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Rénszarvas-hegy és más történetek a peremlétről
Egy díjnyertes novelláskötet Svédország legismertebb SFF szerzőjétől, aki méltó örököse Borges, Le Guin és Lovecraft munkásságának.
Egy gyermek egy konzervdobozba születik. Egy telefonközpontos a pokolban találja magát. Három nő valahol az időn túl lebeg. Meseszerű lények kísértenek csendes kis falvakat. Karin Tidbeck, a svéd szerző szürreális világaiban minden lehetséges. A kötetben található történetek nemcsak a hazájában, hanem világszerte meghódították a szépirodalmi sci-fi, a spekulatív fikció és az alternatív fantasy olvasóit, és olyan nagy írókat tudhatnak a rajongóiknak, mint Ann és Jeff VanderMeer, China Miéville vagy a néhai Ursula K. Le Guin.
Egy gyermek egy konzervdobozba születik. Egy telefonközpontos a pokolban találja magát. Három nő valahol az időn túl lebeg. Meseszerű lények kísértenek csendes kis falvakat. Karin Tidbeck, a svéd szerző szürreális világaiban minden lehetséges. A kötetben található történetek nemcsak a hazájában, hanem világszerte meghódították a szépirodalmi sci-fi, a spekulatív fikció és az alternatív fantasy olvasóit, és olyan nagy írókat tudhatnak a rajongóiknak, mint Ann és Jeff VanderMeer, China Miéville vagy a néhai Ursula K. Le Guin.
171 pages, Paperback
First published June 27, 2012
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January 20, 2022
“I have to know… What is the nature of the world?" The djinneya smiled with both rows of teeth. "Which one?”
Describing Karin Tidbeck's short story collection, Jagannath as strange and quirky is in no way a sufficient description. These tales are also funny in a dark and unexpected way. Whether her characters are falling in love with machines ("Beatrice") or creating a companion out of menstrual blood, salt and vegetables ("Cloudberry Jam), these stories stick with you. Many of them, like "Reindeer Mountain," draw their dark inspiration directly from Scandinavian folklore. "Jagannath," the collection's title story is weird and unsettling and very evocative. Recommended if you are in the mood for something different! 4.5 stars
"I think we share the same fate."
Describing Karin Tidbeck's short story collection, Jagannath as strange and quirky is in no way a sufficient description. These tales are also funny in a dark and unexpected way. Whether her characters are falling in love with machines ("Beatrice") or creating a companion out of menstrual blood, salt and vegetables ("Cloudberry Jam), these stories stick with you. Many of them, like "Reindeer Mountain," draw their dark inspiration directly from Scandinavian folklore. "Jagannath," the collection's title story is weird and unsettling and very evocative. Recommended if you are in the mood for something different! 4.5 stars
"I think we share the same fate."
November 30, 2012
Where do they keep coming from? Over the last handful of weeks I’ve read Near + Far by Cat Rambo, At the Mouth of the River of Bees by Kij Johnson, and Errantry: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand—three new collections of short stories, all from small presses, all by female authors, and all superb. And then, just when I think it can’t get any better, along comes Karin Tidbeck’s debut collection Jagannath, which may just be the best one of the bunch. If you take into account that this is Tidbeck’s debut collection in English and that it was translated from Swedish to English by the author herself, it’s hard not to be awed by the sheer level of talent on display here.
Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
August 14, 2013
This volume is so short that it's barely a book (134 pages). Are these all of the short stories that Tidbeck's written? Why not put more in? This is not enough! I hope that her other writing is translated into English, because this is an excellent (if brief) collection.
I would highly recommend these stories for fans of Kelly Link and Theodora Goss. (As well as Ursula LeGuin, who blurbed it, and Elizabeth Hand, who wrote the introduction.)
Contains:
Beatrice - "If you love someone, set them free." If they don't come back... oh well. A steampunk tale of a man in love with an airship and a woman in love with a steam engine. Bizarre, disturbing, and an incisive commentary of the different types of feelings which we might call 'love.'
Some Letters for Ove Lindstrom - An estranged son finds his alcoholic father dead, and writes letters thinking back to when everything went wrong - when his mother disappeared. An effective mix of modern-day sensibilities and folklore.
Miss Nyberg and I - A glimpse out of the corner of an eye turns into a story that might be more true than its author guessed.
Rebecka - What if God insisted on repeatedly 'saving' a suicidal person, refusing to let them take their own life? What extremes might that person be driven to? A fantastic story that captures the harrowing feeling of friendship with a suicidal person.
Herr Cederberg - Escape from the cruelty of this world in an airship. Or is it a metaphor for suicide? Or is it transcendence? Reminded me of a less fleshed-out version of Theodora Goss' "The Wings of Meister Wilhelm."
Who Is Arvid Pekon? - A man is employed in a call center where the job involves pretending to be whoever it might be that the caller wishes to speak to. That's weird. But it gets weirder.
Brita's Holiday Village - A journal from a writer who takes a cottage in the off-season to get some work done in peace and quiet, and unexpectedly encounters something fragile and amazing.
Reindeer Mountain - Two sisters, rivals. A conflict over a family heirloom. A family tale, folklore about the mysterious Sidhe-like 'vittra.' One girl has always dreamed of other worlds. She'd be delighted to be swept off by a fairy lover to 'under the hill.' But that's not what happens.
Cloudberry Jam - Reminded me of a warped version of Thumbelina. A woman creates herself a child - but it's not a real human child, and can't be what she wants.
Pyret - A faux encyclopedia entry on an imaginary creature, read like it belongs in one of Jeff VanDerMeer's collections.
Augusta Prima - A look into what it might be like to live under a faery mound - from a fairy's point of view. Fairly horrifying.
Aunts - A further exploration of a element mentioned in passing in Augusta Prima. Like the preceding story, strongly horrific, but also sad.
Jagannath - A very China Mieville-esque story about a group of humans who have lived for generations inside a giant insect, dependent on it for every aspect of their lives. But their 'Mother' is dying... Grotesque and memorable.
I would highly recommend these stories for fans of Kelly Link and Theodora Goss. (As well as Ursula LeGuin, who blurbed it, and Elizabeth Hand, who wrote the introduction.)
Contains:
Beatrice - "If you love someone, set them free." If they don't come back... oh well. A steampunk tale of a man in love with an airship and a woman in love with a steam engine. Bizarre, disturbing, and an incisive commentary of the different types of feelings which we might call 'love.'
Some Letters for Ove Lindstrom - An estranged son finds his alcoholic father dead, and writes letters thinking back to when everything went wrong - when his mother disappeared. An effective mix of modern-day sensibilities and folklore.
Miss Nyberg and I - A glimpse out of the corner of an eye turns into a story that might be more true than its author guessed.
Rebecka - What if God insisted on repeatedly 'saving' a suicidal person, refusing to let them take their own life? What extremes might that person be driven to? A fantastic story that captures the harrowing feeling of friendship with a suicidal person.
Herr Cederberg - Escape from the cruelty of this world in an airship. Or is it a metaphor for suicide? Or is it transcendence? Reminded me of a less fleshed-out version of Theodora Goss' "The Wings of Meister Wilhelm."
Who Is Arvid Pekon? - A man is employed in a call center where the job involves pretending to be whoever it might be that the caller wishes to speak to. That's weird. But it gets weirder.
Brita's Holiday Village - A journal from a writer who takes a cottage in the off-season to get some work done in peace and quiet, and unexpectedly encounters something fragile and amazing.
Reindeer Mountain - Two sisters, rivals. A conflict over a family heirloom. A family tale, folklore about the mysterious Sidhe-like 'vittra.' One girl has always dreamed of other worlds. She'd be delighted to be swept off by a fairy lover to 'under the hill.' But that's not what happens.
Cloudberry Jam - Reminded me of a warped version of Thumbelina. A woman creates herself a child - but it's not a real human child, and can't be what she wants.
Pyret - A faux encyclopedia entry on an imaginary creature, read like it belongs in one of Jeff VanDerMeer's collections.
Augusta Prima - A look into what it might be like to live under a faery mound - from a fairy's point of view. Fairly horrifying.
Aunts - A further exploration of a element mentioned in passing in Augusta Prima. Like the preceding story, strongly horrific, but also sad.
Jagannath - A very China Mieville-esque story about a group of humans who have lived for generations inside a giant insect, dependent on it for every aspect of their lives. But their 'Mother' is dying... Grotesque and memorable.
February 7, 2016
Kitap hakkında fikir belirtenler arasında tuhaf kurgunun yeni yüzünün (new weird) ustası ve bir nevi atası olan China Miéville'i de görüyoruz. Fakat görünce hiç şaşırmıyoruz, çünkü benim için bu kitap tuhaf kurgunun harika bir örneğiydi.
Elbette çağdaş İsveç edebiyatı olarak da okunabilir bu kitap. Bence her kesimden okura hitap ediyor. Ancak Miéville diyor ya hani, "Sade ve canlı, temkinli ve tuhaf..." O da beni destekliyor yahu.
İsveç, edebiyat bakımından daha önce hiçbir eserini okumadığım bir kültür. Bu kültürle bu kitap sayesinde tanışmam ne de güzel oldu. Kalıplara sığmayan bir zihin Karin Tidbeck ve her bir öyküsü derin bir hayal gücü ve edebi yeteneğin karışımı.
Bu küçücük kitap bir de üstüne cici bir cilde sahip. Sadece ciltli seçeneği var. Ne de güzel olmuş. Çok da yakışmış. Kütüphanenizde içerdiği sıra dışı öyküler kadar, cildi ve kapağıyla da ayrıksılığını gösterecek. Baskı kalitesi de aynı şekilde ziyadesiyle güzel.
Elbette aralarında beğenmediğim öyküler de var. Ancak "hmm" diyerek okuduğum öykülerdi onlar. Fazla etkilenmeden, ama sıkılmadan da. Oysa büyük kısmına adeta aşık oldum.
Kitabın açılış öyküsü ve aynı zamanda da konusuyla kitaba adını veren Beatrice isimli hikaye esere güzel bir başlangıç yaptırıyor. Hele o giriş cümlesi yok mu,
“Doktor Franz Hiller bir zepline âşık oldu.”
Bu kitaba bir şans verin derim. Hem tuhaf kurgu adına çok değerli, hem de çağdaş İsveç edebiyatı ile tanışmak için harika bir fırsat.
Çeviri: Eserin çevirisini gayet başarılı buldum. Bir iki tane yazım hatası vardı, ama sorun değil. Çevirmen Tülin Er ve editörünün eline sağlık.
Sıra dışı, daha önce okuduklarınıza benzemeyen şeyler görmek, duymak ve koklamak için bu kitaba bir şans verin :). Benden söylemesi.
Elbette çağdaş İsveç edebiyatı olarak da okunabilir bu kitap. Bence her kesimden okura hitap ediyor. Ancak Miéville diyor ya hani, "Sade ve canlı, temkinli ve tuhaf..." O da beni destekliyor yahu.
İsveç, edebiyat bakımından daha önce hiçbir eserini okumadığım bir kültür. Bu kültürle bu kitap sayesinde tanışmam ne de güzel oldu. Kalıplara sığmayan bir zihin Karin Tidbeck ve her bir öyküsü derin bir hayal gücü ve edebi yeteneğin karışımı.
Bu küçücük kitap bir de üstüne cici bir cilde sahip. Sadece ciltli seçeneği var. Ne de güzel olmuş. Çok da yakışmış. Kütüphanenizde içerdiği sıra dışı öyküler kadar, cildi ve kapağıyla da ayrıksılığını gösterecek. Baskı kalitesi de aynı şekilde ziyadesiyle güzel.
Elbette aralarında beğenmediğim öyküler de var. Ancak "hmm" diyerek okuduğum öykülerdi onlar. Fazla etkilenmeden, ama sıkılmadan da. Oysa büyük kısmına adeta aşık oldum.
Kitabın açılış öyküsü ve aynı zamanda da konusuyla kitaba adını veren Beatrice isimli hikaye esere güzel bir başlangıç yaptırıyor. Hele o giriş cümlesi yok mu,
“Doktor Franz Hiller bir zepline âşık oldu.”
Bu kitaba bir şans verin derim. Hem tuhaf kurgu adına çok değerli, hem de çağdaş İsveç edebiyatı ile tanışmak için harika bir fırsat.
Çeviri: Eserin çevirisini gayet başarılı buldum. Bir iki tane yazım hatası vardı, ama sorun değil. Çevirmen Tülin Er ve editörünün eline sağlık.
Sıra dışı, daha önce okuduklarınıza benzemeyen şeyler görmek, duymak ve koklamak için bu kitaba bir şans verin :). Benden söylemesi.
July 30, 2024
This is a brilliant collection of mysterious, mystical, imaginative and entertaining fantasy short stories. I also liked author Karin Tidbeck’s comments in the afterword on what it’s like to write in both Swedish and English. This collection was one of her first publications. I’m looking forward to reading more of her works (both in Swedish and in English)!
I’ve just finished reading this great collection of short stories for the second time. I enjoyed it even more than when I read it the first time — so I’m increasing the number of stars from 4 to 5.
I’ve just finished reading this great collection of short stories for the second time. I enjoyed it even more than when I read it the first time — so I’m increasing the number of stars from 4 to 5.
January 6, 2019
Please go to my blog for more reviews! www.jenchaosreviews.com
Jagannath By Karin Tidbeck
Vintage Reissue Edition, February 6, 2018
176 Pages, Paperback Edition
From Amazon:
"An award-winning debut story collection by Karin Tidbeck, author of Amatka and heir to Borges, Le Guin, and Lovecraft.
A child is born in a tin can. A switchboard operator finds himself in hell. Three corpulent women float somewhere beyond time. Welcome to the weird world of Karin Tidbeck, the visionary Swedish author of literary sci-fi, speculative fiction, and mind-bending fantasy who has captivated readers around the world. Originally published by the small press Cheeky Frawg--the passion project of Ann and Jeff VanderMeer--Jagannath has been celebrated by readers and critics alike, with rave reviews from major outlets and support from lauded peers like China Miéville and even Ursula K. Le Guin herself. These are stories in which fairies haunt quiet towns, and an immortal being discovers the nature of time--stories in which anything is possible."
Goodreads Rating: 4.08/ My Rating: 4.00
Review:
A collection of some reasonably short stories fantastically written and translated, that capture the imagination in odd ways. The first story "Beatrice" sets the tone for the rest of the book. A man is in love with an airship. A woman is in love with a steam engine. Together, they learn to live in the same warehouse tending to their secrets. One day, there is a tragedy, and the man is left by himself fostering a strange daughter with his airship. Somehow, and only an imagination so fantastical, so deep could come up with something like this, there is communication between the child and the airship. The child is not wholly human..also strange.
The story is not long. I think it is only about 15 pages in length. However, the strange story and almost disturbing content were beautifully written and something that led me to read more stories in this short anthology.
Many things separate each story from one another. In the way that Stephen King puts together a book of stories, each one is distinct, with characters which are dynamic, prose that is unmatched and contains some things that are unsuitable for young people. I was awed, shocked and inspired by each. I have not read anything like this at all. It reminded me of folk tales or fairy tales, but for adults. The magic and strange circumstances that the characters find themselves in seem so odd, but part of their lives.
Drawn from Nordic and European folklore and an active imagination, Jagannath, is a collection that anyone who loves fantasy and the strange should read.
Writing:
Written originally in Swedish, Ms. Tidbeck's mother tongue and later translated to English by the author herself, this book is written so well; one cannot help but continue to read it. The prose in the stories is smooth and fanciful evoking images of things that only a great writer can do. I was in awe with the way she was able to do that. If I die and come back as a writer, I want to write like that.
Plots:
I say plots because there are several stories to talk about. Ms. Tidbeck makes sure to develop a storyline which is easy to follow, characters that are well fleshed out; and, a plot that ties up correctly in the end. Each story is done well, and there is no abandonment. I was not a fan of the letters, but they are chronological and make sense. They make a story in and of themselves. I usually find letters and epistolic works to be annoying or jerky, but she does this quite well.
What I Liked:
The imagination that went into each story was terrific. If I tapped into the darkest or craziest recesses of my mind, I might be able to come up with some of the things she has in this book; but, I was entertained. I thought she handled the folklore and intertwined that with her imagination quite well. I liked that the most.
What I Didn't Like:
I would have liked longer stories, more explanation on some of these. Though they were all quite good, I think 15 pages, sometimes shorter, sometimes a little longer, was not enough. I, of course, being used to reading quite long books, short stories are hard for me to digest. When I read a short story, I am always disappointed that there isn't any more of that particular storyline left.
Overall Impression:
Jagannath is an impressive read. A well-written anthology by a very creative mind. While combining folklore of the days past with her crazy imagination, this book has been given a life of its own. I think this is perfect for lovers of fantasy and speculative fiction. I rated this a 4.00.
Jagannath By Karin Tidbeck
Vintage Reissue Edition, February 6, 2018
176 Pages, Paperback Edition
From Amazon:
"An award-winning debut story collection by Karin Tidbeck, author of Amatka and heir to Borges, Le Guin, and Lovecraft.
A child is born in a tin can. A switchboard operator finds himself in hell. Three corpulent women float somewhere beyond time. Welcome to the weird world of Karin Tidbeck, the visionary Swedish author of literary sci-fi, speculative fiction, and mind-bending fantasy who has captivated readers around the world. Originally published by the small press Cheeky Frawg--the passion project of Ann and Jeff VanderMeer--Jagannath has been celebrated by readers and critics alike, with rave reviews from major outlets and support from lauded peers like China Miéville and even Ursula K. Le Guin herself. These are stories in which fairies haunt quiet towns, and an immortal being discovers the nature of time--stories in which anything is possible."
Goodreads Rating: 4.08/ My Rating: 4.00
Review:
A collection of some reasonably short stories fantastically written and translated, that capture the imagination in odd ways. The first story "Beatrice" sets the tone for the rest of the book. A man is in love with an airship. A woman is in love with a steam engine. Together, they learn to live in the same warehouse tending to their secrets. One day, there is a tragedy, and the man is left by himself fostering a strange daughter with his airship. Somehow, and only an imagination so fantastical, so deep could come up with something like this, there is communication between the child and the airship. The child is not wholly human..also strange.
The story is not long. I think it is only about 15 pages in length. However, the strange story and almost disturbing content were beautifully written and something that led me to read more stories in this short anthology.
Many things separate each story from one another. In the way that Stephen King puts together a book of stories, each one is distinct, with characters which are dynamic, prose that is unmatched and contains some things that are unsuitable for young people. I was awed, shocked and inspired by each. I have not read anything like this at all. It reminded me of folk tales or fairy tales, but for adults. The magic and strange circumstances that the characters find themselves in seem so odd, but part of their lives.
Drawn from Nordic and European folklore and an active imagination, Jagannath, is a collection that anyone who loves fantasy and the strange should read.
Writing:
Written originally in Swedish, Ms. Tidbeck's mother tongue and later translated to English by the author herself, this book is written so well; one cannot help but continue to read it. The prose in the stories is smooth and fanciful evoking images of things that only a great writer can do. I was in awe with the way she was able to do that. If I die and come back as a writer, I want to write like that.
Plots:
I say plots because there are several stories to talk about. Ms. Tidbeck makes sure to develop a storyline which is easy to follow, characters that are well fleshed out; and, a plot that ties up correctly in the end. Each story is done well, and there is no abandonment. I was not a fan of the letters, but they are chronological and make sense. They make a story in and of themselves. I usually find letters and epistolic works to be annoying or jerky, but she does this quite well.
What I Liked:
The imagination that went into each story was terrific. If I tapped into the darkest or craziest recesses of my mind, I might be able to come up with some of the things she has in this book; but, I was entertained. I thought she handled the folklore and intertwined that with her imagination quite well. I liked that the most.
What I Didn't Like:
I would have liked longer stories, more explanation on some of these. Though they were all quite good, I think 15 pages, sometimes shorter, sometimes a little longer, was not enough. I, of course, being used to reading quite long books, short stories are hard for me to digest. When I read a short story, I am always disappointed that there isn't any more of that particular storyline left.
Overall Impression:
Jagannath is an impressive read. A well-written anthology by a very creative mind. While combining folklore of the days past with her crazy imagination, this book has been given a life of its own. I think this is perfect for lovers of fantasy and speculative fiction. I rated this a 4.00.
April 11, 2018
Short stories. Oh-oh.
I've become quite wary of short story collections. Wary of the promise of condensed stories and pacey plots that so often on arrival turns out to actually be a bunch of inconclusive narrative fragments that go nowhere.
So many of the collections I've read can be summed up with "yeah, there are a couple of good stories here" - hardly a ringing recommendation - and while I've read many good short works they're often surrounded by pages and pages of material I would rather not have trudged through.
However, despite my trepidations Jagannath - Karin Tidbeck's collection - was a pleasant surprise. It's a satisfying, fun and consistently entertaining read.
There are some really lively stories in Jagannath, infused with the cold, perpetual sunlight of Scandanavian summers and the long darkness of their brutal winters. There is obsession and murder, strange creatures from Nordic myth, men and women who fall in love with machines.
I love reading books by non-Anglosphere writers as there is often a subtle flavour to their writing that is absent from writers closer to my cultural home. The spice and heat of Rushdie's subcontinent, the politics and oppressive history of Cixin Liu's China, and now the Scandie chill of Karen Tidbeck.
From the first few pages there are some real winners here and Beatrice sets the tone well with an odd tale of a man and a woman who fall in love respectively with an airship and a steam engine, devoting their lives to these objects and maintaining real relationships with them.
The title story - Jagannath - is one of the strongest (and strangest), focusing on a post-apocalyptic group who survive on the inside of what appears to be a giant cockroach, living entire lives tending the creature's bowels, muscles and brain. In its claustrophobia and the central character's unawareness of the outside world it reminded me of Glenn Wool's Silo, albeit a biological version where the workers spend their days palpitating lengths of intestine, rather than maintaining power plants.
Other stories, such as Brita's Holiday Village mix wonder with a sense of foreboding, while the grim Rebekah is pretty much a straight horror story set in a world where God intervenes directly in people's lives, to the point of thwarting their suicide attempts.
Tidbeck has real talent, and the best of these stories are well worth your time. There are a couple that don't go anywhere particularly interesting, and one or two left me cold, but overall this is a solid collection, much stronger than many others I have read. Tidbeck is a skilled storyteller, never once missing a beat, flubbing a sentence or breaking a reader's suspension of disbelief - an impressive feat considering she is writing in her second language.
3.5 chilly, woollen-clad stars.
I've become quite wary of short story collections. Wary of the promise of condensed stories and pacey plots that so often on arrival turns out to actually be a bunch of inconclusive narrative fragments that go nowhere.
So many of the collections I've read can be summed up with "yeah, there are a couple of good stories here" - hardly a ringing recommendation - and while I've read many good short works they're often surrounded by pages and pages of material I would rather not have trudged through.
However, despite my trepidations Jagannath - Karin Tidbeck's collection - was a pleasant surprise. It's a satisfying, fun and consistently entertaining read.
There are some really lively stories in Jagannath, infused with the cold, perpetual sunlight of Scandanavian summers and the long darkness of their brutal winters. There is obsession and murder, strange creatures from Nordic myth, men and women who fall in love with machines.
I love reading books by non-Anglosphere writers as there is often a subtle flavour to their writing that is absent from writers closer to my cultural home. The spice and heat of Rushdie's subcontinent, the politics and oppressive history of Cixin Liu's China, and now the Scandie chill of Karen Tidbeck.
From the first few pages there are some real winners here and Beatrice sets the tone well with an odd tale of a man and a woman who fall in love respectively with an airship and a steam engine, devoting their lives to these objects and maintaining real relationships with them.
The title story - Jagannath - is one of the strongest (and strangest), focusing on a post-apocalyptic group who survive on the inside of what appears to be a giant cockroach, living entire lives tending the creature's bowels, muscles and brain. In its claustrophobia and the central character's unawareness of the outside world it reminded me of Glenn Wool's Silo, albeit a biological version where the workers spend their days palpitating lengths of intestine, rather than maintaining power plants.
Other stories, such as Brita's Holiday Village mix wonder with a sense of foreboding, while the grim Rebekah is pretty much a straight horror story set in a world where God intervenes directly in people's lives, to the point of thwarting their suicide attempts.
Tidbeck has real talent, and the best of these stories are well worth your time. There are a couple that don't go anywhere particularly interesting, and one or two left me cold, but overall this is a solid collection, much stronger than many others I have read. Tidbeck is a skilled storyteller, never once missing a beat, flubbing a sentence or breaking a reader's suspension of disbelief - an impressive feat considering she is writing in her second language.
3.5 chilly, woollen-clad stars.
December 31, 2016
So this is a collection I think I would class as bizarro fiction and that's a first for me. I picked this up after hearing a few of my friends liked it, and I am very glad that I did becuase Karin Tidbeck's stories have such a unique feel to them that I instantly knew I'd found a good collection.
The author of these stories is Swedish, but she writes in both Swedish and English and sometimes leaves Swedish words in the English stories so that the meaning is not lost in translation. All of her stories had a distinctly nordic feeling to them, but this was interesting to me and definitely a plus.
Some of the stories in the middle were quite short and blurred a little together for me, but there were some at the beginning and end which really were wonderful. The ones I most enjoyed included:
Beatrice - A story about a man who falls in love with a hot air balloon.
Rebecka - A dark story of a girl who has suffered and doesn't know how to break the suffering.
Who is Arvid Pekon? - A story of a phone operator who has to imitate people and yet who doesn't really know himself.
Brita's Holiday Village - A story of vittra and red dresses and a family with madness in its history.
Cloudberry Jam - A young narrater who grows a companion only to see the companion develop in strange ways.
Augusta Prima - An Alice in Wonderland inspired story about time and what it means.
Aunts - An incredibly gory story which really was fascinating.
Jagannath - An almost steampunk story which focused on a giant being inhabited by small workers to make it run smoothly.
Of all of these I think Jagannath, Augusta Prima and Beatrice are my three favourites, but there are some great other ones too. I would highly recommend this collection and it really made me think a little more about some of the meanings behind the stories. I gave this a 4*s overall.
The author of these stories is Swedish, but she writes in both Swedish and English and sometimes leaves Swedish words in the English stories so that the meaning is not lost in translation. All of her stories had a distinctly nordic feeling to them, but this was interesting to me and definitely a plus.
Some of the stories in the middle were quite short and blurred a little together for me, but there were some at the beginning and end which really were wonderful. The ones I most enjoyed included:
Beatrice - A story about a man who falls in love with a hot air balloon.
Rebecka - A dark story of a girl who has suffered and doesn't know how to break the suffering.
Who is Arvid Pekon? - A story of a phone operator who has to imitate people and yet who doesn't really know himself.
Brita's Holiday Village - A story of vittra and red dresses and a family with madness in its history.
Cloudberry Jam - A young narrater who grows a companion only to see the companion develop in strange ways.
Augusta Prima - An Alice in Wonderland inspired story about time and what it means.
Aunts - An incredibly gory story which really was fascinating.
Jagannath - An almost steampunk story which focused on a giant being inhabited by small workers to make it run smoothly.
Of all of these I think Jagannath, Augusta Prima and Beatrice are my three favourites, but there are some great other ones too. I would highly recommend this collection and it really made me think a little more about some of the meanings behind the stories. I gave this a 4*s overall.
January 7, 2021
Karin Tidbeck'in kalemi ne kadar güzelmiş gerçekten de. Normalde kitapların önünde arkasında yazan yazar övgüleri çok bir şey ifade etmez bana, ancak Zeplin için ne söyleniyorsa eksiği var fazlası yok. Kimi öyküler şahaneyken kimileri haliyle daha zayıf, ama içlerinde burun kıvırabileceğim tek öykü dahi gösteremem. İskandinav filmlerinde gördüğümüz o melankolik, büyüleyici ama bazen de ürkütücü atmosferi Tidbeck kelimelerle yaratmayı başarmış.
Başka nasıl anlatabilirim bilmiyorum ama öyküleri okuduktan sonra damakta kalan o his de çok güzel, sanki bir Sigur Ros şarkısı dinlemişsiniz gibi. Özellikle bir doktorun zepline olan aşkını anlatan "Beatrice", bir kadının ansızın ortaya çıkan Tanrı'nın dikkatini çekmeye çalıştığı "Rebecka", tuhaf bir çağrı merkezinde geçen "Arvid Peron Kim?" ve nasıl anlatacağımı bilemediğim ancak kitaptaki favorim olan "Jagannath" en sevdiğim öyküler oldu.
Çeviri de çok iyi bu arada, Tülin Er'in ellerine sağlık.
Zeplin tuhaf kurguyu sevmemi sağlayan her şeye fazlasıyla sahip. 2021'e şahane bir başlangıç oldu.
Başka nasıl anlatabilirim bilmiyorum ama öyküleri okuduktan sonra damakta kalan o his de çok güzel, sanki bir Sigur Ros şarkısı dinlemişsiniz gibi. Özellikle bir doktorun zepline olan aşkını anlatan "Beatrice", bir kadının ansızın ortaya çıkan Tanrı'nın dikkatini çekmeye çalıştığı "Rebecka", tuhaf bir çağrı merkezinde geçen "Arvid Peron Kim?" ve nasıl anlatacağımı bilemediğim ancak kitaptaki favorim olan "Jagannath" en sevdiğim öyküler oldu.
Çeviri de çok iyi bu arada, Tülin Er'in ellerine sağlık.
Zeplin tuhaf kurguyu sevmemi sağlayan her şeye fazlasıyla sahip. 2021'e şahane bir başlangıç oldu.
February 16, 2025
A book is an extension of a writers imagination and this book is no different. This book was selected for my monthly book reading. This was my first time reading this author and the best way to describe her writing style is; Sci-fi with a dash of folklore sprinkled with HP Lovecraft. These stories are very diverse and adds to this book overall. My favorite stories from this book are:
Beatrice- A story about a man and a woman that fall in love but who they fall in love with is unconventional.
Some Letters for Ove Lindström- This story is told through letters to a recently deceased love one. This story was good!
Brita’s Holiday Village- This book was about a woman they takes some time away to write her book. She encounters some otherworldly people.
Pyret- A story crafted in the style of uncovering a mystical creature. I did like how the story was written as a possibility.
These stories definitely stood out and displayed the authors diverse and creative writing style. This author should definitely be on everyone’s radar.
Beatrice- A story about a man and a woman that fall in love but who they fall in love with is unconventional.
Some Letters for Ove Lindström- This story is told through letters to a recently deceased love one. This story was good!
Brita’s Holiday Village- This book was about a woman they takes some time away to write her book. She encounters some otherworldly people.
Pyret- A story crafted in the style of uncovering a mystical creature. I did like how the story was written as a possibility.
These stories definitely stood out and displayed the authors diverse and creative writing style. This author should definitely be on everyone’s radar.
April 6, 2018
Qué gozada de colección, me ha encantado, una auténtica joya.
Me llevaba la vida desde hacía mucho tiempo, me lo encontraba por todas partes, uno de esos libros que parece que te persiguen, pero no fue hasta que hace poco leí unos comentarios de China Miéville en los que lo ponía por las nubes que ya no pude resistirme más y lo compré. La verdad es que, aunque tienen estilos diferentes, los dos autores tienen bastantes similitudes: las ideas totalmente novedosas, relatos llenos de fantasía diferente, chocante, ese plantear ideas más que desarrollar una historia, muchas veces inquietantes, retorcidas, surrealistas... será eso que llaman el new weird.
Me lo he leído en inglés, y es muy interesante la nota final de la autora, donde cuenta lo difícil que es publicar fantasía en Suecia, y cómo comenzó a escribir en inglés y autotraducirse.
Me llevaba la vida desde hacía mucho tiempo, me lo encontraba por todas partes, uno de esos libros que parece que te persiguen, pero no fue hasta que hace poco leí unos comentarios de China Miéville en los que lo ponía por las nubes que ya no pude resistirme más y lo compré. La verdad es que, aunque tienen estilos diferentes, los dos autores tienen bastantes similitudes: las ideas totalmente novedosas, relatos llenos de fantasía diferente, chocante, ese plantear ideas más que desarrollar una historia, muchas veces inquietantes, retorcidas, surrealistas... será eso que llaman el new weird.
Me lo he leído en inglés, y es muy interesante la nota final de la autora, donde cuenta lo difícil que es publicar fantasía en Suecia, y cómo comenzó a escribir en inglés y autotraducirse.
August 22, 2015
"Tuhaf" kurgu sözü bir kitaba ancak bu kadar yakışabilirdi. Çünkü bu derlemeyi tanımlayabilecek en isabetli sözcük bu: tuhaf.
Ama kesinlikle yanlış anlaşılmasın; akıldan kolay kolay çıkmayacak, benliğinize işleyecek ve daha fazlasını arzulamanıza neden olacak bir tuhaflık bu. Hikayelerin pek çoğunu tamamladıktan sonra "Ben ne okudum?" diye sordum kendime. Ama "Niye okudum?" demedim asla... Gerçi kapağında hem Ursula Le Guin'den hem de China Mieville'den birer övgü koparan bir kitaptan daha azı beklenemezdi zaten.
Kitabın bende çok hafif de olsa Alacakaranlık Kuşağı etkisi yarattığını da söylemeden geçemeyeceğim. Benim gibi dinazorların çok iyi hatırlayacağı üzere Alfred Hitchcock'un o meşhur dizisinde birbirinden tuhaf, açıklanamaz ve ürkütücü bir sürü şey olur, bizleri hayretler içinde bırakır, ama hiçbir şey tam anlamıyla açıklanmazdı. Olanları olduğu gibi kabul etmek zorunda kalırdık. Bu da daha tekinsiz ve sevilesi bir tat katardı şova. İşte Zeplin de onun gibi, ama daha fantastik.
İyi ki okudum!
Ama kesinlikle yanlış anlaşılmasın; akıldan kolay kolay çıkmayacak, benliğinize işleyecek ve daha fazlasını arzulamanıza neden olacak bir tuhaflık bu. Hikayelerin pek çoğunu tamamladıktan sonra "Ben ne okudum?" diye sordum kendime. Ama "Niye okudum?" demedim asla... Gerçi kapağında hem Ursula Le Guin'den hem de China Mieville'den birer övgü koparan bir kitaptan daha azı beklenemezdi zaten.
Kitabın bende çok hafif de olsa Alacakaranlık Kuşağı etkisi yarattığını da söylemeden geçemeyeceğim. Benim gibi dinazorların çok iyi hatırlayacağı üzere Alfred Hitchcock'un o meşhur dizisinde birbirinden tuhaf, açıklanamaz ve ürkütücü bir sürü şey olur, bizleri hayretler içinde bırakır, ama hiçbir şey tam anlamıyla açıklanmazdı. Olanları olduğu gibi kabul etmek zorunda kalırdık. Bu da daha tekinsiz ve sevilesi bir tat katardı şova. İşte Zeplin de onun gibi, ama daha fantastik.
İyi ki okudum!
May 25, 2016
-Frialdad casi impecable.-
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. Trece trabajos breves de la autora sueca, que suelen moverse entre diferentes grados de narrativa fantástica, que nos llevaran a conocer a una sidhe que desea saber qué es el tiempo, a una hija de la Gran Madre, a diferentes familias con unas situaciones muy distintas entre sí, un ensayo de investigación sobre los Pyret, a dos personas enamoradas de máquinas y a un agente de línea telefónica con unas funciones bastante especiales, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. Trece trabajos breves de la autora sueca, que suelen moverse entre diferentes grados de narrativa fantástica, que nos llevaran a conocer a una sidhe que desea saber qué es el tiempo, a una hija de la Gran Madre, a diferentes familias con unas situaciones muy distintas entre sí, un ensayo de investigación sobre los Pyret, a dos personas enamoradas de máquinas y a un agente de línea telefónica con unas funciones bastante especiales, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
June 12, 2023
Strange and refreshing! I liked the haunting mix of organic and machinic. I also liked the author’s note about writing and translating between Swedish and English.
May 25, 2018
Nemůžu se zbavit myšlenek na to, co všechno může člověk dělat, když se nikdo nedívá.
Třináct povídek, které se vzpírají běžným žánrovým škatulkám. (ne)Pasují do fantasy a(ni) magického realismu. Všechny do jedné jsou totiž… Jak to napsat slušně; pošahané. Půvabně a podmanivě pošahané, plné severské nekompromisnosti. Pokud od své literatury vyžadujete pochopení „co chtěl autor říci“ či finální zadostiučinění, tak se Sobí hoře velkým obloukem vyhněte. Pokud si vystačíte čistě s pocity a momenty, protože vám nevadí nechat se unášet krásou jazyka a bezbřehou imaginací, která se místy opájí sebou sama a jindy se motivy trochu opakují, ovšem vždy je nápaditá, originální a svá, tak si k ní naopak najděte co nejkratší cestu.
Beatrice 4/5 Ach ta láska, samé mechanické problémy přináší…
Dopisy Ove Lindströmovi 5/5 Kondenzovaná severská nostalgie und melancholie.
Slečna Nybergová a já 3/5 I´m Groot!
Rebeka 5/5 Když natruc Bůh neodpovídá na vaše dotazy "proč dopustil to či ono".
Pan Cederberg 2/5 Brundibár wannabe Kafka.
Kdo je Arvid Pekon? 4/5 Haló? Haló! Sublimace call centrem.
Britina prázdninová vesnička 4/5 Přijela. Psala. Snila. Odjela.
Sobí hora 3/5 Příliš obyčejné; prostě tuctová historka o elfím lidu, což ta předchozí je též, ale lépe zpracovaná.
Moruškový džem 3/5 Variace na I´m Groot!
Pyret 5/5 Dizertačka na téma cthulhu kukačky mezi námi.
Augusta Prima 4/5 Alenka v říši divů naruby.
Tety 4/5 Jang k jing předchozí povídky.
Džagannáth 4/5 Koloběh života jako údernická verze Byl jednou jeden život.
Třináct povídek, které se vzpírají běžným žánrovým škatulkám. (ne)Pasují do fantasy a(ni) magického realismu. Všechny do jedné jsou totiž… Jak to napsat slušně; pošahané. Půvabně a podmanivě pošahané, plné severské nekompromisnosti. Pokud od své literatury vyžadujete pochopení „co chtěl autor říci“ či finální zadostiučinění, tak se Sobí hoře velkým obloukem vyhněte. Pokud si vystačíte čistě s pocity a momenty, protože vám nevadí nechat se unášet krásou jazyka a bezbřehou imaginací, která se místy opájí sebou sama a jindy se motivy trochu opakují, ovšem vždy je nápaditá, originální a svá, tak si k ní naopak najděte co nejkratší cestu.
Beatrice 4/5 Ach ta láska, samé mechanické problémy přináší…
Dopisy Ove Lindströmovi 5/5 Kondenzovaná severská nostalgie und melancholie.
Slečna Nybergová a já 3/5 I´m Groot!
Rebeka 5/5 Když natruc Bůh neodpovídá na vaše dotazy "proč dopustil to či ono".
Pan Cederberg 2/5 Brundibár wannabe Kafka.
Kdo je Arvid Pekon? 4/5 Haló? Haló! Sublimace call centrem.
Britina prázdninová vesnička 4/5 Přijela. Psala. Snila. Odjela.
Sobí hora 3/5 Příliš obyčejné; prostě tuctová historka o elfím lidu, což ta předchozí je též, ale lépe zpracovaná.
Moruškový džem 3/5 Variace na I´m Groot!
Pyret 5/5 Dizertačka na téma cthulhu kukačky mezi námi.
Augusta Prima 4/5 Alenka v říši divů naruby.
Tety 4/5 Jang k jing předchozí povídky.
Džagannáth 4/5 Koloběh života jako údernická verze Byl jednou jeden život.
March 24, 2014
Leído por segunda vez me sigue pareciendo tan enorme como la primera y uno de los mejores libros de relatos de autor único que he leído. Me gusta como, entre todos los cuentos, establecen una gradación de la intensidad de lo fantástico, por decirlo de algún modo, de lo fantástico a lo maravilloso: desde relatos sutilmente ambiguos en los que que la posibilidad de lo sobrenatural depende de la interpretación del autor hasta otros ambientados en mundos de fantasía.
Esto funciona, claro, porque Tidbeck tiene un dominio brutal del lenguaje y de cómo narrar. Además, todos relatos tienen una personalidad muy marcada. Es, exactamente, el tipo de literatura fantástica que me gusta.
Me alegra mucho que Nevsky Prospects lo haya publicado en España, es uno de aquellos (¡otro es Raising Stony Mayhall, de Daryl Gregory!) que me gusta poder compartir con todo el mundo.
Excelente.
Esto funciona, claro, porque Tidbeck tiene un dominio brutal del lenguaje y de cómo narrar. Además, todos relatos tienen una personalidad muy marcada. Es, exactamente, el tipo de literatura fantástica que me gusta.
Me alegra mucho que Nevsky Prospects lo haya publicado en España, es uno de aquellos (¡otro es Raising Stony Mayhall, de Daryl Gregory!) que me gusta poder compartir con todo el mundo.
Excelente.
April 3, 2022
kitabın ilk yarısındaki öyküleri ikinci yarısına nazaran daha çok sevdim. ilk yarısındaki beatrice, rebecka ve arvid pekon kim (özellikle bu) öyküleri gözümde bir şaheser niteliğinde. bu öykülerin romanı olsa da o okumadaki haz devam etseydi keşke.
February 18, 2025
The shorter pieces are in particular rich and strange, and have some wonderful sentences. I'm surprised "Reindeer Mountain" was chosen for a "best of" anthology; I think it's the most straightforward and least interesting piece here.
Update: Literary Horror monthly read for Feb 2025. More notes:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Update: Literary Horror monthly read for Feb 2025. More notes:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
February 16, 2021
Karin Tidbeck ile nerede karşılaştım, hiç hatırlamıyorum! Siz de benim gibi ilginizi çeken bir şey yakalamak için sürekli tetikteyseniz ve not alırken neyi, nereden bulduğunuzu yazmıyorsanız (çünkü çok anlık oluyor bunlar hep) biraz zor oluyor işte işin bu kısmı. Her nerede karşılaştıysak iyi ki karşılaşmışız diyebiliyorum sadece çünkü bizimkisi gerçekten de “ilk kitapta aşk” oldu. Kitap demişken ise roman olmadığını baştan söyleyeyim; benim okuduğum ve kendisine aşık eden kitabı Zeplin isimli, Türkçesi İthaki Yayınları’ndan Tülin Er’in çevirisiyle yayınlanan öykü kitabı.
Kim olduğuna dair hiçbir fikriniz olmasa bile daha ilk öyküden (Zeplin) “Karin Tidbeck kesin büyülü bir yerlerde büyümüş” diyeceğinize eminim. İsveçli olduğunu öğrenince de taşlar bir nevi yerine oturuyor: İskandinav mitolojisini, masallarını, vs. bilen bilir; tanrılardan canavarlara ve perilere uzanır hepsi. Bu unsurlar Tidbeck’in öykülerinde de var. Tuhaf, gerçek üstü şeyler dönüyor olsa da sonlarında elinizde kalan his illa ki yüreğinize dokunacak, emin olun.
Devamı: https://zimlicious.com/karin-tidbeck-...
Kim olduğuna dair hiçbir fikriniz olmasa bile daha ilk öyküden (Zeplin) “Karin Tidbeck kesin büyülü bir yerlerde büyümüş” diyeceğinize eminim. İsveçli olduğunu öğrenince de taşlar bir nevi yerine oturuyor: İskandinav mitolojisini, masallarını, vs. bilen bilir; tanrılardan canavarlara ve perilere uzanır hepsi. Bu unsurlar Tidbeck’in öykülerinde de var. Tuhaf, gerçek üstü şeyler dönüyor olsa da sonlarında elinizde kalan his illa ki yüreğinize dokunacak, emin olun.
Devamı: https://zimlicious.com/karin-tidbeck-...
August 21, 2021
A wonderful book. It took a few stories for me to find my bearings, but by the time I got to "Britta's Holiday Village," I had become so thoroughly absorbed that I finished the rest in a single, unplanned sitting. It is rare to find fantasies that feel so grounded and true; equally rare to find fantasies that feel so genuinely magical and unexpected. To achieve both at once? (And "Augusta Prima" is certainly the most original take on fairies I have read, at least since Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell.)
April 10, 2013
A really great collection of what I would call "mind-cleaner" stories. They're the sort of thing that you ought to read every so often to refresh your brain. Tidbeck incorporates a good deal of Swedish folklore in her work, and not being Swedish I found it all captivating.
The stories are also nice and short! Nice, short and odd.
The stories are also nice and short! Nice, short and odd.
February 27, 2017
I wish this book was three times the length so I could be absorbed in this strange, wintery, surreal Scandinavian-folklore-inspired world longer. I could read Karin Tidbeck's stories all day, every day.
March 10, 2025
Ai margini della realtà
"Il tempo era una cosa ripugnante, una cosa umana. Non apparteneva a quel luogo. Era quel potere a fare decomporre la carne e appassire i sogni. I giardini avrebbero dovuto trovarsi oltre la presa del tempo, immersi in un costante crepuscolo; il sole appena sotto l'orizzonte, la luna che brillava piena sopra gli alberi."
Raccolta di racconti weird pescata a scatola chiusa dallo stand di Safarà Edizioni. L'autrice svedese, di cui non conoscevo né il nome né i suoi lavori, si dimostra abile nello scegliere i soggetti folcloristico-surreali delle sue storie, galleggiando tra reale e perturbante: alle volte questi soggetti vengono portati a termine con coerenza e forza visionaria (gli ultimi tre racconti); altre volte l'eccessivo lavorare di sottrazione si traduce in vacuità narrativa.
Al netto di ciò, Karin Tidbeck resta un'autrice da tenere d'occhio.
Beatrice ✹✹1/2
Un medico si innamora di un...dirigibile. Storia surreale di un amore impossibile; e della traduzione di questo sentimento in violenza. Racconto spiazzante nell'incipit quanto scolastico nello svolgimento.
Alcune lettere per Ove Lindström ✹✹✹
All'indomani della morte del padre, la protagonista scrive un diario per riflettere sul suo passato e, soprattutto, indagare sulla sfuggente figura della madre. Racconto con un soggetto folcloristico ben suggerito - soprattutto in relazione ai racconti successivi -, ma i sentimenti tra personaggi sono gestiti a intermittenza: la resa finale è quella di una storia un po' freddina.
Io e Miss Nyberg ✹✹✹1/2
La visione di una creatura scorta sul comodino diventa ispirazione per la stesura di un racconto. Ma il racconto non può proseguire perché la protagonista dello stesso è reale - quanto è imbarazzante inventarsi la vita di una persona vera per definire il destino di una creatura fittizia? Racconto che nel suo romanticismo indovina una certa tensione, la quale culmina in uno scioglimento che nobilita il weird di queste storie.
Rebecka ✹✹✹
Una ragazza è alle prese con i reiterati tentativi di suicidio della sua migliore amica. Il finale beffardo è l'aspetto migliore di un racconto che, pur destreggiandosi con un soggetto a rischio stucchevolezza, non emerge né per sottile ironia né per drammaticità.
Herr Cederberg ✹✹
Protagonista sovrappeso, a seguito di insulti verso la sua condizione, decide di costruire un veicolo volante per dare corpo alla metafora del calabrone. Racconto breve che si conclude con un finale aperto e inconsistente.
Chi è Arvid Pekon? ✹✹✹1/2
Misteriosi centralinisti - lavoratori per conto di agenzie governative - rispondono alle chiamate di soggetti randomici. Ma alcune chiamate incominciano a suggerire collegamenti con i morti e visioni dell'Inferno.
Soggetto di partenza potente; il centellinare le informazioni sul contesto, perlomeno all'inizio, chiama il lettore a orientarsi attraverso i pochi punti di riferimento concessi, dando vigore a quel senso di weird connaturato a storie di questo tipo. L'approccio parco di dettagli e il finale brusco - per usare un eufemismo - ridimensionano quello che poteva essere un grande racconto.
Il villaggio vacanze di Brita ✹✹1/2
Protagonista passa un periodo al villaggio turistico della zia. Sarà l'inizio di visioni e suggestioni a richiamare la festa di Mezza Estate. Bel soggetto al servizio di una storia inconcludente.
La montagna delle renne ✹✹✹1/2
Madre con figlie al seguito torna al suo paese d'origine per sbaraccare la vecchia casa di famiglia. Il contatto con i parenti riporta alla luce strane storie sul sangue di famiglia e una possibile maledizione generazionale. Racconto quieto che affastella dettagli weird per concludere la circolarità di una tragedia annunciata.
Marmellata di camemori ✹✹
Storia del ritrovamento di una creatura da giardino, del suo rapporto simbiotico con l'umano e dell'inevitabile separazione - se così la vogliamo chiamare. Racconto con poco da trasmettere.
Pyreth ✹✹✹
Racconto-saggio sulla figura folcloristica del changeling/mutaforma/fata. Tanti i dettagli e rimandi per quello che è quasi un tema ad argomento libero, ma l'atipicità del soggetto - perlomeno nel nostro panorama culturale - rende agevole la lettura.
Augusta Prima ✹✹✹✹ 1/2
Augusta si prepara a una partita di croquet - tra nobili e paggi - in un grande giardino reale; l'ennesima partita di una giornata che è uguale a ieri, e medesima a quella di domani. Il racconto riverbera talune atmosfere borgesiane con uno stile minimale ma preciso: tanto le gerarchie quanto le leggi della dimensione-regno sono suggerite con invidiabile puntualità. Di rilievo sia l'evoluzione della protagonista che il finale.
Zie ✹✹✹✹
Racconto che va a "precisare" le zie nell'aranceto presenti nel racconto precedente. Storia viscerale nella forma e violenta nel contenuto (gli sforzi indecifrabili e acritici per mantenere inalterato lo status quo).
Jagannath ✹✹✹✹
Le donne, quando nascono, diventano operaie dentro il ventre di Madre; gli uomini, invece, sono i fecondatori nella testa di Madre. Racconto fantascientifico irrorato di weird, suggeritore di una mini-distopia "mobile" all'interno di un contesto post-apocalittico dai contorni sfuggenti: l'alchimia tra sottogeneri è riuscita. Il finale, anelito alla libertà, precipita in uno scioglimento ambiguo che fa a pugni con tutto quello che si letto in precedenza.
"Il tempo era una cosa ripugnante, una cosa umana. Non apparteneva a quel luogo. Era quel potere a fare decomporre la carne e appassire i sogni. I giardini avrebbero dovuto trovarsi oltre la presa del tempo, immersi in un costante crepuscolo; il sole appena sotto l'orizzonte, la luna che brillava piena sopra gli alberi."
Raccolta di racconti weird pescata a scatola chiusa dallo stand di Safarà Edizioni. L'autrice svedese, di cui non conoscevo né il nome né i suoi lavori, si dimostra abile nello scegliere i soggetti folcloristico-surreali delle sue storie, galleggiando tra reale e perturbante: alle volte questi soggetti vengono portati a termine con coerenza e forza visionaria (gli ultimi tre racconti); altre volte l'eccessivo lavorare di sottrazione si traduce in vacuità narrativa.
Al netto di ciò, Karin Tidbeck resta un'autrice da tenere d'occhio.
Beatrice ✹✹1/2
Un medico si innamora di un...dirigibile. Storia surreale di un amore impossibile; e della traduzione di questo sentimento in violenza. Racconto spiazzante nell'incipit quanto scolastico nello svolgimento.
Alcune lettere per Ove Lindström ✹✹✹
All'indomani della morte del padre, la protagonista scrive un diario per riflettere sul suo passato e, soprattutto, indagare sulla sfuggente figura della madre. Racconto con un soggetto folcloristico ben suggerito - soprattutto in relazione ai racconti successivi -, ma i sentimenti tra personaggi sono gestiti a intermittenza: la resa finale è quella di una storia un po' freddina.
Io e Miss Nyberg ✹✹✹1/2
La visione di una creatura scorta sul comodino diventa ispirazione per la stesura di un racconto. Ma il racconto non può proseguire perché la protagonista dello stesso è reale - quanto è imbarazzante inventarsi la vita di una persona vera per definire il destino di una creatura fittizia? Racconto che nel suo romanticismo indovina una certa tensione, la quale culmina in uno scioglimento che nobilita il weird di queste storie.
Rebecka ✹✹✹
Una ragazza è alle prese con i reiterati tentativi di suicidio della sua migliore amica. Il finale beffardo è l'aspetto migliore di un racconto che, pur destreggiandosi con un soggetto a rischio stucchevolezza, non emerge né per sottile ironia né per drammaticità.
Herr Cederberg ✹✹
Protagonista sovrappeso, a seguito di insulti verso la sua condizione, decide di costruire un veicolo volante per dare corpo alla metafora del calabrone. Racconto breve che si conclude con un finale aperto e inconsistente.
Chi è Arvid Pekon? ✹✹✹1/2
Misteriosi centralinisti - lavoratori per conto di agenzie governative - rispondono alle chiamate di soggetti randomici. Ma alcune chiamate incominciano a suggerire collegamenti con i morti e visioni dell'Inferno.
Soggetto di partenza potente; il centellinare le informazioni sul contesto, perlomeno all'inizio, chiama il lettore a orientarsi attraverso i pochi punti di riferimento concessi, dando vigore a quel senso di weird connaturato a storie di questo tipo. L'approccio parco di dettagli e il finale brusco - per usare un eufemismo - ridimensionano quello che poteva essere un grande racconto.
Il villaggio vacanze di Brita ✹✹1/2
Protagonista passa un periodo al villaggio turistico della zia. Sarà l'inizio di visioni e suggestioni a richiamare la festa di Mezza Estate. Bel soggetto al servizio di una storia inconcludente.
La montagna delle renne ✹✹✹1/2
Madre con figlie al seguito torna al suo paese d'origine per sbaraccare la vecchia casa di famiglia. Il contatto con i parenti riporta alla luce strane storie sul sangue di famiglia e una possibile maledizione generazionale. Racconto quieto che affastella dettagli weird per concludere la circolarità di una tragedia annunciata.
Marmellata di camemori ✹✹
Storia del ritrovamento di una creatura da giardino, del suo rapporto simbiotico con l'umano e dell'inevitabile separazione - se così la vogliamo chiamare. Racconto con poco da trasmettere.
Pyreth ✹✹✹
Racconto-saggio sulla figura folcloristica del changeling/mutaforma/fata. Tanti i dettagli e rimandi per quello che è quasi un tema ad argomento libero, ma l'atipicità del soggetto - perlomeno nel nostro panorama culturale - rende agevole la lettura.
Augusta Prima ✹✹✹✹ 1/2
Augusta si prepara a una partita di croquet - tra nobili e paggi - in un grande giardino reale; l'ennesima partita di una giornata che è uguale a ieri, e medesima a quella di domani. Il racconto riverbera talune atmosfere borgesiane con uno stile minimale ma preciso: tanto le gerarchie quanto le leggi della dimensione-regno sono suggerite con invidiabile puntualità. Di rilievo sia l'evoluzione della protagonista che il finale.
Zie ✹✹✹✹
Racconto che va a "precisare" le zie nell'aranceto presenti nel racconto precedente. Storia viscerale nella forma e violenta nel contenuto (gli sforzi indecifrabili e acritici per mantenere inalterato lo status quo).
Jagannath ✹✹✹✹
Le donne, quando nascono, diventano operaie dentro il ventre di Madre; gli uomini, invece, sono i fecondatori nella testa di Madre. Racconto fantascientifico irrorato di weird, suggeritore di una mini-distopia "mobile" all'interno di un contesto post-apocalittico dai contorni sfuggenti: l'alchimia tra sottogeneri è riuscita. Il finale, anelito alla libertà, precipita in uno scioglimento ambiguo che fa a pugni con tutto quello che si letto in precedenza.
October 27, 2015
People that should read this book
Do you like the movie Trick R Treat (and you should, you know)? Despite being thoroughly 'modern' when you are alone in the dark do you secretly believe in the thin veil that separates reality from otherness and netherness? Do you have recurring nightmares about be lost in dark pine woods and of floating fairy lights in the distance trying to lure you off the path? Do you wish you could find perfume or cologne in the scent of fall leaves, fresh rain, falling snow, and books? Do you know that happily ever after, is never the actual end of the story? Yes, yes, yes- then this is the book for you.
Yes, and these stories definitely wobble through reality and unreality. They were dark, and magical, and at times I almost felt like this book was more properly seen out of the corner of my eye- if I looked too directly at it the stories might just vanish.
Not every story was a winner, some need two readings, and some were unbelievable. Beatrice, Reindeer Mountain, and Rebeckah were mindrending, dark, and fantastic. Augusta Prima was good and intriguing, lush in its surroundings. I liked Aunts, but I DEFINITLY do NOT recommend reading it while you are eating. This is how I read it. Over lunch. Because I am bad at being an adult and making smart decisions. You will find that if you are eating and reading Aunts at the same time that both processes warp and become oddly intrinsic and discomforting.
All in all I have always said that I am a short story hater, and yet, without question, this was a five star read.
Do you like the movie Trick R Treat (and you should, you know)? Despite being thoroughly 'modern' when you are alone in the dark do you secretly believe in the thin veil that separates reality from otherness and netherness? Do you have recurring nightmares about be lost in dark pine woods and of floating fairy lights in the distance trying to lure you off the path? Do you wish you could find perfume or cologne in the scent of fall leaves, fresh rain, falling snow, and books? Do you know that happily ever after, is never the actual end of the story? Yes, yes, yes- then this is the book for you.
I was fifteen years old when I devoured all of HP Lovecraft's translated works in two weeks and had a short but near-psychotic revelation that all of it was true. I recovered, but reality still has a bit of a wobble.
Yes, and these stories definitely wobble through reality and unreality. They were dark, and magical, and at times I almost felt like this book was more properly seen out of the corner of my eye- if I looked too directly at it the stories might just vanish.
Not every story was a winner, some need two readings, and some were unbelievable. Beatrice, Reindeer Mountain, and Rebeckah were mindrending, dark, and fantastic. Augusta Prima was good and intriguing, lush in its surroundings. I liked Aunts, but I DEFINITLY do NOT recommend reading it while you are eating. This is how I read it. Over lunch. Because I am bad at being an adult and making smart decisions. You will find that if you are eating and reading Aunts at the same time that both processes warp and become oddly intrinsic and discomforting.
All in all I have always said that I am a short story hater, and yet, without question, this was a five star read.
January 31, 2019
#oykuduragi Ocak seçimimdi bu kitap. İçerisinde alışılagelmiş ritmin dışında 13 öykü var. Yazar bu öyküleri 10 yılda yazmış. Verdiği bir röportajda İsveç’te yaşadığı alacakaranlık dünyadan ve öykülerinin özünden “Işığın tekinsiz ve melankolik bir niteliği var. Zannediyorsam bu hal benim yazdıklarıma da sızdı; hem tekinsizlik ve melankoli duygusuyla hem de güneşin dönmeyi bıraktığı başka bir dünyaya adım atma hissiyle.” şeklinde bahsetmiş. Kuzey ülkelerinin halk hikayelerinden beslenen, fantastik hikayeler bekliyor sizi. Eğer İskandinav kültürüne ve edebiyatına meraklıysanız keyifle okuyacağınızı düşünüyorum.
October 4, 2020
Bazı öykülerin içine girmekte zorlansam da genel olarak beğendiğim bir kitap oldu. Yazarın metaforlara dayalı anlatımı okurların öyküleri istediği gibi yorumlamasına imkan sağlıyor.
Öyküleri okuyan herkes farklı şeyler anlayıp farklı çıkarımlarda bulunabilir, bence bu önemli ve taktir edilesi bir şey..
Okuru düşünmeye ve hayal etmeye teşvik eden bu tür kitapları okumayı faydalı buluyorum.
Öyküleri okuyan herkes farklı şeyler anlayıp farklı çıkarımlarda bulunabilir, bence bu önemli ve taktir edilesi bir şey..
Okuru düşünmeye ve hayal etmeye teşvik eden bu tür kitapları okumayı faydalı buluyorum.
March 13, 2016
Loved the atmsophere. The last 3 stories were almost too weird... but that's also what I loved about this. It was weird and different and I loved Tidbeck's style. If this is "Nordic spec fic", then I need to try more.
June 26, 2022
This is a collection of short stories by the Swedish author Karin Tidbeck. Earlier, I’ve already read and enjoyed two of her novels, Amatka and The Memory Theater, which I reviewed here and here respectively. I read it as a part of monthly reading for March-April 2022 at Speculative Fiction in Translation group.
There are the following stories and their reviews:
Beatrice a weird piece that starts with Franz Hiller, a physician, fell in love with an airship. and goes on with a love story between a man and a ship and there is a very interesting feminist twist at the end. 4*
Some Letters for Ove Lindström a collection of letters of a daughter (or son?) to her/his dead father, depicting a life in a secluded part of Sweden and it is one of “there is something out there” horror. 3*
Miss Nyberg and I how to grow up a homunculus-like being. 3*
Rebecka a god continuously saves the girl from the title from committing suicide, a version of a punishment by living. 3.5*
Herr Cederberg the title’s character follows the adage about bumblebees flying despite their aerodynamics should not allow them to fly because they don’t know they’re not supposed to, and builds an impossible airship and takes it for a try. 3*
Who is Arvid Pekon? a strange world with a feel of older SF, where the protagonist works at a call service, were he ‘redirects’ calls to a requested person, but actually imitates this person. What if he is asked to impersonate himself? 4*
Brita’s Holiday Village a protagonist is a writer who is in a village, working on a novel, while having strange dreams. 3*
Reindeer Mountain a modern world, two sisters from a family that communicated with the supernatural, find an heirloom in their family house, but who should get it? 3*
Cloudberry Jam another homunculus story. 3*
Pyret a pseudo-academic article about the folklore creature that titles the story. 4*
Augusta Prima this is the first of two stories liked to the author’s novel The Memory Theater and which enrich the novel, but put alone are a bit hard to follow. This one shows the early plot line of the novel, but is viewed by a different character. 3*
Aunts in the novel there are aunts, who are constantly growing and expanding and nieces who feed and otherwise serve them. And one day this weird eternal machine halts; what should the nieces do now?. 3*
Jagannath the final story that gave a title to the whole collection is set in a strange world, where persons are vat-born inside a giant being to become cogs/parts of that being. 5*
Overall, the stories are interesting and I enjoyed listening to them, but just two months passed and my recall of most of them is so hazy that I had to check with the book.
There are the following stories and their reviews:
Beatrice a weird piece that starts with Franz Hiller, a physician, fell in love with an airship. and goes on with a love story between a man and a ship and there is a very interesting feminist twist at the end. 4*
Some Letters for Ove Lindström a collection of letters of a daughter (or son?) to her/his dead father, depicting a life in a secluded part of Sweden and it is one of “there is something out there” horror. 3*
Miss Nyberg and I how to grow up a homunculus-like being. 3*
Rebecka a god continuously saves the girl from the title from committing suicide, a version of a punishment by living. 3.5*
Herr Cederberg the title’s character follows the adage about bumblebees flying despite their aerodynamics should not allow them to fly because they don’t know they’re not supposed to, and builds an impossible airship and takes it for a try. 3*
Who is Arvid Pekon? a strange world with a feel of older SF, where the protagonist works at a call service, were he ‘redirects’ calls to a requested person, but actually imitates this person. What if he is asked to impersonate himself? 4*
Brita’s Holiday Village a protagonist is a writer who is in a village, working on a novel, while having strange dreams. 3*
Reindeer Mountain a modern world, two sisters from a family that communicated with the supernatural, find an heirloom in their family house, but who should get it? 3*
Cloudberry Jam another homunculus story. 3*
Pyret a pseudo-academic article about the folklore creature that titles the story. 4*
Augusta Prima this is the first of two stories liked to the author’s novel The Memory Theater and which enrich the novel, but put alone are a bit hard to follow. This one shows the early plot line of the novel, but is viewed by a different character. 3*
Aunts in the novel there are aunts, who are constantly growing and expanding and nieces who feed and otherwise serve them. And one day this weird eternal machine halts; what should the nieces do now?. 3*
Jagannath the final story that gave a title to the whole collection is set in a strange world, where persons are vat-born inside a giant being to become cogs/parts of that being. 5*
Overall, the stories are interesting and I enjoyed listening to them, but just two months passed and my recall of most of them is so hazy that I had to check with the book.
April 20, 2018
Nunca me cansaré de repetir que no me van mucho las recopilaciones de relatos cortos, cuentos y similares. Me parece que es complicado que, en una de ellas, me lleguen a gustar y satisfacer todos y cada uno de los relatos reunidos, y que la calidad de las mismas es demasiado variable como para que lleguen a apasionarme.
Es por ello una sorpresa encontrarme con una recopilación de relatos como este "Jagannath", de la sueca Karin Tidbeck, donde es cierto que alguna de las historias que lo componen no me parece que esté a la altura, pero en la que el resto de cuentecillos me han resultado la mar de interesantes.
Como dice Elizabeth Hand en la introducción a esta recopilación de relatos "cuando leo, sobre todo ficción especulativa, es difícil sorprenderme"....pues bien, Tidbeck y su "Jagannath" lo han hecho, y mucho...
Es por ello una sorpresa encontrarme con una recopilación de relatos como este "Jagannath", de la sueca Karin Tidbeck, donde es cierto que alguna de las historias que lo componen no me parece que esté a la altura, pero en la que el resto de cuentecillos me han resultado la mar de interesantes.
Como dice Elizabeth Hand en la introducción a esta recopilación de relatos "cuando leo, sobre todo ficción especulativa, es difícil sorprenderme"....pues bien, Tidbeck y su "Jagannath" lo han hecho, y mucho...
May 20, 2020
Bu kadar ödül kazanmış, Ursula LeGuin gibi bir Edebiyat Tanrıçasından övgüler almış, "Çok mutluyum bu yazarla tanıştığıma, diğer kitaplarını da okumayı sabırsızlıkla bekliyorum." şeklinde yorumlara sebebiyet vermiş bir kitaptan bir şey anlamadığını itiraf etmek çok acı. Ama yalan yok, anlamadım. Dolayısıyla bu yorum, kitaba değil bana geliyor sanırım :)
Oldum olası Kuzey Avrupa (İskandinavya, Danimarka, biraz da Hollanda) insanının simgesel düşünüş şeklini anlamakta zorlanmışımdır, özellikle de sinemada (bknz. Bergman) Ama bu kitap zirve oldu sanırım. Buhar makinesi doğuran kadınlar, tek işleri şişmanlayarak ortadan yarılan teyzeler, intiharın kıyısında dolaşanlar, belli belirsiz ama kırılgan ve garip yaratıklar...
Gerçeklikle girdiğimiz ilişkiyi kıran 13 hikaye (ki bu 13 de bir simge olabilir, bilemiyorum). Belki daha sağlıklı bir gerçeklik için ihtiyacımız olan şey tam da budur. Belki kurgusal bir metinde ihtiyacımız olan şey anlamak değildir. Nihayetinde Karin Tidbeck'in kurduğu atmosferi yoğun bir şekilde hissetmemek mümkün değil: kasvetli ama hassas bir alacakaranlık...
Herkese farklı bir macera önerisi olan gerçekten çok acayip hikayeler. Okumadan geçmeyin...
Oldum olası Kuzey Avrupa (İskandinavya, Danimarka, biraz da Hollanda) insanının simgesel düşünüş şeklini anlamakta zorlanmışımdır, özellikle de sinemada (bknz. Bergman) Ama bu kitap zirve oldu sanırım. Buhar makinesi doğuran kadınlar, tek işleri şişmanlayarak ortadan yarılan teyzeler, intiharın kıyısında dolaşanlar, belli belirsiz ama kırılgan ve garip yaratıklar...
Gerçeklikle girdiğimiz ilişkiyi kıran 13 hikaye (ki bu 13 de bir simge olabilir, bilemiyorum). Belki daha sağlıklı bir gerçeklik için ihtiyacımız olan şey tam da budur. Belki kurgusal bir metinde ihtiyacımız olan şey anlamak değildir. Nihayetinde Karin Tidbeck'in kurduğu atmosferi yoğun bir şekilde hissetmemek mümkün değil: kasvetli ama hassas bir alacakaranlık...
Herkese farklı bir macera önerisi olan gerçekten çok acayip hikayeler. Okumadan geçmeyin...
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