Copenhagen Tales

by Lotte Shankland, Helen Constantine (Editor)

Exploring the many moods of the Danish capital.

From the narrow twisting streets of the old town centre to the shady docklands, this rich anthology captures the essence of Copenhagen and its many faces. Through seventeen tales by some of the very best of Denmark's writers past and present, we travel the length and breadth of the Danish capital examining famous sights from unique perspectives. A guide book usefully informs a new visitor to Copenhagen but these stories allow the reader to experience the city and its history from the inside.

Genres: Denmark, Short Stories, Fiction, Travel

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Marc Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in a Good reads First reads draw. It is a collection of short stories set in Copenhagen written by its inhabitants from the 1800's to the present day. The writings range from two less well-known stories from Denmark's most famous author Hans Christian Anderson to another from the existential philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, through to more locally known contemporary writers. The books stated intention is to "allow the reader to experience the city from the inside".

Does it do what it says?

I thought that the diffuse collection of stories were very well chosen and left me with a feel of sights, sounds, smells and flavors of Copenhagen over the last three hundred years like a photo montage providing a range of snapshots that piece together to form the hint of another larger picture. The writing is fluid, lyrical and easy to read, suggestive to me of excellent translation. I get a sense of culture that in many ways is not too far from my own English, northern european culture but with very distinctive differences.

Do I have a feel for Copenhagen?

I have never visited the city but have always been interested in experiencing it. Having read these stories I now have a feel for something, and this feeling fits for me with cities such as Amsterdam and Budapest that I do have direct experience of. There are also differences that I believe to be uniquely Copenhagen. So I have no definite frame of reference. I do not think that matters. Visiting a city for a weekend gives me a feel for something but I am only scratching the surface. It is only when I live somewhere else that I get a deeper feel for the place. This book gives me an insight in a different way to the city and I feel richer for the experience.

I like to travel and get to know different places. I have not done so much travelling in the last few years. What this book has given me is a chance to 'visit' another city. it is a part of a series of books that has studied different cities in a similar way. Vienna, Moscow, Madrid and Rome.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn, I just discovered some new authors. Full review to follow.

[Liezel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Large variety, some stories are better than others, but all of them remind me of my beloved Copenhagen. 'The Trousers' is a firm favourite, due to its whimsical nature and 'The Bra' just forces you to keep reading.

[Gretel]

I liked To Catch A Dane and The Bra, but I wasn't wowed by anything else.

[Maddy Doty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly kind of disappointed…
I was excited to read this was studying abroad in Denmark—and I will say it was fun to recognize the reference to streets, places, or bits of Danish culture—however, I really didn’t enjoy most of the stories unfortunately. There was maybe one or two in the whole collection that I liked and I also found (not sure if this was bc of the original material or the translations) some of the material to be quite redundant as if a couple of the pieces were not reviewed or edited. That was definitely strange. Anyway, would’ve been nice to connect a bit more with the material, but it was still fun to read while in Copenhagen.

[Sarah Christine Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved this collection of stories written about Copenhagen. I love reading the writing of Danish writers about Copenhagen. Struggling to find lots in translation - I'm learning danish but not fast enough to read as much as I want.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A totally unbiased review

[Sandrine V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some tales were better than others. I particularly enjoyed Eggnog, The Bra, and Amelie’s eyes

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

To Catch a Dane, The Bra and Trousers are particularly good.

[Jim Hager · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed some stories, most not so much. Generally not as fond of short stories.

[Pieter Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but on the heavy side

[Andy Quan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting combination of literary history and marketing: I mean, who's going to read these unless they have an interest in Copenhagen? I do, and so this reading experience brought me back to a cherished four months in Helsingor, just north of Copenhagen. With only a few stories set in more contemporary times and one reaching back to 1767, it is a varied collection, and I found most of them quite light in tone, with a gentle comic streak (which meant the one set firmly in the world of porn, drugs and violence was a shocking contrast). They all have a sense of place, and give a sense of the people, and they seem to represent many of Denmark's most famous literary figures. And they're easy to read and not too long; it's an accessible collection. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who would like a little reminder of Copenhagen or Denmark.