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9th out of 21 books
—
2 voters
The American Girl
In 1969, a young girl makes a trip from Coney Island to the swampy coastland on the rural outskirts of Helsinki, Finland. There, her death will immediately become part of local mythology, furnishing boys and girls with fodder for endless romantic imaginings. Everyone who lives near the swamp dreams about Eddie de Wire, the lost American girl. . . . For both Sandra and Dori...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
February 16th 2010
by Other Press
(first published 2004)
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I don't know if something gets lost in the translation here, but I'm not sure I really know what happened in this book. I found it a difficult read, and there are a couple of reasons for this. First, the action goes backward and forward constantly which, to me, is very confusing. There is a lot of repetition as the events are revealed through the jumping around. Secondly, and I don't know if this is a Swedish thing, the style bothered me. At points I found the imagery striking, and I felt the au...more
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It isn't very often you encounter a book with dedications and acknowledgments from a translator. Perhaps on some classical works when Ovid or Virgil didn't opt to thank their publicists, you get a fill-the-space dedication from a contemporary scholar. But really, the emphasis on translator should have been the first sign. The translator thanking the author for answering her questions should have been the second.
Not to say that The American Girl was a bad book. There was certainly no lack of stor...more
Not to say that The American Girl was a bad book. There was certainly no lack of stor...more
I'll start by saying I picked this book up after reading a positive review. What I should have paid attention to was the fact that the "review" was in fact from the American publisher of "The American Girl," a Swedish novel by Monika Fagerholm. I read quickly, so when a book is a bit slow to get into, it is disappointing, but I perservere... However, when I had reached page 230 of this 507-page novel (which I learned is novel 1 of 2 in a series) and was still having trouble holding interest in t...more
I feel a little dishonest marking this as "read" since I didn't actually make it all the way through! It is not very often that I abandon a book so early, but this was one of the worst books I've ever tried to read. As others have commented, I'd like to believe that part of the problem was the translation. However, I can't imagine all the verbs were lost that way--it was full of random sentence fragments, dependent clauses with nothing on which to depend. I also found the transitions between tim...more
It has a million flaws but some great lines. Sort of reminded me of Haruki Murakami but with better structure. I kind of thought it was turning into a murder mystery, but the real, more banal truth I think was telegraphed way too early.
I enjoyed this a lot though. There is something fresh, new, and original that made up for the meandering. It gave me a lot to think about, and Sandra, Doris, the Islander, Lorelei and Bengt were really fascinating characters. I guess there was almost an operatic l...more
I enjoyed this a lot though. There is something fresh, new, and original that made up for the meandering. It gave me a lot to think about, and Sandra, Doris, the Islander, Lorelei and Bengt were really fascinating characters. I guess there was almost an operatic l...more
A few reviews on the back of the book said this novel was "light, playful...a delightful experience". But instead I thought this was a very dark, moody, and heavy coming of age tale. It takes place outside of Helsinki in the early 70's. It was a difficult read because of the style of writing (and perhaps the translation?), but once I got into it (after about 250 pages of the 500) I was engaged by the characters. It had mystical tones, as well as a murder mystery plot line, but it was a lot of pa...more
"Amerikkalainen tyttö" kertoo seutulaisen tragedian.
Tämä on ensimmäinen lukemani Fagerholm ja toisin sanoen ensimmäinen kerta kun luen mitään vastaavaa.
Muiden kirjoittamia arvosteluja lukiessani huomaan, että kaikki mitä tekstissä villisti rakastan, saa myös kritiikkiä joiltain lukijoilta. Tästä tyylistä joko pitää, tai sitten sitä vihaa. Itselläni meni 3 viikkoa ensimmäisen 80 sivun lukemiseen - ja sitten vetäisin loput 450 niin nopeasti kuin kerkesin.
Kirjana teksti siis haastaa lukijansa, ei...more
Tämä on ensimmäinen lukemani Fagerholm ja toisin sanoen ensimmäinen kerta kun luen mitään vastaavaa.
Muiden kirjoittamia arvosteluja lukiessani huomaan, että kaikki mitä tekstissä villisti rakastan, saa myös kritiikkiä joiltain lukijoilta. Tästä tyylistä joko pitää, tai sitten sitä vihaa. Itselläni meni 3 viikkoa ensimmäisen 80 sivun lukemiseen - ja sitten vetäisin loput 450 niin nopeasti kuin kerkesin.
Kirjana teksti siis haastaa lukijansa, ei...more
It looks like many people on goodreads didn't like this book- I absolutely LOVED it but only after I'd pushed through to about page 100. At that point, I was completely entranced- I love her writing style, it really spoke to me. Yes, it is very confusing in places, and the ending still leaves me with questions- I honestly don't know what actually happened.
The things others have pointed out- unique writing style, repetition, dark and moody- are the things I really loved.
That being said, what I lo...more
The things others have pointed out- unique writing style, repetition, dark and moody- are the things I really loved.
That being said, what I lo...more
Gosh... if only i could give half stars.
First the good: Monika Fagerholm writes like no author I've ever read... her repetition of themes, sayings and gestures can be almost hypnotic and, even though I finished this lengthy novel more than a month ago and have read a handful of books since then, some of those repetitions have stayed with me.
The bad: some of that repetition becomes, well, repetitive and at times I found myself wondering if the book was way more an exercise in style over substance...more
First the good: Monika Fagerholm writes like no author I've ever read... her repetition of themes, sayings and gestures can be almost hypnotic and, even though I finished this lengthy novel more than a month ago and have read a handful of books since then, some of those repetitions have stayed with me.
The bad: some of that repetition becomes, well, repetitive and at times I found myself wondering if the book was way more an exercise in style over substance...more
I wanted to love this but it was so odd and disjointed I had a hard time keeping up with the characters initially. I did really enjoy her style of driving down to the heart of human nature in her characters and the honesty with which she described their true intentions. I was a bit miffed that I went through the entire story only to find out that the secrets and mysteries were really quite commonplace, but it was also sort of a relief if that makes any sense. An interesting story and style of wr...more
This might well be the absolutely worst book I have ever attempted to read -- I could only make it through about the first hundred pages, and I had no idea whatsoever what was happening in the story. Except that the Finnish author had presumably never actually met an American girl, because she gives them weird names like Eddie and Kenny... Things go back and forth in time; maybe it's artistic and all that, but I just didn't get it. Into the pile for donation to Goodwill it goes; life's too short...more
I really think something must have gotten lost in the translation of this book. The storytelling is incredibly disjointed, and it doesn't feel as though it's a stylistic decision- it feels sloppy and confused. The title of the book doesn't really match up with the story, because we never really learn anything about "The American Girl" - instead we follow a bunch of half-baked characters around as they try to find out how and why she died. The author never explores the characters' inner worlds; i...more
Zur Autorin
Monika Fagerholm ist eine finnische Autorin, die 1961 in Helsingfors geboren wurde. Zuerste veröffentlichte sie einige Kurzgeschichten. Ihren literarischen Durchbruch erreichte sie 1994 mit dem Roman Underbara kvinnor vid vatten (deutsch: Wunderbare Frauen am Wasser). Im selben Jahr wurde sie für den wichtigsten finnischen Literatur-Preis, den Finlandia-Preis, nominiert.
Den amerikanska flickan (deutsch: Das amerikanische Mädchen) wurde 2005 erstmals veröffentlicht und stand monatelang...more
Monika Fagerholm ist eine finnische Autorin, die 1961 in Helsingfors geboren wurde. Zuerste veröffentlichte sie einige Kurzgeschichten. Ihren literarischen Durchbruch erreichte sie 1994 mit dem Roman Underbara kvinnor vid vatten (deutsch: Wunderbare Frauen am Wasser). Im selben Jahr wurde sie für den wichtigsten finnischen Literatur-Preis, den Finlandia-Preis, nominiert.
Den amerikanska flickan (deutsch: Das amerikanische Mädchen) wurde 2005 erstmals veröffentlicht und stand monatelang...more
[Dutch]
Het leven is geen spel. De meesten onder ons weten dat ook. Sommige mensen komen daar echter pas na een harde leerschool achter. In Het Amerikaanse meisje wordt pijnlijk duidelijk hoe het mis kan lopen als je deze basisregel van het leven vergeet. Tenminste, als je je door het taalgebruik van de auteur weet te slepen.
Lees meer op 8WEEKLY
Het leven is geen spel. De meesten onder ons weten dat ook. Sommige mensen komen daar echter pas na een harde leerschool achter. In Het Amerikaanse meisje wordt pijnlijk duidelijk hoe het mis kan lopen als je deze basisregel van het leven vergeet. Tenminste, als je je door het taalgebruik van de auteur weet te slepen.
Lees meer op 8WEEKLY
Wow. This was quite hard to read, as the language is really versatile and has lot of personality in it. But after the beginning the book starts to tempt the reader to continue to keep on turning the pages to know what happened. The plot is thrilling and narration is just beautiful. However, the novel isn't perfect, as sometimes it comes too near being fake. A little less effort would have made it perfect.
If I had to read "this was reality" one more time.....sigh! I've read it on several reviews, but I must join in and say I think it was over translated. At least, I hope that is the problem. Otherwise, it was very poorly written in my opinion. I was determined to finsih the book, but I found myself constantly re-reading things just to be sure I understood the message.
The story of the two yound girls entertained me, but it was not worth the all the work!
The story of the two yound girls entertained me, but it was not worth the all the work!
Tout est étrange dans ce roman, la construction, l'écriture, l'histoire, les personnages.
L'histoire est terrible, les personnages très particuliers.
J'ai du mal à me faire un avis sur ce roman tellement j'ai l'impression de l'avoir lu sans avoir "accroché".
Ce livre est un épais brouillard.
L'histoire est terrible, les personnages très particuliers.
J'ai du mal à me faire un avis sur ce roman tellement j'ai l'impression de l'avoir lu sans avoir "accroché".
Ce livre est un épais brouillard.
I FINALLY finished this book. I wanted so much to like it. I was excited to start reading it. But after the first 50 or so pages, I was lost. I put it down for awhile; until I had nothing else to read. And I wanted to muddle through it just so I could finish it. I had hoped it would all makes sense at the end. And I guess it did. I hated the way it was written, all of the repetition od=f certain phrases. It got on my nerves. And all of the incomplete sentences. What was that about. If it was wri...more
A book about outsiders, friendship and growing up(don`t get me wrong: this doesn`t mean, that this is a book for children or teenagers). Has also many psychological elements in it.
Loved the book! It takes a while to get you excited and to understand what this is all about but it is worth it. Can´t wait for the second part!
Loved the book! It takes a while to get you excited and to understand what this is all about but it is worth it. Can´t wait for the second part!
The review I read of this was very different from the book I actually encountered. The review led me to believe it was a mystery, when in fact it seemed to be a mess of magical realism with the foreboding of lesbian suicide. It was too annoying to finish.
This book is clearly not for everyone, but I found THE AMERICAN GIRL with its deliberately odd syntax, its moody vibe, and the incantatory repetition of phrases compelling. This is the kind of creepy novel that you might expect from people who live in the dark for half of the year.
Oct 21, 2011
Andrea Paterson
marked it as abandoned
I don't think I'm going to finish this. The writing style is very strange and in some ways alluring, but I just haven't been drawn in enough to commit to this fairly long book when I have so many other things on my reading list.
Although very difficult to get through, I enjoyed the book nonetheless. I didn't truly start appreciating the book, though, until about half way. Once I was able to get a better grasp on the characters and their stories, I started really caring for them. I appreciated the depth of this book and it has had me thinking for weeks after I finished reading it.
Feb 16, 2013
Clover Youngblood
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
My Polish best friend
Shelves:
young-adult
I had very high hopes for this book. The summary of the novel read like a wet dream for me; I love the 70's and mysteries involving girls my age. I was looking forward to a poetic day dream that would inspire both hope and sorrow in me. Well, I read it for about five days and just gave up on page eighty. So many things about this novel were wrong: the pace, the characters, the writing itself somehow managed to be choppy and sluggish simultaneously. The biggest blemish with this work is that it's...more
I had a very hard time getting into this book. I didn't finish it.
4.5 stars; Twin Peaks in literary form!
won Other Press giveaway
Got half way through it and just can't force myself to read it any more. Really hard to get into and I don't care for the writing style
weird and confusing
Aug 25, 2010
Liz
added it
horrible
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Monika Fagerholm’s much-praised first novel, Wonderful Women by the Sea, became one of the most widely translated Scandinavian literary novels of the mid-nineties and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 1998 it was followed by the cult novel Diva, which won the Swedish Literature Society Award. Her third novel, The American Girl, became a number-one best seller and won the premie...more
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