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This House Is Mine
This House Is Mine: A Novel | D๖rte Hansen
14 posts | 13 read | 12 to read
All her life Vera has felt like a stranger in the old and drafty half-timbered farmhouse she arrived at as a five-year-old refugee from East Prussia in 1945, and yet she can’t seem to let it go. Sixty years later, her niece Anne suddenly shows up at her door with her small son. Anne has fled the trendy Hamburg neighborhood she never fit into after her relationship imploded. Vera and Anne are strangers to each other but have much more in common than they think. As the two strong-willed and very different women share the great old house, they find what they have never thought to search for: a family. Told in skillfully crafted alternating points of view and a nonlinear storyline, D๖rte Hansen’s internationally bestselling debut novel showcases her impressive talent for characterization and dialogue in an exceptional book that combines emotional depth and humor. The author’s sparse language and sometimes oblique references make for a deeply immersive reading experience, and the characters will resonate long after the last page has been turned.
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review
Ruthiella
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Pickpick

3rd #10BeforetheEnd book read

I really liked this, but it took a while to get going. Generational trauma/mothers and daughters, sad but with a fair bit of light comedy interwoven as well. Hansen particularly pokes fun at city folk with idealistic ideas about rural life. Vera came to Northern Germany as a child refugee from the east just after WWII. She becomes a local eccentric & refuge herself for her niece and grandnephew some 30 years later.

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Ruthiella
Altes Land: Roman | D๖rte Hansen
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#WhereAreYouMonday

This Monday I‘m in Northern Germany, outside of Hamburg with a newly separated mother of a toddler and her eccentric Aunt Vera, who came to the village as an ethnic German refugee from what is now Poland after WWII. A bit romantic comedy, a bit family history, a bit satire on society, especially city life vs rural.

bookandbedandtea That sounds good! 2w
Ruthiella @bookandbedandtea So far, so good! ๐Ÿ‘ 2w
59 likes1 stack add2 comments
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nosferatu
Altes Land: Roman | D๖rte Hansen
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Pickpick

A story of loss, regret and redemption, told in loosely connected chapters that each focus on different characters. I smiled, I chuckled, I pondered my own lifeโ€˜s decisions. Despite making some questionable stylistic choices, Hansen excels at creating deep and ambiguous characters, the kind that could easily exist somewhere out there. Iโ€˜m excited to read her other two novels.

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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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I found these beautiful robins‘ eggs yesterday ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿฆ I‘ll be keeping an eye on them!! I just investigated and it‘s very rare for them to have 5 eggs! @Lcsmcat

#Birdonthecover
#BloomingBibliophiles

Sing is one of my all time favorites!! โค๏ธ

OriginalCyn620 That‘s awesome! Take pics after they hatch! ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ’™ 5y
Andrew65 Wow! They‘re gorgeous. (edited) 5y
charl08 Wow, what a beautiful nest. 5y
See All 19 Comments
Lcsmcat Are they out in the open? Bluebirds usually nest in cavities. But robins‘ eggs are also a beautiful blue. I‘m curious to see when they hatch. (edited) 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Lcsmcat maybe they are Robin‘s‘ eggs! I was doing yard work and the moma flew out of the tree/bush beside me and scared me to death so I investigated.. I didn‘t touch near them! (edited) 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 I guess I lost my words!! Thank you ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ’™ (edited) 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620 I will! I have a video from some from last year! I‘ll send it to you ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿฆ 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Andrew65 ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿฆ 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @charl08 ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ’™ 5y
batsy So pretty! 5y
squirrelbrain What a gorgeous colour! 5y
Nute The nest is perfect and the eggs are beautiful!๐Ÿ’™ 5y
Tamra One of the most amazing colors of nature! 5y
Read-y_Picker @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks That‘s beautiful! But tread lightly... nesting Robins are viciously territorial. We had divebombers a few years ago on the balcony. 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Read-y_Picker yes, I know!! She flew away and I snapped it!! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @batsy ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿฆ 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Tamra right!! ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’™ 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Nute I love finding them ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿฆ 5y
95 likes1 stack add19 comments
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thewallflower0707
Altes Land: Roman | D๖rte Hansen
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A very intimate & special author voice for her first book! I nearly cried a few times. Really enjoyed it.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I took this picture early in the morning shortly after we arrived. Later the beach was absolutely packed with tourists.
#beach #bookcover #holiday #summer

9 likes1 stack add
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thewallflower0707
Altes Land: Roman | D๖rte Hansen
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The five books on the left I brought with me to my parents, the three books on the right I bought today at our local book store.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Die Geschichte der Bienen
Altes Land
Let‘s see if I can read them all in August ๐Ÿ™Œ.

#bookhaul #shopping #newbooks

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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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From the tbr shelf!!

#Birds #SpringIntoReading ๐Ÿฆ…

vumblereads Beautiful shelf! 6y
Pricel101 Omg I love this book! Lovely shelf ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ“šโค๏ธ 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vumblereads thank you!!! ๐Ÿ’— 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Pricel101 thank you!! ๐Ÿ’ž 6y
vkois88 Gorgeous 6y
100 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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Another one from the tbr shelf with #leaves on the cover!! Has anyone read this one?! ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‚๐Ÿ–ค

#Fallintoreading

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Sounds interesting! 6y
TheBookBabes Gorgeous! 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheBookBabes thank you!! ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‚ 6y
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled it does! I picked it up at Goodwill a while back โ˜บ๏ธ 6y
Cathythoughts Great pic ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿปโค๏ธ 6y
vkois88 Loooove this picture! 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88 thank you ๐Ÿ’— 6y
121 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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coffeenebula
Altes Land: Roman | D๖rte Hansen
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Pickpick

Finished my challenge with the excellent Altes Land by Dörte Hansen which my mom sent to me from Switzerland - thanks Mom! โค๏ธ This book is available in English under the title This House is Mine, but I‘m not sure how well the beautiful language, the dry humor, the Plattdeutsch and razor sharp observations would translate. One of my favorite reads this year!

DivineDiana ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ“š๐ŸŽ‰ 7y
Mommamanzi Great job! 7y
See All 10 Comments
LeahBergen ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป 7y
JessClark78 ๐ŸŽŠ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽŠ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ‘ 7y
rubyslippersreads ๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿ“š๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿ“š๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰ 7y
julesG ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘ 7y
drokka ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰ 7y
Jas16 ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿฝ 7y
hes7 Yay! ๐ŸŽ‰ 7y
50 likes10 comments
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kspenmoll
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#FreshPick #SpringFlingReading @jess.how
This is my #freshpick as I just got it at the library & it's first chapter is titled: Cherry Trees. How spring is that?!

SaraFair Our Yoshino Cherry trees have bloomed this week! Love them. 8y
54 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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JulAnna
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Pickpick

You can't see the book cover very well, but you get the point! ๐Ÿ˜ŠGreat book, beautifully written, good way to start the year!

21 likes1 stack add
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JulAnna
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Read Harder challenge for 2017. I don't do challenges to increase my number of books read, but to expand the types of books I read and get out of my comfort zone. A debut novel to begin. . . .

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nikanaaa
Altes Land: Roman | D๖rte Hansen
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sr_rolando Das hat doch letztes Jahr diesen Preis da gewonnen , nicht wahr? 8y
nikanaaa Keine Ahnung, darauf achte ich nicht so. Ich lese das Buch wegen einer persรถnlichen Empfehlung. 8y
1 like2 comments
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ThursdayN
K๖rsbไrslandet | D๖rte Hansen
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The cover made me pick it up. Halfway through and it's good!

MrBook It is a great cover ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป. 8y
10 likes1 stack add1 comment