominated for the IB this year, I've decided I'll read it.
It has also attracted my attention that it was about triplets. Twins, orphans and doppelgängers are well represented in fiction. While triplets used to be a rare fish. But I've recently listened with my family to the audio version of The Latecomer, a novel about upper-middle class Jewish family dynamics and in general a social commentary on modern America. We as a family enjoyed it greatly. The triplets were at the core of that story and it was psychologically astute and very moving at the end. So maybe subconsciously I was looking for some continuation of that story.
After I've spent three paragraphs explaining my choice, I have to move on to a sort of anti-climax. I've read this book. It was an easy read. But it is not what I was looking for. Instead, it is a type of global commercial novel pushing a set of necessary buttons:
-Take Big Themes: climate change, neuroscience, mental illness and trauma here;
-Add Characters: neurotic, educated mid-twenties;
-Add Settings (preferably more than one): a global city (London here) and an "exotic" location (Easter Island here but it practically does not mention any locals -only the colony of eco-tourists of a sort);
-Add a bit of confusion, a possible conspiracy theory or a secret. That would make people turn the pages;
-Pepper with a few culturally significant names, occasionally with a tragic fate but not necessary for a mix;
-Add occasionally mysterious but more often simply convoluted dialogue with a lot of foreshadowing.
And you might have something appealing to the "broad global audience". You might even get a streaming company to buy the rights eventually to produce a show. Who knows. Though I think as a show it might work marginally better.
I am sure some people call this novel "playful" and "quirky". It is a well meaning and kind story even if not very plausible (who cares if it is "playful"). I've had an impression the book aspired to some philosophical depth. But it comes across on the level that everything is connected to everything which is hardly a profound new thought, especially if it helped by the plot's numerous coincidences. I would probably enjoy it more if I were on a beach holiday. However, it is not the time for a beach yet in our hemisphere.
*
The definition of "systems novels" is taken from this article:
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture...
March 28, 2023
40th book of 2023.
This is such a strange choice by the Booker International. Before I say anything else, I will say that I read something about this book being inspired by soap operas in another review, so maybe the ridiculous plot and mostly vapid characters are merely a satirical bent that I don't fully realise. Sadly, it doesn't change my opinions. Starting this book, it seemed fun, different, as other people have said, 'quirky' (an adjective I've never used to describe a book before, I don't think). Sebastian is a triplet, and working for a science institute in London and is looking after a 'moral' monkey. The back of the book likens Svensson's novel to other writers such as Thomas Mann and Donna Tartt, but I saw neither of them within these pages. There is a family drama at the core of the book, but it is buried in five-hundred pages of seemingly aimless plot, and, when it is finally revealed, it is completely farfetched. So my biggest gripe is the plot; it is completely unbelievable and ridiculous. To be honest, it felt like poor soap opera writing, so this really could be a wonderful satire that's gone screaming over my head. Matilda, another one of the triplets, is terrified of the colour blue, or at least a certain variation of the colour. The final sister, Clara, goes to Easter Island and meets with a cult-not-cult who are worried about climate change. There are these loose connections throughout the book that seem to tie together, but in the end a lot of them don't. Part of that is to do with the book so I won't spoil it, in case anyone does feel compelled to read it. The philosophy felt weak. There was nothing profound about the book to me. But worst of all, of the 500+ pages, very few of them felt necessary for the story. So much excess.
On a positive note though, it's a breezy read. There's nothing dense about this.
From best to worst, my reading through the International longlist continues.
Time Shelter
Still Born / Boulder
Whale
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding
This is such a strange choice by the Booker International. Before I say anything else, I will say that I read something about this book being inspired by soap operas in another review, so maybe the ridiculous plot and mostly vapid characters are merely a satirical bent that I don't fully realise. Sadly, it doesn't change my opinions. Starting this book, it seemed fun, different, as other people have said, 'quirky' (an adjective I've never used to describe a book before, I don't think). Sebastian is a triplet, and working for a science institute in London and is looking after a 'moral' monkey. The back of the book likens Svensson's novel to other writers such as Thomas Mann and Donna Tartt, but I saw neither of them within these pages. There is a family drama at the core of the book, but it is buried in five-hundred pages of seemingly aimless plot, and, when it is finally revealed, it is completely farfetched. So my biggest gripe is the plot; it is completely unbelievable and ridiculous. To be honest, it felt like poor soap opera writing, so this really could be a wonderful satire that's gone screaming over my head. Matilda, another one of the triplets, is terrified of the colour blue, or at least a certain variation of the colour. The final sister, Clara, goes to Easter Island and meets with a cult-not-cult who are worried about climate change. There are these loose connections throughout the book that seem to tie together, but in the end a lot of them don't. Part of that is to do with the book so I won't spoil it, in case anyone does feel compelled to read it. The philosophy felt weak. There was nothing profound about the book to me. But worst of all, of the 500+ pages, very few of them felt necessary for the story. So much excess.
On a positive note though, it's a breezy read. There's nothing dense about this.
From best to worst, my reading through the International longlist continues.
Time Shelter
Still Born / Boulder
Whale
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding
June 16, 2019
Fyfan vad bra den var men fyfan vad skönt att den äntligen tog slut
November 9, 2023
Shortlisted for the 2023 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
Longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize
‘I’ve been clear what the question is throughout and now that I have, in some way, found the answer, there is no reason to continue, no reason at all, as I see it.’
‘What was the question?
‘Whether there was a system in all this madness.’
‘And is there?’
‘Of course, not if there was, it wouldn’t be madness.’
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding is Nichola Smalley's translation of Amanda Svensson's 2019 novel Ett system så magnifikt att det bländar.
The ostensible plot concerns three triplets in their mid 20s, and a family secret (which is heavily foreshadowed from page 1 but revealed on page 200, by which point the book hasn't really got going), one of whom works in a mysterious institute for brain research (from which the novel takes its title), a second travels to Easter Island to join a cult convinced ecological catastrophe will end the world in the coming days, and the third suffers from synaesthesia and a particular aversion to the colour blue.
`But we so dearly want the human brain to be a mystery, right? As researchers, we want it to stay like that too, even if we might insist on the reverse. We want to work our way up to a point we can't get beyond, where we can say: okay, here it is, the outermost boundary, the mystery; the golden egg, the ultimate enigma, the unique thing, the soul itself. So we dig around in the abnormal, in the exceptions, the things that contradict everything we actually already know about the brain: that it's logical, structured, that it's an equation. A pretty complex equation, sure, but an equation nonetheless. That's what a human is. A puzzle with a limited number of pieces. They fit together with no need for a sticky soul to glue them together.'
She shrugged, reaching up a palm. The enormous cicada landed on it, like a pet.
`It sounds so ordinary when you put it like that,' Sebastian said.
`Of course you think that, my friend,' Travis sniggered and tweaked Sebastian's nose with her free hand. 'Of course you do. You're a human.'
Sebastian must have looked worried, because Travis softened a little, tilting her head to one side.
`There's a system in the madness, Sebastian, that's all I'm saying. A system so magnificent it blinds us.'
The nose tweaking and head-tilting rather typical of the coy/soppy style of the narration, which is influenced by soap operas (the author has mentioned Skilda världar, a Swedish version of Sons and Daughters, itself an Australian take on Knots Landing, a spin off of Dallas...).
This is a novel full of ideas and plot-lines but with little attempt to rationalise them or tie them together. Recurrent, but often irrelevant, motifs include a 'very moral monkey', peacock feathers, Frank Auerbach's paintings, cicadas, Philip Larkin's poems, the moai on Easter Island, Jaffa cakes, Goya, an escapologist hamster, Dakota Fanning and Francesca Woodman.
The author is, inter alia, the translator of Ali Smith, and there is even a (gratuitous? coincidental? certainly random) quote of 'Sister brother summer winter' which echoes Daniel Gluck's one-hit wonder 'Summer brother autumn sister'. But whereas there was very careful method behind Smith's apparent madness, here there is just randomness.
Taking the last two examples in the list, Francesca Woodman's work Untitled, Rome, Italy, 1977-1978 does actually play a role in the book.
But Dakota Fanning is more typical of the novel's approach - she's mentioned throughout by more than one character as someone of significance, finally turns up in person around page 300 ... and then is never mentioned again.
I tend to also prefer translated literature, and the International Booker in particular, to also give an insight into different places and cultures, but (faux-exotic mentions of Easter Island and Bangladesh aside) this is mostly set in London and anglo-Saxon in style.
Disappointing.
Longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize
‘I’ve been clear what the question is throughout and now that I have, in some way, found the answer, there is no reason to continue, no reason at all, as I see it.’
‘What was the question?
‘Whether there was a system in all this madness.’
‘And is there?’
‘Of course, not if there was, it wouldn’t be madness.’
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding is Nichola Smalley's translation of Amanda Svensson's 2019 novel Ett system så magnifikt att det bländar.
The ostensible plot concerns three triplets in their mid 20s, and a family secret (which is heavily foreshadowed from page 1 but revealed on page 200, by which point the book hasn't really got going), one of whom works in a mysterious institute for brain research (from which the novel takes its title), a second travels to Easter Island to join a cult convinced ecological catastrophe will end the world in the coming days, and the third suffers from synaesthesia and a particular aversion to the colour blue.
`But we so dearly want the human brain to be a mystery, right? As researchers, we want it to stay like that too, even if we might insist on the reverse. We want to work our way up to a point we can't get beyond, where we can say: okay, here it is, the outermost boundary, the mystery; the golden egg, the ultimate enigma, the unique thing, the soul itself. So we dig around in the abnormal, in the exceptions, the things that contradict everything we actually already know about the brain: that it's logical, structured, that it's an equation. A pretty complex equation, sure, but an equation nonetheless. That's what a human is. A puzzle with a limited number of pieces. They fit together with no need for a sticky soul to glue them together.'
She shrugged, reaching up a palm. The enormous cicada landed on it, like a pet.
`It sounds so ordinary when you put it like that,' Sebastian said.
`Of course you think that, my friend,' Travis sniggered and tweaked Sebastian's nose with her free hand. 'Of course you do. You're a human.'
Sebastian must have looked worried, because Travis softened a little, tilting her head to one side.
`There's a system in the madness, Sebastian, that's all I'm saying. A system so magnificent it blinds us.'
The nose tweaking and head-tilting rather typical of the coy/soppy style of the narration, which is influenced by soap operas (the author has mentioned Skilda världar, a Swedish version of Sons and Daughters, itself an Australian take on Knots Landing, a spin off of Dallas...).
This is a novel full of ideas and plot-lines but with little attempt to rationalise them or tie them together. Recurrent, but often irrelevant, motifs include a 'very moral monkey', peacock feathers, Frank Auerbach's paintings, cicadas, Philip Larkin's poems, the moai on Easter Island, Jaffa cakes, Goya, an escapologist hamster, Dakota Fanning and Francesca Woodman.
The author is, inter alia, the translator of Ali Smith, and there is even a (gratuitous? coincidental? certainly random) quote of 'Sister brother summer winter' which echoes Daniel Gluck's one-hit wonder 'Summer brother autumn sister'. But whereas there was very careful method behind Smith's apparent madness, here there is just randomness.
Taking the last two examples in the list, Francesca Woodman's work Untitled, Rome, Italy, 1977-1978 does actually play a role in the book.
But Dakota Fanning is more typical of the novel's approach - she's mentioned throughout by more than one character as someone of significance, finally turns up in person around page 300 ... and then is never mentioned again.
I tend to also prefer translated literature, and the International Booker in particular, to also give an insight into different places and cultures, but (faux-exotic mentions of Easter Island and Bangladesh aside) this is mostly set in London and anglo-Saxon in style.
Disappointing.
September 17, 2020
Såg så mycket fram emot den hyllvärmaren, kände liksom ett pirr inför den. Och inledningen var magnifik. Men sen, jag vet inte. Språket är myllrande och står liksom i vägen för storyn. Storyn i sig är spretig och jag vet inte vart det är påväg. Jag förstår heller inte vad författaren vill säga. Den här romanen gör mig tyvärr frustrerad.
Samtidigt känns det som att jag missar något, som alla andra verkar förstå och det irriterar ihjäl mig!
När jag halvvägs erkänner för mig själv att detta kanske inte är något för mig börjar jag dessutom störa mig.
Så tyvärr läser jag inte färdigt. Jag hatar att inte avsluta böcker. Det är en sak att inte avsluta en dålig roman, men det här är ingen dålig roman, och det är värre att inte avsluta en roman jag inte förstår, för jag lämnas med känslan av att missa något, och snacka om FOMO!
Gillade miljöaspekten, gillade massor av saker men det jag gillade drunknade tyvärr i ord, liknelser och metaforer. Det är som att jag inte kunde se skogen för alla träd.
Samtidigt känns det som att jag missar något, som alla andra verkar förstå och det irriterar ihjäl mig!
När jag halvvägs erkänner för mig själv att detta kanske inte är något för mig börjar jag dessutom störa mig.
Så tyvärr läser jag inte färdigt. Jag hatar att inte avsluta böcker. Det är en sak att inte avsluta en dålig roman, men det här är ingen dålig roman, och det är värre att inte avsluta en roman jag inte förstår, för jag lämnas med känslan av att missa något, och snacka om FOMO!
Gillade miljöaspekten, gillade massor av saker men det jag gillade drunknade tyvärr i ord, liknelser och metaforer. Det är som att jag inte kunde se skogen för alla träd.
April 9, 2020
Så tråkig och alldeles för tjock. Hade kunnat gilla idén, gillade baksidestexten, men utförandet var ointressant, ofullständigt, inte spännande, konstigt, ologiskt. Men men tur att vi gillar olika
August 3, 2019
"Allting går under, men allt är ett under"
Den här boken är helt galen på gränsen till vansinnig men samtidigt är den otroligt fantastisk. Jag fastnade direkt för trillingarna, särskilt Clara vars klimatångest är något jag verkligen kan relaterar till. Deras relation till varandra är skildrad på ett intressant och komplext vis och under bokens gång får läsaren mer och mer förståelse för hur de hamnade i sina respektive situationer. Jag var även mycket förtjust i alla mindre karaktärer, framförallt den före detta barnstjärnan Effie som möter Clara på Påskön. Många karaktärer var i ärlighetens namn ganska irriterande men Amanda Svensson skildrade dem på ett sätt som gjorde att jag ändå kände sympati för dem. Det kändes lite sorgligt att säga farväl till alla när boken väl var slut.
Amanda Svensson har blivit mest känd för sitt alternativa språk och det är verkligen inte likt någonting annat jag tidigare har läst. Hon blandar nästintill poetiskt språk laddat med allvar och filosofiska reflektioner tillsammans med vardagsrealism och mycket bisarra passager som får läsaren att skratta högt. Hennes sätt att skriva framkallar så mycket olika känslor och trots att handlingen är väldigt komplex så gjorde det fria, lekande språket att jag flög genom sidorna. Hon refererar till vetenskap, konst, populärkultur och allt där i mellan och ibland kräver texten att en kollar upp vissa termer men det är rätt kul att gör att en lär sig lite nytt på köpet.
Att läsa den här boken är verkligen som att sätta sig på en berg- och dal bana. Alla små detaljer får betydelse i det enorma system som titeln syftar på och det är otroligt rolig läsning när alla trådar vävs ihop i det mest bisarra men samtidigt intelligenta sätt. Jag uppskattade hur boken fokuserar på de små, relativt obetydliga systemen men även de stora komplicerade samhällsinstitutionerna och ekosystemen. Jag kan knappt föreställa mig hur länge författarens research måste ha tagit inför den här boken men det är oavsett, mycket imponerande och jag tror det är nästintill omöjligt att inte bli imponerad av detta verk oberoende av vad en i övrigt känner inför det.
Jag kan egentligen bara erkänna att jag är helt tagen av denna roman och jag ser så mycket framemot att läsa mer av Amanda Svensson och följa hennes författarskap i framtida. Jag är inte nödvändigtvis säker på att detta är en bok för alla då den är så pass konstig som den faktiskt är. Dock, om handlingen låter intressant och du är nyfiken på en riktigt alternativ och explosiv användning av det svenska språket så kan rekommenderar jag den här boken varmt. Det är överlägset den bästa boken jag läst hittills i år och det känns nästan lite sorgligt att behöva lämna tillbaka den på biblioteket.
(Läs gärna min recension på https://foreversixtyone.home.blog/)
Den här boken är helt galen på gränsen till vansinnig men samtidigt är den otroligt fantastisk. Jag fastnade direkt för trillingarna, särskilt Clara vars klimatångest är något jag verkligen kan relaterar till. Deras relation till varandra är skildrad på ett intressant och komplext vis och under bokens gång får läsaren mer och mer förståelse för hur de hamnade i sina respektive situationer. Jag var även mycket förtjust i alla mindre karaktärer, framförallt den före detta barnstjärnan Effie som möter Clara på Påskön. Många karaktärer var i ärlighetens namn ganska irriterande men Amanda Svensson skildrade dem på ett sätt som gjorde att jag ändå kände sympati för dem. Det kändes lite sorgligt att säga farväl till alla när boken väl var slut.
Amanda Svensson har blivit mest känd för sitt alternativa språk och det är verkligen inte likt någonting annat jag tidigare har läst. Hon blandar nästintill poetiskt språk laddat med allvar och filosofiska reflektioner tillsammans med vardagsrealism och mycket bisarra passager som får läsaren att skratta högt. Hennes sätt att skriva framkallar så mycket olika känslor och trots att handlingen är väldigt komplex så gjorde det fria, lekande språket att jag flög genom sidorna. Hon refererar till vetenskap, konst, populärkultur och allt där i mellan och ibland kräver texten att en kollar upp vissa termer men det är rätt kul att gör att en lär sig lite nytt på köpet.
Att läsa den här boken är verkligen som att sätta sig på en berg- och dal bana. Alla små detaljer får betydelse i det enorma system som titeln syftar på och det är otroligt rolig läsning när alla trådar vävs ihop i det mest bisarra men samtidigt intelligenta sätt. Jag uppskattade hur boken fokuserar på de små, relativt obetydliga systemen men även de stora komplicerade samhällsinstitutionerna och ekosystemen. Jag kan knappt föreställa mig hur länge författarens research måste ha tagit inför den här boken men det är oavsett, mycket imponerande och jag tror det är nästintill omöjligt att inte bli imponerad av detta verk oberoende av vad en i övrigt känner inför det.
Jag kan egentligen bara erkänna att jag är helt tagen av denna roman och jag ser så mycket framemot att läsa mer av Amanda Svensson och följa hennes författarskap i framtida. Jag är inte nödvändigtvis säker på att detta är en bok för alla då den är så pass konstig som den faktiskt är. Dock, om handlingen låter intressant och du är nyfiken på en riktigt alternativ och explosiv användning av det svenska språket så kan rekommenderar jag den här boken varmt. Det är överlägset den bästa boken jag läst hittills i år och det känns nästan lite sorgligt att behöva lämna tillbaka den på biblioteket.
(Läs gärna min recension på https://foreversixtyone.home.blog/)
April 8, 2023
This book tried a lot of things, but most of it didn’t work for me. Despite it’s length, it’s a “quick” read, but I can’t say I got a whole lot out of it. Dare I say it lacked substance? I’ll have to think more about that. A huge miss.
I don’t have the energy to get into it right now, but I’ll probably add more at a later time ‘cause I have so many thoughts.
I don’t have the energy to get into it right now, but I’ll probably add more at a later time ‘cause I have so many thoughts.
May 6, 2019
En tegelsten späckad med vetenskap, symboler, ord och knasigheter. Imponerande, ganska roligt och ovanligt. Om att det mänskliga djuret vill förstå och systematisera men att delarna inte alltid kan förklara helheten.
August 25, 2022
4,5
I enjoyed this so much! It’s strange, original, smart, funny; in one word: ‘magnificent’! The ending did disappoint me somewhat though, therefore 4,5.
I enjoyed this so much! It’s strange, original, smart, funny; in one word: ‘magnificent’! The ending did disappoint me somewhat though, therefore 4,5.
October 30, 2019
Jag har verkligen haft svårt att bestämma mig för om jag ska ge den en fyra eller femma. I början var det solklart femstjärnigt, det kändes som att läsa en äventyrsroman för vuxna och jag riktigt gottade mig i det underbara språket, de välbeskrivna miljöerna, personporträtten, den mycket moraliska apan (!!) och allt det märkliga. Otroligt njutig läsning. Men i slutet, ju mer märkligt det blev, desto mer oroade jag mig för hur Amanda Svensson skulle lyckas knyta ihop säcken. Nästan alla trådar var fortfarande lösa när det var typ 20 sidor kvar och jag kände mig inte helt tillfredställd när det var över. Men! Har inte njutit så av en läsupplevelse sen Wähäs Testamente, så det blir en femma till slut.
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April 14, 2023DNF 31%
I hate this book so much please do not talk to me about it
I hate this book so much please do not talk to me about it
July 10, 2022
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This book was quite hard to get into, and I'm not sure what to make of it. In the end, a plot did exist, even if convoluted, and it did manage to draw me in, but at the same time, the book felt like a chore and I wished I could just find out what happens without slogging through the weird stuff that's in it for days on end.
It's all about grief, loss and anxiety and human relationships, but it's also just, I don't know, pretty pretentious. Like that super modernist play that everyone goes to just because of appearances, but only 3 people actually understand. A lot of the characters suffered from mental health issues as well, but I felt like the matters weren't treated with quite enough sensitivity.
Most of the characters are quite odd, aloof, and very hard to reconcile with images of real people. I couldn't figure out whether the author was trying to use magical realism or was that just what I'd call pretentiousness, because a lot of the characters were having some really odd problems with their lives. Everyone was complicated just for the sake of it, self-centered and so neck deep in their own significance, it got too much. I feel like maybe I could have vibed with this book in my early twenties when life felt like everything was about me and my problems, but now that I'm in my mid-thirties... I don't know. Not all things have to be this complicated.
It worthy to note that the book has A LOT of triggers too. Not sure I'll even list them all, but suicide, abortion/miscarriage, eating disorders - those are the few of the big ones. Family trouble, some addition trouble are less prominently mentioned, but still there. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. The book is not an easy read.
If this wasn't a review copy, I probably would have stopped reading. Hopefully, maybe this book is simply not for me and others will have liked it better. It wasn't badly written - it's just that the amount of weirdness in it is quite high, and it's not coupled with meaning I could find behind it all. If there's meaning, I can usually deal with the weirdness (and in certain cases, appreciate it all the more, even). But this was not the case.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
This book was quite hard to get into, and I'm not sure what to make of it. In the end, a plot did exist, even if convoluted, and it did manage to draw me in, but at the same time, the book felt like a chore and I wished I could just find out what happens without slogging through the weird stuff that's in it for days on end.
It's all about grief, loss and anxiety and human relationships, but it's also just, I don't know, pretty pretentious. Like that super modernist play that everyone goes to just because of appearances, but only 3 people actually understand. A lot of the characters suffered from mental health issues as well, but I felt like the matters weren't treated with quite enough sensitivity.
Most of the characters are quite odd, aloof, and very hard to reconcile with images of real people. I couldn't figure out whether the author was trying to use magical realism or was that just what I'd call pretentiousness, because a lot of the characters were having some really odd problems with their lives. Everyone was complicated just for the sake of it, self-centered and so neck deep in their own significance, it got too much. I feel like maybe I could have vibed with this book in my early twenties when life felt like everything was about me and my problems, but now that I'm in my mid-thirties... I don't know. Not all things have to be this complicated.
It worthy to note that the book has A LOT of triggers too. Not sure I'll even list them all, but suicide, abortion/miscarriage, eating disorders - those are the few of the big ones. Family trouble, some addition trouble are less prominently mentioned, but still there. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. The book is not an easy read.
If this wasn't a review copy, I probably would have stopped reading. Hopefully, maybe this book is simply not for me and others will have liked it better. It wasn't badly written - it's just that the amount of weirdness in it is quite high, and it's not coupled with meaning I could find behind it all. If there's meaning, I can usually deal with the weirdness (and in certain cases, appreciate it all the more, even). But this was not the case.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
February 9, 2021
Tvekade mellan att ge boken 2 eller 3 stjärnor. Boken var fantastisk i början. Berättelsen bara flög fram och jag slukade sidor förväntansfullt inför hur de många trådarna skulle utvecklas och knytas ihop. Sedan kändes allt bara krystat och påtvingat, jag blev varken såld på handlingen, konceptet, karaktärerna eller språket. Men personporträtten var stundvis väldigt vackra och nästan övertygande, så jag kan tänka mig att ge en annan bok av författaren en chans.
July 11, 2019
Gillade inte alls den här boken. Vill ge samtliga karaktärer en örfil. Och maken till överbelastat språk? För långa och krystade meningar, pompöst, vulgärt och överdrivet.Oerhört att så många tycker om det, för jag gör det verkligen inte. Dessutom oerhört lång.
November 29, 2022
Faasen vad bra. Och faasen vad lång tid det skulle ta att läsa den?? Jag fattar inte hur folk skriver romaner. Särskilt inte tegelstensromaner på 600 sidor. Gud låt mig snälla också kunna
August 15, 2019
Romanen är sprängfylld av otroligt träffande beskrivningar, infall och trådar. För mig blir den faktiskt för tät så det blir inte högsta betyg. Boken gav underlag till intensiv diskussion i bokcirkeln, så en perfekt bok för bokcirklar. Sugen på att läsa mer av Amanda Svensson.
July 5, 2019
oj oj oj! Är golvad av den här boken. Så märkvärdig och härlig berättelse. Amanda Svensson är en stor författare.
March 24, 2023
I read and finished this book last weekend and I've procrastinated on writing a review mostly because I have no clue what to say. I'm exhausted.
It is sold as a family saga, so I was hoping for Swedish Franzen. Instead I got a quirky, over long book where part of the plot could have been solved quite simply and swiftly. Once you remove that plotline I'm not sure what else you're left with.
The story is about three 26 year old triplets, who may not all be siblings after all (you know this from page one). Sebastian moves to London to work at a scientific institute where he takes care of a moral monkey (I told you this was quirky) and meets patients odd ailments. One is an instant amazing painter, another is going blind but can see the future, and the main patient can no longer see in 3D. We never really know what the institute is up to but there might be weird things going on. Clara lost her job as a journalist and flew to Easter Island to be away from her family and interview someone who may be leading an environmental cult and ends up meeting a former child star that is obsessed with Dakota Fanning. We never see or meet anyone FROM Easter Island, just this group that is waiting for the world to end. The third sibling Matilda has even less of a plotline. She's dating someone with a daughter and she has synesthesia. The color blue is haunting her and she keeps seeing a color that doesn't exist.
Through all this randomness there's a dead girlfriend and a Francesca Woodman photograph. At over 500 pages, I should have more to say about this book than what the blurb gives you. I guess one positive is that I kept reading hoping to see all of this come together. The writing is breezy at least, but there are too many ideas to reign in. The characters do come together and then it just peters out. I didn't even get to enjoy Franzen level writing.
If you read this, enjoyed it, AND can tell me what this was about could you leave a comment? Was there a point to the chaotic storyline? Please don't just say it's about depression or climate change. Or how everything is connected.
It is sold as a family saga, so I was hoping for Swedish Franzen. Instead I got a quirky, over long book where part of the plot could have been solved quite simply and swiftly. Once you remove that plotline I'm not sure what else you're left with.
The story is about three 26 year old triplets, who may not all be siblings after all (you know this from page one). Sebastian moves to London to work at a scientific institute where he takes care of a moral monkey (I told you this was quirky) and meets patients odd ailments. One is an instant amazing painter, another is going blind but can see the future, and the main patient can no longer see in 3D. We never really know what the institute is up to but there might be weird things going on. Clara lost her job as a journalist and flew to Easter Island to be away from her family and interview someone who may be leading an environmental cult and ends up meeting a former child star that is obsessed with Dakota Fanning. We never see or meet anyone FROM Easter Island, just this group that is waiting for the world to end. The third sibling Matilda has even less of a plotline. She's dating someone with a daughter and she has synesthesia. The color blue is haunting her and she keeps seeing a color that doesn't exist.
Through all this randomness there's a dead girlfriend and a Francesca Woodman photograph. At over 500 pages, I should have more to say about this book than what the blurb gives you. I guess one positive is that I kept reading hoping to see all of this come together. The writing is breezy at least, but there are too many ideas to reign in. The characters do come together and then it just peters out. I didn't even get to enjoy Franzen level writing.
If you read this, enjoyed it, AND can tell me what this was about could you leave a comment? Was there a point to the chaotic storyline? Please don't just say it's about depression or climate change. Or how everything is connected.
September 28, 2019
Överlastat språk, ornerat men fullkomligt menings-löst, tomt innehåll. Klarade knappt läsa ut denna, blir frustrerad över allt jag läser som inte betyder något, bara känns som ett luftslott. Allt är överdrivet och maxat, och har så många älsklingar att skulle de dödas (vilket jag önskar) blir inget kvar. Transportsträckorna! Den meningslösa tiden som förflyter, veligheten i folks agerande, but why, but why, när nu syftet med boken verkar vara att hitta samband mellan saker som orimligen har samband? Varför då inte gå hela vägen och skriva ut mönstret snyggt? Jag misstänker att jag läser ett gigantiskt bakland som aldrig bearbetats, aldrig förfinats till litteratur. Ja så känns det, som att jag läser allt som kunnat skrivas fram om alla karaktärer och om historien, och samband hittas på along the way, men författaren har inte brytt sig om att skriva själva berättelsen, utan jag måste vada genom ton av bråte för att skymta den, och samtidigt blir det därför bara alltför uppenbart konstruerat och därför tomt. Ett connect the dots på måfå blir ingen bild, bara ett meningslöst virrvarr som mer liknar ett barns teckning än en tavla av Pollock. Ursäkta mina metaforer, och de två stjärnorna är helt enkelt för att den ju engagerar mig till att bli frustrerad (så till den grad att jag utropar mina protester så högt att pojkvännen kommer in och hyssjar mig för att jag inte ska väcka barnet). That accounts for something.
Sorry but no. This was not for me.
Sorry but no. This was not for me.
August 28, 2019
Tyckte att det var för mycket av allt och att språket var lite väl pretentiöst. Sen hade jag gärna följt trillingarna mer, uppfattade att den blev lite baktung av alla sidopersoner som fick mer och mer plats. Jag kan se vad andra gillar med denna bok, men den är för utflippad för mig och inte min typ av bok.
March 27, 2019
Fantastiskt språk. Helt fantastiskt. Och vilken otrolig historia! Researchen för denna bok måste ha tagit ååååår. Fy vad imponerad och inspirerad jag är. Heja Amanda!
March 19, 2020
En bok som krävde mycket av sin läsare men det gjorde nästan inget för det extensiva researcharbetet och språket var så imponerande. Makalöst hantverk!
August 24, 2021
Den här bokan talade inte mitt språk tyvärr. Tjock och inte bra. Ibland intressant, oftast bara rörig. Vet inte vad jag fått med mig, vad jag känner. Det var bara kaos.
Shelved as 'dnf-abandon'
March 3, 2023This book has an intriguing title, but it is overwritten and the characters are overly quirky. Everything is a little too much.
October 2, 2022
Härligt att äntligen få läsa en stor roman efter alla kortromaner. Jag gillade inledningen med trillingarna som gått olika vägar och beskrivningen av syskonrivaliteten. Men sedan blev det lite väl konstigt med den moraliska apan, cikadorna och allt vad det var… Lite för rörigt och för många karaktärer som bara hade en biroll.
August 24, 2024
Jako je zanimljiva tokom čitanja, ali mi je kraj pokvario utisak.
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March 24, 2023dnf this is pure shit
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