Is Mother Dead

pick

Set in Norway where Johanna returns to after 30 years. Estranged from her mother and sister who still live there. The book is about the family dynamics that go on in our minds, especially around the mother. Johanna‘s ambivalent feelings towards her mother are very relatable. I enjoyed the first half , it reads like a thriller too. But it became a bit of a trudge for me. I‘m glad I‘ve finished ( a sigh of relief ) profound , poignant , memorable.

Tamra I‘m going to see if I can get the audio. 🤞🏾 6d

Cathythoughts @Tamra I‘d say audio would be good 👍🏻 6d

sarahbarnes I liked this one too, but it was heavy. 6d

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Ruthiella I am intrigued. Parent-Child relationships are interesting to me. 6d

Cathythoughts @sarahbarnes It is heavy , but worth the read. 6d

Cathythoughts @Ruthiella Yes, me too. 6d

LeahBergen I like the sound of the first half a bit better, too. 😆 6d

Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Definitely 😂 6d

BarbaraBB Great review! 5d

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lauraisntwilder

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

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I liked this much more than Hjorth's Will and Testament, which deals with similar issues. Johanna spends so much time in her own head that at times I wondered if she was a reliable narrator, but I suppose, in the end, she was just as reliable as anyone else would be to tell the "truth." She made me nervous, but I loved her.

sarahbarnes I really liked this one! 6mo

23 likes1 comment

BarbaraBB

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

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Johanna is back in Norway after a long absence. She hasn‘t been in touch with her family for years but now that‘s she‘s back the past catches up with her and she wants to talk to her mother. It becomes an obsession, she continuously imagines what goes in on her mother‘s mind but can‘t understand why her mother doesn‘t want to reconnect. ⬇️⬇️

BarbaraBB Johanna is an unreliable narrator yet we only have her point of view. We don‘t know what‘s true and what isn‘t, just how big the impact is of a mother on her daughter and vice versa.

A fabulous sad read that I‘ll be thinking of for a while. (edited) 8mo

Cathythoughts Great review ❤️ I have it stacked already. 8mo

BarbaraBB @Cathythoughts You‘ll definitely love it. @batsy and @sarahbarnes did too 😀 8mo

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sarahbarnes Oh gosh yes, I loved this one. I‘m glad to see you did, too. It really had an impact on me. Great review. 🩵 8mo

BarbaraBB #roll100 @PuddleJumper 8mo

batsy @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes So good and will stick with me for a long time. @Cathythoughts 8mo

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 8mo

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BarbaraBB

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

#WeeklyForecast 21/24

I didn‘t get to the Old Trickster last week but am reading it now. I also started the tagged book and am loving it. The third one is by a favorite Dutch writer.

lauraisntwilder Your tagged book is in a giant stack on my bedroom floor. I hope to get to it soon! 8mo

BarbaraBB @lauraisntwilder I know what you mean, it‘s been on mine for a while too. But I am very glad I picked it up! 8mo

batsy Loved the tagged book. It brought up so many feelings! 8mo

63 likes3 comments

sarahbarnes

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

pick

This book brilliantly documents the painful journey of a woman coming to terms with her relationship to her mother, as a child and now as an adult. Along the way, more and more of her mother is illuminated. It all comes to a boiling point at the end. It is infuriating and heartbreaking and also a story of peace and redemption. I wish it had made the Booker shortlist.

BarbaraBB Fantastic review. Stacked of course! 2y

sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I think you‘ll like it! 2y

batsy Lovely review! So glad you liked it. I still think about it... Kind of haunts me, in a way. 2y

sarahbarnes @batsy I'm still thinking about it, and your comment about it haunting you really resonates with me. Parts of reading it felt so visceral to me and it's going to stay with me for a long time, too, I think. 2y

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sarahbarnes

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

One of my favorite breweries has the perfect combination of a bookish vibe and great beer. I came here to do some work but I brought this book so….

jlhammar That looks wonderful! 2y

LeahBergen That‘s a great beer glass! 🍻 2y

BarbaraBB That bar and glass look 🥰🥰 2y

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Cathythoughts That‘s a nice situation you find yourself in ❤️ I have this booked stacked already 👍🏻 2y

batsy Nice! I hope you enjoy. 2y

youneverarrived Perfect! 2y

sarahbarnes @LeahBergen @BarbaraBB I know, I love their glasses! 😍 2y

sarahbarnes @jlhammar @batsy @youneverarrived it was pretty fantastic. 😁 2y

sarahbarnes @Cathythoughts it was nice! And I‘ll be interested to hear your thoughts on the book when you get to it. I‘m really enjoying it. 2y

LoverOfLearning This place sounds incredible! 2y

Reggie That looks pretty awesome. 2y

sarahbarnes @Reggie @LoverOfLearning it‘s a pretty great spot indeed! 2y

38 likes12 comments

batsy

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

pick

"Marguerite Duras writes somewhere that every mother in every childhood represents madness. That your mother is and always will be the strangest person you will ever meet, I think she's right." I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. It feels so personal and is filled with disconcerting insights about the protagonist's estranged, disturbed "relationship" with her mother. Another person's mind is always the most chilling mystery.

batsy This is a novel of interiors that holds up a mirror to a troubled psyche. Johanna is an artist who for some reason has long since lost contact with her family, & who is now back at her home town. Her father is dead & her mother refuses to speak to her; her sister sends her terse messages that revolve around telling her to stay away. It is filled with beautiful descriptions of nature & chilling revelations that feel emotionally true. So good. 2y

batsy #InternationalBookerPrize2023 #InternationalBooker 2y

Cathythoughts Great review 👏🏻 I usually shy away from the International Booker books , but I‘m stacking this one. Love that quote about the mother being the strangest person you‘ll ever meet. ❤️ 2y

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batsy @Cathythoughts Thanks, Cathy! It is such an interesting book and yes, that quote really struck me. Her style is very different but the story reminds me of Dostoevsky a bit, in that the "thriller" aspect is related to the psyche and is wholly psychological. 2y

sarahbarnes Great review! I‘m looking forward to reading this one! 2y

erzascarletbookgasm I‘m intrigued, and stacking. Great review! 2y

Suet624 Sounds so interesting! 2y

batsy @sarahbarnes Thank you! I hope you like it. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this going in but it was so unexpected. I initially found the style (excessive comma splices) a bit weird, but then you sort of get into the rhythm of the narrator's thoughts. 2y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thanks, Jessie! 2y

batsy @Suet624 A book that made me sit up and think hard, lol. I'm keen to read her other books. 2y

sarahbarnes Thank you! The topic is definitely something I‘m drawn to. And appreciate the heads up on the style. 2y

batsy @sarahbarnes I'm glad I said something of use there because I just realised I typed, "I didn't know what I was expecting but it was unexpected" which isn't helpful at all, sorry ? 2y

sarahbarnes I sort of talk like that most of the time so it made perfect sense to me. 😂 2y

91 likes9 stack adds13 comments

Coueriamb

Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth

so-so

I‘m not sure what to make of this one. It has/had the same issue as Luda for me. Very purple prose and a strange layout- maybe the fault of the ebook. It‘s easy to follow but meandering.

I figure that‘s the point, and the story is good, but it‘s just not my thing.

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