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  <title><![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[The Danish Girl was a very interesting read and it made me want to know more about the real Einar &amp; Greta Wegener, not to mention Lili Elbe. The gradual transformation was handled well and I liked the author's style of writing. I was a bit frustrated with Professor Bolk, I viewed him as selfish. The...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47321385">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Danish girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[those interested in complicated love stories]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 03 11:47:22 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 16:17:32 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[This historical novel, by David Ebershoff, is about the first transexual to undergo a sex change (in this case, a man who becomes a woman) set in the early 1900s.  The story is an intertwining of two lives, the man who undergoes the sex change and his wife.  The wife is a strong-willed Californian, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/150005">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/150005]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[rebecca]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Dec 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Sun Dec 13 14:37:51 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A fictionalized ( highly fictionalized) accounting of the first man to woman gender reassignment surgery in Germany and Denmark in the 1930s.  The specific vein of the story the author chose to navigate is the marriage of Einar and Greta, Greta stayed married to Einar after he became Lilli and seemi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79555352">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79555352]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79555352]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>67318537</id>
    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Michelle]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Mankato, MN]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Thu Aug 13 19:24:23 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[There are many good reviews of this book, but I think that if people are looking for a fictionalized biography of Lili Elbe/Einar Wegener, they are going to be disappointed.  As the author himself has said, Einar/Lili's story <em>inspired</em> him to write this, not that he wrote a fictionalized biography.  ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67318537">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67318537]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Sun Jun 14 23:39:18 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 15 19:03:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I enjoyed The 19th Wife so was interested to read another of David Ebershoff's books. This was his first and is loosely based on the story of Einar Wegener who in 1931 was the first man to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Ebershoff in the Danish Girl tackles the indefinable nature of love and relat...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59700685">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59700685]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>40153894</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Wed Sep 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 15 10:49:49 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 02 10:09:28 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The Short of It:<br/><br/>A non-traditional love story that will stay with you long after you put it down.<br/><br/>The Rest of It:<br/><br/>I absolutely loved this novel. The novel itself was inspired by the marriage of Einar and Gerda Wegener, both artists living in Copenhagen in 1925. As Ei...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40153894">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40153894]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 21 19:15:53 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 24 18:22:31 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is a novel, but is based on the true story of Einar Wegener, the first person to have a sex change operation, done in Dresden in the early 1930's.  His wife, Greta, was the catalyst, the caretaker, the lover, the assertive person, which I found especially interesting, since they met when h...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30851135">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30851135]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>8957283</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[the gingerbread man?]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 11 08:18:33 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 11 08:18:33 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My mom recommended this to me. I read it a few years ago, and I remember it as a very unusual and beautiful love story about a married couple in early-twentieth-century Denmark. It's a rare book that can really describe such a remarkable relationship, and the unique quality of its love, in a moving ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8957283">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8957283]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>44590381</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Danika]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jan 27 19:48:51 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 12 13:13:10 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I think this book is going to stick with me for a while. Haunting (in a good way).<br/><br/>It reminded me of Middlesex (Renee- me too!) a little bit in that it focuses on a character who has a different kind of sexuality than most of us do. I'm not 100% sure if he/she is meant to be a hermaphrodi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44590381">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44590381]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44590381]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44376903</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 26 04:20:32 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 26 04:25:30 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[David Ebershoff may indeed be my new favorite author. I recently read The 19th Wife and loved that as well. The Danish Girl is about a man born both male and female and the life he leads with his  wife in the 1920's. This book ever so slightly reminded me of Middlesex. The Danish Girl asks the quest...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44376903">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44376903]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44376903]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 30 09:56:16 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 03 05:29:53 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It was good book overall.  I liked the theme and the relationship between the main character and his wife.  However, Ebershoff spends way too long painting the image of the scenes in my opinion (which reminded me of Tolkien in that aspect).  If that amount of effort was used on the story and feeling...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38942824">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38942824]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38942824]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>57764428</id>
    <user>
    <id>1261510</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Paul]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Beverly, MA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0140298487</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">47</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Newburyport Lit Festival]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Sep 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 29 12:17:37 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 15 16:31:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Inspired by the case of Einar Wegener and his wife, Ebershoff recounts the life of this artist - a woman who was born a man.  Taking place in the 1920's, the story is touchingly told - simply yet with real emotion.  The reader can easily sympathize with Einar and his wife as they discover, discuss a...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57764428">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57764428]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57764428]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44435669</id>
    <user>
    <id>88244</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Karima]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Buffalo, NY]]></location>
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  <isbn>0140298487</isbn>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 26 14:33:05 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 12 18:00:53 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[wow. <br/>a novel loosely based on true story of the first person to undergo gender reassignment (in 1931.)<br/>exquisite.<br/>If the author (who is also  the director of the Modern Library, a division of Random House) is not a painter, he certainly has the eye of one. He tells the story with sen...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44435669">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44435669]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>79760331</id>
    <user>
    <id>2438275</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Diana]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Vancouver, BC, Canada]]></location>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">47</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175653434s/543071.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 03 08:53:56 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 08 09:27:41 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A lovely read.  A fictionalized account of  the first person ever to have a sex change operation – a Danish artist originally named Einar Wegener, who eventually became Lili Elbe.  The book centres on his marriage and the transformations of both people and their relationship.  Quite a remarkable s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79760331">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79760331]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79760331]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>31611973</id>
    <user>
    <id>1476879</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Linda]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">47</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175653434m/543071.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175653434s/543071.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Aug 30 16:38:18 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 30 16:44:53 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is one of my favorite books of all time.  It is a fictionalized account (but based on true facts)  about the first sex change operation,  which was done in Germany.  It is about a woman who saw something in her husband even he was unaware of.  She was a painter,  and one day she asked him to pu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31611973">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31611973]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31611973]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44824243</id>
    <user>
    <id>911200</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tanya]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Berkeley, CA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.74</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>223</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2000</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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          </shelves>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 29 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 29 21:37:07 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 29 21:39:34 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I LOVED this book. I agree with the author, who says this book is about the first person to undergo a sexchange operation, but is more a portrait of a marriage.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44824243]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44824243]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Jess]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This book is splendidly beautiful.  It moves me on every page in a heart-wrenching way that i crave &amp; cannot ignore. It has been perfect for the season.]]></body>
    
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[ As someone who is fairly fascinated with Lili Elbe, as a figure in transgender history, I was very disappointed with this novel. Aside from Einar Wegener Lili Elbe and her transition the rest of the novel was birthed from the author's imagination which I found far less interesting than the actual s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40114483">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[It's about the first sex change operation but it's really a love story - just an unusual one.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The Danish Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Though the title character of David Ebershoff's debut novel is a transsexual, the book is less concerned with transgender issues than the mysterious and ineffable nature of love. Loosely based on the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who, in 1931, became the first man to undergo a sex-change operation, <em>The Danish Girl</em> borrows the bare bones of his story as a jumping-off point for an exploration of how Wegener's decisions affected the people around him. Chief among these is his Californian wife, Greta, also a painter, who unwittingly sets her husband's feet on the path to transformation. While trying to finish a portrait of an opera singer who has cancelled a sitting, she asks Einar to stand in for her subject, putting on her dress, stockings, and shoes. The moment silk touches his skin, he is shaken: <blockquote> Einar could concentrate only on the silk dressing his skin, as if it were a bandage. Yes, that was how it felt the first time: the silk was so fine and airy that it felt like a gauze--a balm-soaked gauze lying delicately on healing skin. Even the embarrassment of standing before his wife began to no longer matter, for she was busy painting with a foreign intensity in her face. Einar was beginning to enter a shadowy world of dreams where Anna's dress could belong to anyone, even to him. </blockquote> Greta soon recognizes her husband's affinity for feminine attire, and encourages him not only to dress like a woman, but to take on a woman's persona, as well. &quot;Why don't we call you Lili?&quot; she suggests. What starts out as a harmless game soon evolves into something deeper, and potentially threatening to their marriage. Yet Greta's love proves to be enduring if not immutable. As Einar inexorably transforms, he steps beyond &quot;that small dark space between two people where a marriage exists&quot; and Greta lets him go. <p> Ebershoff does a remarkable job of historical prestidigitation, creating the sights and sounds and smells of 1930s Denmark and making it seem easy. Even more remarkable is his treatment of Greta: he gets inside her head and heart, and renders her in such loving detail that her reactions make perfect sense. Einar is more of a cipher, and ultimately less interesting than his wife. But in the end, this is Greta's book and David Ebershoff has done her proud. <em>The Danish Girl</em> marks a promising fictional debut. <em>--Sheila Bright</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[David Ebershoff's <em>The Danish Girl</em> is a strange and rather lovely love story about a Danish painter named Einar Wegener who became the first person to successfully undergo gender reassignment (in 1931) and became Lili Elbe, and Wegener's wife, Grete, a painter (and in Eberhoff's telling at any rate) ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63436640">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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