An Altered Light

by Jens Christian Grøndahl, Anne Born (Translator)

Irene Beckman appears to have a perfect two grown children, a house in a prosperous suburb of Copenhagen, and a successful career as a family lawyer. She is cool, sophisticated, and still exotically good-looking, the dyed hair her only concession to time.
Then her husband announces that he's leaving her, and her mother reveals some unexpected information about Irene's father. Suddenly, Irene Beckman is neither wife nor daughter. Nor, she realizes, is it at all clear who she has been all these years. It is time to find out.
From the internationally acclaimed author of Silence in October, An Altered Light is another fascinating exploration of the nature of chance and relationships-between parents and children, husbands and wives, friends and strangers.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Denmark, Danish

271 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jens Christian Grøndahl is one of the most celebrated and widely read authors in Europe today. He has written plays, essays, and eleven novels. The publication of Silence in October marks Grøndahl's U.S. debut. His novel Lucca was awarded the prestigious Golden Laurels Prize in 1999. He lives in Copenhagen.

Bibliography:

Kvinden i midten - 1985
Syd for floden - 1986
Rejsens bevægelser - 1988
Det indre blik - 1990
Skyggen i dit sted - 1991
Dagene skilles - 1992
Stilheden i glas - 1993
Indian summer - 1994
Tavshed i oktober - 1996 (translated into English, Silence in October 2000)
Lucca - 1998 (translated into English under same title 2002)
Hjertelyd - 1999
Virginia - 2000 (translated into English under same title, 2003)
Et andet lys - 2002 (translated in English, An Altered Light 2005)
Piazza Bucarest - 2004
Røde hænder - 2006
Tre skridt tilbage - 2007 (essays)
Den tid det tager - 2008

Reviews

[Edita · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't know each other. You think you do, but you don't. You have merely grown accustomed to each other, but the initial wonderment is still there. A pair of blue eyes, impossible to see through. The will and faith or doubt of someone else. The initial wonderment is no longer wondrous, it has become something like insufficiency, something you hide beneath familiar habits. Habits that join us and yet obscure the early, original wonderment.
Who are you? What do you hold inside you, and what will you do with it? Where will you go? Is it too cramped, or is there too much room around all that your will and faith and doubt are pregnant with?
*
What may begun as pure coincidence acquires substance with time...
*
The world's full of wild hopes. It's just very rare for them to join hands, isn't it?
*
Life becomes a thing of the past more quickly than the future takes to arrive. That's why you are so hesitant, so terrified, of taking the leap from yesterday into tomorrow.
*
She could not know what she was on the way to. She thought it was a place she would arrive at, a place in her life, as if there were a place in life where you could stay.
*
It is still the same beginning. Life is ceaselessly altering, and there isn't a place in the world where we belong. Beginnings have no arrival, no final destination. Hope is homeless, but indomitable, flowing beneath an awning between glinting spots of light on the calm surface of the water. Bare and finely cut, shining with moist resin. A heart of poplar and spruce, light and thin enough to vibrate and resonate with everything that passes.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I was reading An Altered Light, I was very certain that it must have been written before Silence in October, I was certain that it was a rough and experimental stab at what would later successfully coalesce into a beautifully nuanced, measured, and introspective novel. Thus I was of course surprised to learn that An Altered Light in fact came after, six years after to be precise. In other words, An Altered Light was somewhat of a letdown - and I’m not being judgemental, merely honest.

I think this novel eluded me primarily because it’s so unnecessarily cluttered. Silence in October planted itself down and took root deep in me with its single-minded focus, its thorough coherence; it’s engrossingly meandering and insightful because it’s invested in only one subject, one person. An Altered Light, on the other hand, can’t seem to decide where it wants me to immerse. The divorce? The protagonist’s aimlessness? Her husband’s affair? Her affair? Her relationship with her not-real father? Her relationship with her mother - who by the way was once in love with a Jewish man who escaped Germany during the war, who by the way is her real father and an extremely gifted celloist and lived a life haunted by the shame and guilt and loneliness of the persecution of his people, who by the way was later married to a different woman who was tattooed in the camp and killed herself after the death of their son, who by the way was drafted and killed in action in Israel, and on top of all of this the protagonist also realised she had Jewish blood and what does it mean? I don’t know. Maybe the music, as abstract as the world is concrete and unpredictable, know? Oh and also she picks up a stranger on the side of the road and smuggles him across borders.

Grøndahl tried for complexity but it was to be at the cost of superficiality. He didn’t realise the simple, acute dive into one individual took us to infinitely greater depths than this ambitious trauma-uncovering genealogy research. I also couldn’t help noticing the similarities between the two protagonists in the two novels, which was the reason for my assumption in the first place, and which now makes me wonder whether or not he was trying to recapture what he did six years prior. Where Silence in October was elegant and sure, An Altered Light was muddled and borderline posturing.

Maybe I shouldn’t compare, maybe I should judge the novel for what it is, not for what it isn’t? In all fairness, An Altered Light is nowhere near as bad as I might have made it out to sound, had it been written by anyone else I might have commended it for a flawed but nonetheless occasionally sharp and full of potential attempt, yet having seen what Grøndahl could do, the excellent and gifted writer that he is, I’d expected more.

[Jolanta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jei negali pasakyti “taip”, jau pasakei “ne”

[Pieter Decuyper · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Het is aldoor hetzelfde begin. Het leven verandert constant, en er is geen plek ter wereld waar we thuishoren. Een begin heeft geen aankomst, geen eindbestemming. De hoop is dakloos, maar niet klein te krijgen, stromend onder een zonnescherm in het veranderende licht van de kalme waterspiegel. Naakt en fijngeslepen, glanzend van vochtige hars. Een hart van populier en spar, zo licht en iel dat het kan trillen en weerklinken van alles wat er passeert."

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but I did not particularly enjoy it. I felt that it was quite slow-moving and I was uninterested in the overall plot and characters.

[Henni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jeg må nok bare indrømme at jeg ikke er til de danske såkaldte kunstneriske forfattere, som Peter Høgh og Jens Christian Grøndal - de er for højtravende og filosofiske for mig.
Men er du til "lad os lave en indskudt sætning i denne indskudte sætning, som var en del af den anden sætning som alligevel kun handlede om en flygtig tanke"...vil du nok elske den.

[Okidoki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utspelar sig i Köpenhamn. 56åriga advokaten Irene Beckman funderar och ältar sig igenom sitt hela liv (fyrtiotalist) med anledning av att mannen lämnar henne för en annan. Romanen innehåller en del kloka ord, men det händer inte mycket. Långsamt tempo som saknar underhållningsvärde.
Tröttnade på sällskapet efter halva boken. Boken nominerades till Impacpriset år 2006.

[John Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one thinks of domestic type fiction, you often can't imagine it being written by a man. This is the second of Jens Christian Grondahl's book that I have read; the other was SILENCE IN OCTOBER. The books start out in a similar fashion with one spouse leaving a relationship after many years of marriage. In the previous book, it was the woman; while here it is the man. The narrators for both books is the spouse left behind. But that is where these books differ. Irene does not seem terribly distraught by her husband's leaving her for another woman. She has had some infidelity in her past and finds out her mother did, too. In fact, she finds out that the man she thought had been her father was not actually her father. The second half of the book details her search for the original father, who never really knew she had been born. I ended up liking the book quite well as he explores the different ways that families work as Irene starts to examine her own background, one that is far different from the family description she would have given as she grew up.

[Darjeelingdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je suis un peu partagée sur ce livre. C’est extrêmement bien écrit, pour une analyse très fine et très fouillée des sentiments du personnage principal, Irène. Le livre est le récit de cette introspection, ces remises en question ( « ai-je bien fait de..? , « n’aurait-il pas mieux valu..? », « pourquoi ai-je accepté de.. », « l’ai-je vraiment aimé ? » ) et les nombreux retours en arrière sur sa jeunesse, sa mère, son couple, son adultère. Réflexion sur la vie de couple, la vieillesse, et même sur l’évolution de la société depuis les années 50 (1950 ) et l’émancipation féminine.
Le récit suit les méandres des pensées d’Irene, s’attarde, revisite encore les mêmes épisodes, ça tourne un peu en boucle et j’avoue que je me suis un peu lassée .
Malgré tout, l’écriture est vraiment plaisante et j’essaierai un autre livre de cet auteur que je ne connaissais pas du tout.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could rate it as a 3.5 I would. Slow moving at times but quite an interesting read all the same. Some of the writing was incredibly insightful- I had to double check that the author was male, he was on point with his capture the female mind. It could be quite a good bookclub book for discussion - if your bookclub were prepared to be absolutely honest the discussion would perhaps be an emotionally tough one, if not, there would be enough to discuss on a practical, world affairs level.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard book to read, and certainly not for everyone. It is very introspective, dealing as it does with Irene's continual sense of ambiguity. Who is she really? has her life gone the way she wants? did she actually choose or did she fall in to it? is she living or just existing? is there one defining thing that set her life's course? can she change? She gets her chance to find out, and at the end shows us a new daring woman.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not everyone will appreciate Grondahl's methodical musings on family relationships, but I happen to be one. Written with honesty and so many good lines, he always offers something to ponder. "If you can't say yes, you've already said no." "You shouldn't think about the past so much...Looking back only gives you a stiff neck."

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The trademark of this author is introspective and philosophical books. While I think his formula works very well in short novels, I find that it becomes tedious and long-winded in lenghty novels such as this one.

I recommend reading 'Often I am Happy' by the same author. The story is very similar, but the short lenght somehow makes it so much more poignant.

[Gerda Mikkelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Åha... Jeg elskede sproget og plottet og alt ved bogen - undtagen indlæseren.
Hun dræbte den fuldstændig.
Så nu glæder jeg mig til at høre den næste bog af Jens Christian Grøndahl, indlæst af forfatteren selv.

[Selma Klinkhamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wat kan deze man toch goed schrijven! Een mooie zoektocht van de hoofdpersoon naar zichzelf nadat ze door haar man verlaten is en erachter komt dat haar vader niet haar biologische vader is. Hier en daar toch wat saai; minder vaart in het verhaal.

[Ursula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insufferable.

[Jolieg G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het duurde een poos voor het me kon boeien.
Het loopt erg traag maar toch door gezet.
Vond het een mooi en triest verhaal.
Je leert de beweegredenen waarom alles zo is gelopen.

[Jesper Kamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mega knap geschreven maar soms een net iets te overdreven literaire bouquetreeks. Had eigenlijk continu zin om hem eindelijk uit te hebben want er gebeurt vrij weinig.

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai lu ce roman à petit pas, pendant mon déménagement, ce qui explique qu'il m'ait moins plu que les deux précédents que j'avais lus juste avant du même auteur. J'ai lu du début à la fin, sans me passionner pour l'histoire ou les personnages.

[Sara Sheehy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about the journey, not the destination. If you're looking for a climactic plot or storyline - this isn't the book for you. Grondahl weaves a story of meaning and fluidity, but not action.

This book reads almost as if your head is in the fog. The writing style is slightly out of the ordinary (which I believe is a mixture of Grondahl's personal style and it's translation from Dutch), and you sail along with Irene through her thoughts, past, and present. There is no clear boundaries between any of those states of mind.

I found the book to be an enticing read, mainly for it's flow and style. I didn't finish the book feeling triumphant, I finished it feeling satisfied.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

We can escape from places and escape to places. We can escape from people and escape to people. But we can never ever escape away from ourselves or into ourselves.

“’When Magnus was five, he said something I’ve been thinking about lately.’ ‘Inside, you are alone,’ he said, ‘and outside you are with others.’ ‘I forgot to ask him if there’s a door between inside and outside.’” 160

"Life is ceaselessly altering, and there isn't a place in the world where we belong. Beginnings have no arrival , no final destination. Hope is homeless, but indomitable, flowing beneath an awning between glinting spots of light on the calm surface of the water."

[Sandra]

This book was a little slow for my taste. It's written by a European author and I'm not sure if some of the writing was lost in translation, but it was a little too philosophical and depressing. After reading "Eat, Pray, Love" I really thought it would be another story of a divorced woman finding a new life for herself. I was sorely mistaken and only finished the thing out of principle. Would not suggest it to others.

[Rebecca Ferrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cerebral book. The only comparable author I have read to this point is Virginia Wolf. The ruminations can be tedious if one is in the mood for more action, but it's worth picking up this book when one is in the mood for its philosophizing and can read it without rushing through to just get to the end of the chapter or passage. It leaves one with a strong feeling of solitude for many reasons which will become clear to the reader as s/he progresses through the novel. Well worth reading, but don't pick it up if you're in the mood for an action thriller!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story from Grondahl. I enjoyed Silence in October too. I would have given it 5 stars but the story seemed hurried at the end with the main character meeting her long lost father and the subplot of Thomas and Tatiana. The story is at its best when the author ponders themes of loneliness, relationships between lover, spouses and parents. Grondahl always offers food for thought.

[SWC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an English translation of a Danish novel. The story is told through the eyes of Irene. Curiously to me, the author is male. The story ends with Irene driving across the Austrian border with a stolen cello, an unknown passenger in the trunk, and a father in Vienna she got to know far too late. The journey to get there was intriguing.

[Susanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried hard to get through this book, but by page 162 it just wasn't worth the time anymore.
It started out as a promising narrative, but the endless introspection and inner dialogue mad me lose interest after just a few chapters.
It is well written, but it there was nothing that made me interested in neither the characters nor the plot.

[Buffone · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a climactic plot or storyline - you'll do it in vain. Grondahl weaves a story of meaning and fluidity, but not of shrill action.
This book reads mostly as if your head is in the fog.
Yet Irene Beckmann is haunted by this advice: "If you don't say no to something, you have already said yes", and vice versa.

[Jacomine Nortier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een mooi goed boek, helemaal geschreven volgens de regels der kunst. Maar het gáát maar door met dat analyseren, op een gegeven moment weet ik het wel. Ik kan de drijfveren - of het gebrek daaraan - van anderen niet altijd volgen.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wel een aardig boek maar zeker geen topper. Aanvankelijk wat saai en zoals iemand hieronder ook al zegt, ik kreeg een beetje genoeg van het overmatige, voortdurende analyseren van Irene...
Het meest interessant vond ik te lezen over Irenes zoektocht en later het contact met haar vader.

[Paige]

on short list for European Literature Prize for 2011