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Sidste fortællinger
Forlaget skriver: Sidste Fortællinger blev heldigvis ikke de sidste i Karen Blixens forfatterskab, for året efter - i 1958 - udkom Skæbne-Anekdoter.
Denne samling på i alt tolv fortællinger tager tråden op fra de tidligere udgivelser, bl.a. Syv fantastiske Fortællinger og Vinter-Eventyr, og gennemspiller på ny nogle af Blixens kendte hovedtemaer.
Denne samling på i alt tolv fortællinger tager tråden op fra de tidligere udgivelser, bl.a. Syv fantastiske Fortællinger og Vinter-Eventyr, og gennemspiller på ny nogle af Blixens kendte hovedtemaer.
250 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 1957
58 people are currently reading
849 people want to read
About the author
Isak Dinesen
157 books583 followersPseudonym used by the Danish author Karen Blixen.
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Danish: [kʰɑːɑn ˈb̥leɡ̊sn̩]), born Karen Christentze Dinesen, was a Danish author, also known by the pen name Isak Dinesen, who wrote works in Danish, French and English. She also at times used the pen names Tania Blixen, Osceola, and Pierre Andrézel.
Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, an account of her life while living in Kenya, and for one of her stories, "Babette's Feast," both of which have been adapted into Academy Award-winning motion pictures. She is also noted for her Seven Gothic Tales, particularly in Denmark.
(wikipedia)
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Danish: [kʰɑːɑn ˈb̥leɡ̊sn̩]), born Karen Christentze Dinesen, was a Danish author, also known by the pen name Isak Dinesen, who wrote works in Danish, French and English. She also at times used the pen names Tania Blixen, Osceola, and Pierre Andrézel.
Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, an account of her life while living in Kenya, and for one of her stories, "Babette's Feast," both of which have been adapted into Academy Award-winning motion pictures. She is also noted for her Seven Gothic Tales, particularly in Denmark.
(wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 24, 2025
This collection contains what are three of Dinesen’s best short stories, the top three. The fourth being “Babette’s Feast”,
This collection, a collection that deals primarily with lost and duality, contains a trilogy of tales “The Clock”, “Night walk” and “Of Secret Thoughts and Of Heaven”. The stories concern a young artist, Angelo, who falls in love with his mentor’s wife, and what happens when the two would be lovers decide to become lovers. The three stories make reference to the Bible, “The Clock” in particular echoes the story of Christ. Yet there is humanity in them. They also are concerned with the idea of repentance and sin. One character even points it out, “It is a good thing to be a great sinner. Or should human beings allow Christ to have died on the cross for the sake of our petty lies and paltry whorings” (47). Angelo, the would-be betrayer of his master, is faced with the choice of taking his master’s place in jail, and if his master does not return, to be executed in his stead. His master during this last night of freedom, is setting off to visit his wife – on the night that Angelo was set to visit said woman. What happens? Well, that is a question that is best left for you to discover as the reader. But that question also runs though the other two stories. It is the age old debate – knowledge or deniability, better to know or not know, to eat the apple or let it be.
Many of the stories in the collection are set in Italy, though the last couple are not and take place in Dinesen’s native Denmark. One of them “A Country Tale” is a play on the changeling idea, in particular Andersen’s tale of the same name. It deals with the duties of the family but also to society set in a backdrop as a son of cruel land owner comes to terms with a variety of factors. It also is concerned with the power of storytelling, a theme that is center to the story “Echoes” which is about an opera singer and her student.
Dinesen’s stories aren’t necessarily flashy, though they are gothic, but there is a humanity that lies at the center of them all.
Old Review
To get to Rungstedlund from Copenhagen, one takes a train. One walks from the station, past a farm that seems bred Norwegian Fjords, past a restaurant, to the harbor, where ones turns left. Shortly thereafter, you are at the home of Isak Dinesen. It is a white house surrounded by green. It seems to exist in its own world. When I was there, it wasn’t very crowded, and most of the visitors were older, causing me to wonder if they were coming because of the books or because of the movie with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. After a tour of the house, one can visit Dinesen’s grave. It is set back, along a short path. It rests in a bird sanctuary. There is a stunning beauty and peacefulness about the whole plot of land. Plain on the outside but surrounding underneath. Layered, like Russian nesting dolls with the exception that the smaller ones, the ones buried deep inside, are more beautiful colored. It is a fitting home for Dinesen.
It matches her fiction exactly.
For many people, Dinesen’s best work is Seven Gothic Tales or Out of Africa, but for me her best tale collection is Last Tales. This is because it contains the first short story I ever read by Dinesen, “The Cloak”, a story that I fell in love with, that made me hunt down Dinesen’s work.
In some ways, “The Cloak” is like Stockton’s “The Lady or the Tiger?”. The answer to the key question, the question that reader will ask is left unspoken, unanswered. It is left up to the reader, and the reader’s answer says more about the reader than about the writer, like Stockton’s short story. “The Cloak” is actually the start of a trilogy of stories that deal with the redemption and life of a man called Angelo. The three stories deal with the power of the human soul as well as the power faith. All the stories are haunting and touching. They deal with the soul.
Most of the stories in this collection focus on the aspects of faith and art that coincide, that ran in tandem. This is true from the first story of the collection, “The Cardinal’s First Tale”, which is about an artist who is also a priest. It also is about masks, and who we really are inside.
Then there is “The Blank Page” a wonderful story, very much like “Sorrow Acre” from Winter Tales. In this tale, Dinesen plays with the idea of the bloody bridal sheet as well as how stories become stories and story tellers become story tellers. It is a quiet tale.
“The Caryatids: An Unfinished Gothic Tale” discusses the price of knowledge, the cost of hidden knowledge, and the cost of knowledge that we hid from ourselves. It is a strange, effecting story. Gothic in tone, but human in its ending. As is the story that follows it, “Echoes”. This story is about a singer who has lost her voice, but finds it again.
“A Country Tale” deal with redemption in the sense of justice. What is justice? Can revenge go too far? Slightly similar in vein is “Copenhagen Season”, a dual plotted love story that shows understanding of the human heart, and the consequences that can come.
All the stories in this collection deal with forgiveness, whether it is an ability to forgive someone or an inability to forgiven oneself. All the souls deal with the effect of secrets upon the soul. All the stories deal with art and soul, how faith and art can be one.
This collection, a collection that deals primarily with lost and duality, contains a trilogy of tales “The Clock”, “Night walk” and “Of Secret Thoughts and Of Heaven”. The stories concern a young artist, Angelo, who falls in love with his mentor’s wife, and what happens when the two would be lovers decide to become lovers. The three stories make reference to the Bible, “The Clock” in particular echoes the story of Christ. Yet there is humanity in them. They also are concerned with the idea of repentance and sin. One character even points it out, “It is a good thing to be a great sinner. Or should human beings allow Christ to have died on the cross for the sake of our petty lies and paltry whorings” (47). Angelo, the would-be betrayer of his master, is faced with the choice of taking his master’s place in jail, and if his master does not return, to be executed in his stead. His master during this last night of freedom, is setting off to visit his wife – on the night that Angelo was set to visit said woman. What happens? Well, that is a question that is best left for you to discover as the reader. But that question also runs though the other two stories. It is the age old debate – knowledge or deniability, better to know or not know, to eat the apple or let it be.
Many of the stories in the collection are set in Italy, though the last couple are not and take place in Dinesen’s native Denmark. One of them “A Country Tale” is a play on the changeling idea, in particular Andersen’s tale of the same name. It deals with the duties of the family but also to society set in a backdrop as a son of cruel land owner comes to terms with a variety of factors. It also is concerned with the power of storytelling, a theme that is center to the story “Echoes” which is about an opera singer and her student.
Dinesen’s stories aren’t necessarily flashy, though they are gothic, but there is a humanity that lies at the center of them all.
Old Review
To get to Rungstedlund from Copenhagen, one takes a train. One walks from the station, past a farm that seems bred Norwegian Fjords, past a restaurant, to the harbor, where ones turns left. Shortly thereafter, you are at the home of Isak Dinesen. It is a white house surrounded by green. It seems to exist in its own world. When I was there, it wasn’t very crowded, and most of the visitors were older, causing me to wonder if they were coming because of the books or because of the movie with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. After a tour of the house, one can visit Dinesen’s grave. It is set back, along a short path. It rests in a bird sanctuary. There is a stunning beauty and peacefulness about the whole plot of land. Plain on the outside but surrounding underneath. Layered, like Russian nesting dolls with the exception that the smaller ones, the ones buried deep inside, are more beautiful colored. It is a fitting home for Dinesen.
It matches her fiction exactly.
For many people, Dinesen’s best work is Seven Gothic Tales or Out of Africa, but for me her best tale collection is Last Tales. This is because it contains the first short story I ever read by Dinesen, “The Cloak”, a story that I fell in love with, that made me hunt down Dinesen’s work.
In some ways, “The Cloak” is like Stockton’s “The Lady or the Tiger?”. The answer to the key question, the question that reader will ask is left unspoken, unanswered. It is left up to the reader, and the reader’s answer says more about the reader than about the writer, like Stockton’s short story. “The Cloak” is actually the start of a trilogy of stories that deal with the redemption and life of a man called Angelo. The three stories deal with the power of the human soul as well as the power faith. All the stories are haunting and touching. They deal with the soul.
Most of the stories in this collection focus on the aspects of faith and art that coincide, that ran in tandem. This is true from the first story of the collection, “The Cardinal’s First Tale”, which is about an artist who is also a priest. It also is about masks, and who we really are inside.
Then there is “The Blank Page” a wonderful story, very much like “Sorrow Acre” from Winter Tales. In this tale, Dinesen plays with the idea of the bloody bridal sheet as well as how stories become stories and story tellers become story tellers. It is a quiet tale.
“The Caryatids: An Unfinished Gothic Tale” discusses the price of knowledge, the cost of hidden knowledge, and the cost of knowledge that we hid from ourselves. It is a strange, effecting story. Gothic in tone, but human in its ending. As is the story that follows it, “Echoes”. This story is about a singer who has lost her voice, but finds it again.
“A Country Tale” deal with redemption in the sense of justice. What is justice? Can revenge go too far? Slightly similar in vein is “Copenhagen Season”, a dual plotted love story that shows understanding of the human heart, and the consequences that can come.
All the stories in this collection deal with forgiveness, whether it is an ability to forgive someone or an inability to forgiven oneself. All the souls deal with the effect of secrets upon the soul. All the stories deal with art and soul, how faith and art can be one.
October 31, 2021
It kā jau labi un forši, bet ļoti specifiskam lasītāju tipam, un es nekad mūžā neesmu gribējis filozofiju savās ironiskajās melodrāmās (vai otrādi).
January 17, 2022
Brīnišķīga izvēle gada pirmajai grāmatai. Jāatzīst, ka jau kopš Septiņi romantiski stāsti izlasīšanas esmu Bliksenas cienītāja, un arī šis stāstu krājums nepievīla. 19. gadsimta sākuma vide, tēmas un tēli komplektā ar 20. gadsimta autores gandrīz vai postmoderniski rotaļīgo skatījumu ir vienkārši bauda lasītājam. Iespējams, ka gaisīgie tēli ar laiku atmiņā saplūdīs vienā, bet prātā paliks neatkārtojamā noskaņa un vide.
March 15, 2020
I was surprised to find out that “Last Tales” had been meet with less enthusiasm upon its publication than a lot of the other collections of Karen Blixen. This discovery affected my reading a little bit, as I started looking for reasons why. I think I see why the reception was a little more lukewarm, but I wonder what I would have thought if I didn’t know this at all.
One reason this collection might come across a little less exquisite than some of the others is probably because it is a collection of tales from different projects Blixen was working on. This gives “Last Tales” a slightly more disjointed feel, which is a big difference from the sense of unity she created in for example “Seven Gothic Tales” and “Winter’s Tales”. Another reason might be that these tales are slightly less subtle. Blixen’s tales usually emphasize the value of silence and the unsaid. The reader is supposed to participate actively by filling in the blanks (“The Blank Page” is usually read as an allegory for how to read Blixen). “Last Tales”, on the other hand, has a tendency to offer more explanations. This makes for an easier read, but also removes some of the mystery.
I still enjoyed myself thoroughly, and love the feel of Blixen’s tales. In “Last Tales” Blixen revisits many motifs and some characters from her earlier work. In “Echoes” we meet up with Pellegrina Leoni again, the main character of my favorite Blixen story, “The Dreamers”, in a beautiful story which uses The Eucharist as a sub-text. “A Country Tale” is an excellent further exploration of the many fascinating themes of another favorite of mine, “Sorrow Acre”. In other words, “Last Tales” offers a foray into many corners of Blixen’s textual world and is perhaps especially fun to read when you already have read the rest.
As usual (and as I have pointed out before), Blixen’s tales seem to insist that by understanding literature and art, one will understand humanity. In “The Cardinal’s First Tale”, a lady asks Cardinal Salviati “Who are you?”, to which he replies: “Allow me to answer you (…) in the classic manner, and tell you a story”, indicating that if the lady understands the story, she will understand him. Later in the tale, Salviati says that “stories have been told as long as speech has existed, and sans stories the human race would have perished, as it would have perished sans water”. Yet, he indicates later that stories and modern literature in the form of the novel are two different things. Modern literature, he says, is “the literature of individuals”. It “is a noble art, a great earnest and ambitious human product. But it is a human product. The divine art is the story. In the beginning was the story”. I think that the novel in many ways is the most excellent art form in order to explore the individual psyche. And while there is much psychology in Blixen’s stories, they are of a completely different mold. Her characters are heroic and larger than life, and her stories grapple with the world of ideas to such an extent that it forces to readers to view themselves in a larger context and contemplate many eternal questions. This is why reading and interpreting Blixen’s tales is always such a satisfying, but at the same time frustratingly never ending process.
One reason this collection might come across a little less exquisite than some of the others is probably because it is a collection of tales from different projects Blixen was working on. This gives “Last Tales” a slightly more disjointed feel, which is a big difference from the sense of unity she created in for example “Seven Gothic Tales” and “Winter’s Tales”. Another reason might be that these tales are slightly less subtle. Blixen’s tales usually emphasize the value of silence and the unsaid. The reader is supposed to participate actively by filling in the blanks (“The Blank Page” is usually read as an allegory for how to read Blixen). “Last Tales”, on the other hand, has a tendency to offer more explanations. This makes for an easier read, but also removes some of the mystery.
I still enjoyed myself thoroughly, and love the feel of Blixen’s tales. In “Last Tales” Blixen revisits many motifs and some characters from her earlier work. In “Echoes” we meet up with Pellegrina Leoni again, the main character of my favorite Blixen story, “The Dreamers”, in a beautiful story which uses The Eucharist as a sub-text. “A Country Tale” is an excellent further exploration of the many fascinating themes of another favorite of mine, “Sorrow Acre”. In other words, “Last Tales” offers a foray into many corners of Blixen’s textual world and is perhaps especially fun to read when you already have read the rest.
As usual (and as I have pointed out before), Blixen’s tales seem to insist that by understanding literature and art, one will understand humanity. In “The Cardinal’s First Tale”, a lady asks Cardinal Salviati “Who are you?”, to which he replies: “Allow me to answer you (…) in the classic manner, and tell you a story”, indicating that if the lady understands the story, she will understand him. Later in the tale, Salviati says that “stories have been told as long as speech has existed, and sans stories the human race would have perished, as it would have perished sans water”. Yet, he indicates later that stories and modern literature in the form of the novel are two different things. Modern literature, he says, is “the literature of individuals”. It “is a noble art, a great earnest and ambitious human product. But it is a human product. The divine art is the story. In the beginning was the story”. I think that the novel in many ways is the most excellent art form in order to explore the individual psyche. And while there is much psychology in Blixen’s stories, they are of a completely different mold. Her characters are heroic and larger than life, and her stories grapple with the world of ideas to such an extent that it forces to readers to view themselves in a larger context and contemplate many eternal questions. This is why reading and interpreting Blixen’s tales is always such a satisfying, but at the same time frustratingly never ending process.
August 25, 2019
..izlasījis pirmās divas lappuses, biju gatavs grāmatu likt nost. bet tā kā grāmata jau tā ir īsa, ņēmos stāstu izlasīt līdz galam. ir okei, lasīt var :)
April 14, 2025
Efter en måneds betænkningstid ender vi alligevel på en 5/5
Der var godt (det meste), mindre godt (nogle af “Albondocani” kapitlerne) og så var der “Ib og Adelaide”😵😵
Der var godt (det meste), mindre godt (nogle af “Albondocani” kapitlerne) og så var der “Ib og Adelaide”😵😵
February 18, 2018
She's a simply gorgeous writer.
I've been thinking about story-telling ever since I read it, weeks ago; there are a couple of stories here which either reference story telling, or are outright about it. You'll never read anything like her, and yet I can only really describe her by comparing her - to Victor Hugo or Somerset Maugham, the way that all three have of diving deeply into their characters' mind, of telling a story that is truly about a person, because it is of and in them... but that's not quite right either, because in this book at least not a lot actually HAPPENS to these people; small things, internal things, there is very little in the way of external drama that forces self revelation or a plot line - but I've read books full of dragons, wars, and the fall of kingdoms that struck less deeply.
I'd have given this 5 stars if only these stories were finished.
I thought about The Caryatids for days after I'd read it. That's the cruelest loose end of all, the sudden realization of exactly what mistake the heroine has made, and what is sure to happen; only, can she escape her fate? Perhaps! The narrator is not omniscient, we're not being told a story of the past! But the prospect was dismal.
The best and shortest story is The Blank Page. It's about story telling, about Story, and is a perfect demonstration of the craft by a master craftsman.
I've been thinking about story-telling ever since I read it, weeks ago; there are a couple of stories here which either reference story telling, or are outright about it. You'll never read anything like her, and yet I can only really describe her by comparing her - to Victor Hugo or Somerset Maugham, the way that all three have of diving deeply into their characters' mind, of telling a story that is truly about a person, because it is of and in them... but that's not quite right either, because in this book at least not a lot actually HAPPENS to these people; small things, internal things, there is very little in the way of external drama that forces self revelation or a plot line - but I've read books full of dragons, wars, and the fall of kingdoms that struck less deeply.
I'd have given this 5 stars if only these stories were finished.
I thought about The Caryatids for days after I'd read it. That's the cruelest loose end of all, the sudden realization of exactly what mistake the heroine has made, and what is sure to happen; only, can she escape her fate? Perhaps! The narrator is not omniscient, we're not being told a story of the past! But the prospect was dismal.
The best and shortest story is The Blank Page. It's about story telling, about Story, and is a perfect demonstration of the craft by a master craftsman.
September 28, 2008
Dinesen blends art and philosophy in an engaging way in many of these tales, particularly in the "Tales from Albondocani". Though not all part of the same story, the “Tales from Albondocani” nevertheless serve as strands that are woven together to suggest a philosophy of nothing else than that to which they owe their existence: story-telling. Dinesen takes her philosophy of story-telling not just to aesthetic levels but also to theological ones, as she draws parallels between finding meaning in a story to the discovery of oneself in life. Her tales have a blend of charm and mystery to them, some dealing with the supernatural, others with simple country life. But in all her stories one encounters characters seeking to develop meaningful existence in their lives, and the story showing the struggle of living out that development in a world that places limits on one’s efforts.
January 26, 2018
Overall this book is a real swan song for those who are familiar with Dinesen/Blixen’s work, and the worst place to start for those who aren’t.
This collection is a mix of Blixen’s unfinished work, structured in three groupings of stories. Two of these, New Gothic Tales and New Winter’s Tales, refer back to Blixen’s earlier collections. The third one is taken from The Albondocani, an Arabian Nights-esque novel of interweaving tales that was never finished. While I think that Last Tales is one of her finest books, I don’t recommend it as a starting point because of these significant references to previous works. Instead I would suggest reading Seven Gothic Tales and Winter’s Tales first and, if you enjoy them, coming back to this later on. For the rest of the review, then, I will be writing under the assumption that you are familiar with Blixen’s short stories.
In spite of the split structure of the book, I mostly didn’t sense any kind of disjointedness between the tales. They read as a continuous set of stories, connected by the same sort of beautiful, elevated writing style and some of Blixen’s favourite motifs and themes – artists, aristocrats and prostitutes; God, identity and passion. All of these Blixen staples figure so heavily that the stories feel like a highly concentrated version of everything she has previously written, sometimes almost to the point of caricature – such as in Converse at Night in Copenhagen, in which a chance meeting of a king, a poet, and a prostitute in the slums of Copenhagen results in a lofty philosophical discussion on God and humanity among other things.
This wasn’t a bad thing though. Even if Last Tales says nothing wholly new, it says it more beautifully and with more power than the previous stories, focusing the essential ‘points’ of her writing to a new sharpness. This isn’t present so much in the writing style – the book isn’t nearly as quotable as Seven Gothic Tales – as in the philosophy evident in the stories. This is especially true for many of the Albondocani tales, which are so tightly controlled and deliberate in their progression of narrative and ideas that they are often content to leave the most important things unsaid.
One story that was a big miss for me, however, was Caryatids, the only story in the book that’s explicitly said to be unfinished (the others, as far as I can tell, are finished stories taken from unfinished larger works). This is a story that had all the fantastical explicitness of The Monkey and almost none of its sense of direction and purpose, ending up as an overwrought, too literal and pointless revisiting of the indeterminate sort of horror present in Seven Gothic Tales.
*********
Favourites: The Cardinal's First Tale, Night Walk, Echoes, A Country Tale, Copenhagen Season.
June 10, 2025
i read the wonderful story "sorrow acre" and wanted more in that vein, which this sort of is, but i could never quite sync up with its frequency, these nesting doll tales kept slipping through my head without really getting much purchase. as other reviewers have pointed out, this is not a good starting point for blixen's work, but its beautifully written and presents some fascinating if opaque themes
it starts with a few tales from an arabian-nights-esque cycle the revolve loosely around The Cardinal, exploring themes of responsibility and the transcendent power of storytelling........ a lot of stories in this book look at storytelling as a kind of secular creationism, or maybe not secular at all, maybe all storytelling is imbued with the divine? the poet and the priest as one..... our lives are stories, how we tell our story brings us closer to god,....... what is god
the most famous story here is "the blank page" , which begins with an old woman reflecting on the Notes You Dont Play and how a great storyteller uses silence as their greatest tool (this is a prominent theme in earlier stories in this section, whose characters wrestle with the ellipses they encounter, as does the reader). she then tells an embedded story about a convent renowned for its flax linen (made from a grain originally taken from the holy land), and how princesses must sleep on their linen sheets on their wedding night to demonstrate their virginity. clippings of these sheets are hung in the hall of princesses, but it is the one white and unidentified hanging sheet that draws the most attention from all who observe it
the second section is a couple unfinished gothic tales about women with magical powers, possible enchantresses....... in "echoes" a great singer attempts to mold a young protege...... she imbues him with a trinity of personas (son, brother, lover) and after tasting the blood from his pricked fingers is accused of being a vampire witch. blixen once called the trinity "the most deadly dull of all male companies" and it feels like she evokes this a lot when confronting our manifestation of the divine in the physical world? anyways the moral seems to be that god knows why we do what we do but men do not, and we shouldnt confuse the two, or something like that
the third section contains a couple tales of punishment and retribution, stately homes, fulfilling our stations such as they are, abiding our roles even as it causes us to suffer. a third story here "converse at night in copenhagen" imagines another trinity --king, poet, prostitute -- conversing drunkenly in a late night bar. i found this story especially compelling, and want to make note of it... the aptly named poet "yorick" describes above all the importance of mythos "the earthly reflection of my heavenly existence" i.e., the legacy of his works and the sum of his story, and he details a trinity of perfect happinesses: to feel in oneself an excess of strength (joy), to know for certain that you are fulfilling the will of god (vocation/purpose), and the cessation of pain (health and security).
im not sure how seriously we're meant to take this, but as the verdict of the barroom summit i like it -- god and the devil have the power to grant all three of these happinesses, or maybe we create them for ourselves, it's our blank page, im good with that
it starts with a few tales from an arabian-nights-esque cycle the revolve loosely around The Cardinal, exploring themes of responsibility and the transcendent power of storytelling........ a lot of stories in this book look at storytelling as a kind of secular creationism, or maybe not secular at all, maybe all storytelling is imbued with the divine? the poet and the priest as one..... our lives are stories, how we tell our story brings us closer to god,....... what is god
the most famous story here is "the blank page" , which begins with an old woman reflecting on the Notes You Dont Play and how a great storyteller uses silence as their greatest tool (this is a prominent theme in earlier stories in this section, whose characters wrestle with the ellipses they encounter, as does the reader). she then tells an embedded story about a convent renowned for its flax linen (made from a grain originally taken from the holy land), and how princesses must sleep on their linen sheets on their wedding night to demonstrate their virginity. clippings of these sheets are hung in the hall of princesses, but it is the one white and unidentified hanging sheet that draws the most attention from all who observe it
the second section is a couple unfinished gothic tales about women with magical powers, possible enchantresses....... in "echoes" a great singer attempts to mold a young protege...... she imbues him with a trinity of personas (son, brother, lover) and after tasting the blood from his pricked fingers is accused of being a vampire witch. blixen once called the trinity "the most deadly dull of all male companies" and it feels like she evokes this a lot when confronting our manifestation of the divine in the physical world? anyways the moral seems to be that god knows why we do what we do but men do not, and we shouldnt confuse the two, or something like that
the third section contains a couple tales of punishment and retribution, stately homes, fulfilling our stations such as they are, abiding our roles even as it causes us to suffer. a third story here "converse at night in copenhagen" imagines another trinity --king, poet, prostitute -- conversing drunkenly in a late night bar. i found this story especially compelling, and want to make note of it... the aptly named poet "yorick" describes above all the importance of mythos "the earthly reflection of my heavenly existence" i.e., the legacy of his works and the sum of his story, and he details a trinity of perfect happinesses: to feel in oneself an excess of strength (joy), to know for certain that you are fulfilling the will of god (vocation/purpose), and the cessation of pain (health and security).
im not sure how seriously we're meant to take this, but as the verdict of the barroom summit i like it -- god and the devil have the power to grant all three of these happinesses, or maybe we create them for ourselves, it's our blank page, im good with that
April 11, 2023
The title is a little deceptive - I believe Dinesen published two more story collections before her death in 1962 - and I would not recommend this collection to the uninitiated: only fans will be able to imagine what she would have done had she had time to complete the gothic tale "The Caryatids" or fashion the seven "Tales of Albondocani" included here into the sort "Arabian Nights" of over 100 interlocking stories that she had envisioned. But there is enough of the Dinesen magic here to more than satisfy those familiar with her work: stories within stories, stories about stories, breathtaking twists of plot, ambiguous language, themes of masculinity and femininity, honor and betrayal, art and order. I would not be the first person to suggest Dinesen's work as proto-postmodern or proto-feminist. I'm particularly fond of the final story, "Converse at Night in Copenhagen," in which a drunken boy-king stumbles upon a poet and a prostitute late at night and is invited to share their wine and conversation. (In fact I think I might reread it now!) Those for whom one of the chief pleasures of stories is surprise will find delight in any of her books, this seeming collection of odds and ends included.
July 17, 2015
I only read The Blank Page (which was a requirement for my English 11 class), and I would be outrageously lying if I said that I understood the tale in my first reading. In fact, much that I hate to admit this, I had to read this story of merely 1,000 words or so repeatedly to be able to comprehend what it was all about. No, it wasn't the writing that was particularly hard to understand...it was the prose in its entirety. What was the plot? What really was it all about? What significance did those linen portray? The questions would be endless. But once I was, even a little, beginning to formulate the meaning of everything, The Blank Page showed that you really had to think outside the box sometimes. And as readers, we need to read between the lines and try to seek what the author wants to tell us implicitly underneath those string of sentences.
February 24, 2016
More wonderful, old-fashioned, magical tales from the incomparable Dinesen.
March 20, 2016
3.5 stars
May 9, 2022
Karen Blixens skriverier deler vandene. Mange kan ikke udstå hendes bevidst gammelmodige og omstændelige fortællestil, mens andre elsker den. Hører man som jeg til den sidstnævnte gruppe, er der mange godbidder at hente i hendes "Sidste Fortællinger".
Både titlen og indholdet tyder på, at nogen efter forfatterindens død har samlet hvad der lå og flød i skrivebordsskuffer og andre gemmer og fået en slags bog ud af det. Syv af de tolv fortællinger er kapitler fra romanen Albondocani, et projekt som Blixen aldrig fik gjort færdig. Meget karakteristisk indgår både "Kardinalens første Historie" og "Kardinalens tredje Historie", mens der ikke er nogen historie nummer to fra denne prælat. De øvrige fortællinger er supplementer til de tidligere udgivne "Fantastiske fortællinger" og "Vinter-Eventyr", som de fint knytter sig til. Men igen er der noget ufærdigt over foretagendet, idet en af fortællingerne har titlen "Karyatiderne. En ufuldendt Historie". Titlen er fuldt berettiget, for det møde mellem en adelsfrue og en sigøjnerkvinde, som der lægges op til, aldrig er kommet ned på papiret.
Det interessante er imidlertid, at forfatterinden selv i levende live i 1957 har valgt at udgive bogen -endda samtidig i flere lande og på flere sprog! Måske har hun været syg og afkræftet og tænkt, at tiden var inde til at afslutte forfatterskabet.
Heldigvis gik det ikke sådan. "Sidste Fortællinger" blev lige så lidt som Frank Sinatras afskedskoncerter afslutningen på karrieren. Allerede året efter udgav hun sin i mine øjne bedste bog, "Skæbne-Anekdoter". Den kan varmt anbefales...
Både titlen og indholdet tyder på, at nogen efter forfatterindens død har samlet hvad der lå og flød i skrivebordsskuffer og andre gemmer og fået en slags bog ud af det. Syv af de tolv fortællinger er kapitler fra romanen Albondocani, et projekt som Blixen aldrig fik gjort færdig. Meget karakteristisk indgår både "Kardinalens første Historie" og "Kardinalens tredje Historie", mens der ikke er nogen historie nummer to fra denne prælat. De øvrige fortællinger er supplementer til de tidligere udgivne "Fantastiske fortællinger" og "Vinter-Eventyr", som de fint knytter sig til. Men igen er der noget ufærdigt over foretagendet, idet en af fortællingerne har titlen "Karyatiderne. En ufuldendt Historie". Titlen er fuldt berettiget, for det møde mellem en adelsfrue og en sigøjnerkvinde, som der lægges op til, aldrig er kommet ned på papiret.
Det interessante er imidlertid, at forfatterinden selv i levende live i 1957 har valgt at udgive bogen -endda samtidig i flere lande og på flere sprog! Måske har hun været syg og afkræftet og tænkt, at tiden var inde til at afslutte forfatterskabet.
Heldigvis gik det ikke sådan. "Sidste Fortællinger" blev lige så lidt som Frank Sinatras afskedskoncerter afslutningen på karrieren. Allerede året efter udgav hun sin i mine øjne bedste bog, "Skæbne-Anekdoter". Den kan varmt anbefales...
April 1, 2023
Jeg havde helt glemt hvor altmodisch Karen Blixen er. Det tager lidt tid at vænne sig til det særegene univers, som på nogle måder virker mere fremmed end megen science fiction.
Jeg synes at denne samling fortællinger havde svært ved at lette. Den første del, med titlen Kapitler af Romanen Albondocani med den kraftige em af katolske skæbner havde ærligt talt svært ved at drage mig ind. Bedre gik det, da vi nåede til Karyatiderne. Når Blixen fortæller godt, fortæller hun rigtigt godt, men der går søreme også megen tid med for mig fremmede tungsindige overvejelser.
Det er ikke mærkeligt af den sidste samling noveller fra hendes hånd bar titlen Skæbne-Anekdoter. Det tema er i så rigelig grad allerede til stede her, men jeg finder ikke hendes skæbneopfattelse kompatibel med min egen (som nok snarere er ikke-eksisterende).
Derudover ved jeg ikke hvad jeg skal synes om hendes brud med almindelige fortællekontrakter. Hendes fortællinger slutter ofte abrupt et helt andet sted end de startede, og det er på sin vis forfriskende ukonventionelt, men samtidig også banalt utilfredsstillende. Det er der muligvis en pointe i, men jeg er ikke sikker på at jeg forstår at værdsætte den.
En noget ujævn læseoplevelse.
Jeg synes at denne samling fortællinger havde svært ved at lette. Den første del, med titlen Kapitler af Romanen Albondocani med den kraftige em af katolske skæbner havde ærligt talt svært ved at drage mig ind. Bedre gik det, da vi nåede til Karyatiderne. Når Blixen fortæller godt, fortæller hun rigtigt godt, men der går søreme også megen tid med for mig fremmede tungsindige overvejelser.
Det er ikke mærkeligt af den sidste samling noveller fra hendes hånd bar titlen Skæbne-Anekdoter. Det tema er i så rigelig grad allerede til stede her, men jeg finder ikke hendes skæbneopfattelse kompatibel med min egen (som nok snarere er ikke-eksisterende).
Derudover ved jeg ikke hvad jeg skal synes om hendes brud med almindelige fortællekontrakter. Hendes fortællinger slutter ofte abrupt et helt andet sted end de startede, og det er på sin vis forfriskende ukonventionelt, men samtidig også banalt utilfredsstillende. Det er der muligvis en pointe i, men jeg er ikke sikker på at jeg forstår at værdsætte den.
En noget ujævn læseoplevelse.
October 29, 2022
Occasionally the prose is just so beautiful that it can be moving. This is the case with 'The Caryatids' -- although it is one of the unfinished tales here. A college professor of Danish literature, of blessed memory, told us all: "Watch out for Karen Blixen -- there's a formula behind so much of her work and that is that is, if only the (main) character(s) can recognize how he/she is SUPPOSED to behave in the story, i.e., what his/her 'proper' role is and whether (s)he does or does not find that solution in the story, then there's a reconciliation and resolution that comes about." And with that he was more or less done with his summation of Blixen's authorship. ... (The framework can even be a comic/ironic resolution, as can be seen in 'Babette's Feast,' although that's not in this volume.) So not all are happy tales, although his insight applies a little less to the current volume of tales.
July 14, 2024
Another fun collection from Karen Blixen!
Her syntax, her imagery, her unsettling assemblies of tales within tales and tales with no ending; figures that lurk and lean and laugh towards uncanny purpose and meaning—she eschews the normal finishes for short fiction and with her little mysteries has them reading more like zen koans then novelettes.
Great sentences:
"”To cut away from the past," he said very slowly, as if to himself, "to annihilate it, is the vilest of all breaches of the laws of the cosmos. It is ingratitude, and running away from your debt. It is suicide: you are annihilating yourself in it.””
“Still they said not a word; they swallowed down their own and their country's grief in silence. With them, in any case, it would be preserved as in a grave.”
Her syntax, her imagery, her unsettling assemblies of tales within tales and tales with no ending; figures that lurk and lean and laugh towards uncanny purpose and meaning—she eschews the normal finishes for short fiction and with her little mysteries has them reading more like zen koans then novelettes.
Great sentences:
"”To cut away from the past," he said very slowly, as if to himself, "to annihilate it, is the vilest of all breaches of the laws of the cosmos. It is ingratitude, and running away from your debt. It is suicide: you are annihilating yourself in it.””
“Still they said not a word; they swallowed down their own and their country's grief in silence. With them, in any case, it would be preserved as in a grave.”
June 26, 2022
I gave up on 'Copenhagen Season' but read the rest.
I find it hard to understand 'Copenhagen Season' - over-descriptions for too little plot - and it certainly made me question the author's reputation as a good writer. I see other reviewers have not fared so well with other stories which I struggled through. I suppose I persevered because I could detect the stories going somewhere but couldn't detect any line of story in 'Copenhagen Season' for 15 or so pages of reading.
The whole experience would make me avoid reading anything else by this author. Sad.
I find it hard to understand 'Copenhagen Season' - over-descriptions for too little plot - and it certainly made me question the author's reputation as a good writer. I see other reviewers have not fared so well with other stories which I struggled through. I suppose I persevered because I could detect the stories going somewhere but couldn't detect any line of story in 'Copenhagen Season' for 15 or so pages of reading.
The whole experience would make me avoid reading anything else by this author. Sad.
October 9, 2024
4.5, not a 5 because it is not complete, will never be completed. Still though, in its current state it is nearly perfect. Dinesen's narrative voice is crystal clear and is no novelist, but a teller of tales. Tales that must begin one way and must end in another. Tales concerning the telling of tales, social identity, aristocracy, poetry, marriage, love, art, purpose, and, of course, the supernatural. There's something for everyone in this collection. Hell, there's something for everyone within every story here.
July 19, 2021
I read The Decameron last year, early in our Pandemic. I find this similarly entertaining. Stories? Morality tales?
This feels like I'm being dropped in as a bystander in these oddly intriguing vignettes, lasting just long enough to provide me a complete break from our Covid-reality.
Many stories are set in the 1700s. I do not recall any violence as well. 👍🏽My edition included a smattering of phrases in French and German, which I enjoyed.
This feels like I'm being dropped in as a bystander in these oddly intriguing vignettes, lasting just long enough to provide me a complete break from our Covid-reality.
Many stories are set in the 1700s. I do not recall any violence as well. 👍🏽My edition included a smattering of phrases in French and German, which I enjoyed.
December 27, 2023
“Vecas kurtizānes man ir apgalvojušas, ka savā karjerā bijis jāsastopas ar jauniem mīlniekiem, kuru apskāvieni spēja atdot viņām zaudēto jaunavību. Vai tāpat nevarētu būt iedomājama jauna innamorata ar tik ģeniālu atdošanas spēju, ka pat viņas skatiens tādam, uz kuru tiek vērsts, dāvā pusdieva vīrietību?”
November 25, 2017
"The Cardinal's Third Tale," "Echoes," "The Caryatids," "A Country Tale"
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March 19, 2020Read The Cardinal's First Tale. Looked at stories vs novels; the literature of the people. Said characters are deliberately flattened for the story to shine.
December 16, 2025
Definitely the weakest collection that I’ve read by her but still with flashes of brilliance and wonder. The Cardinal’s Tales were my favorite by far, and then “Echoes.”
June 21, 2015
Not as compelling plot-wise, or as complex theme-wise, or as deep character-wise, or as rich language-wise, as Seven Gothic Tales or Winter’s Tales. But then again, those are two of the greatest books I’ve ever read, so take the three star rating with a grain of salt. It’s probably a little unrealistic to expect that she could sustain that level of brilliance throughout her entire career. Anyway, though this was something of a disappointment, I don’t remotely regret reading it, and I still plan to read the rest of Dinesen’s ouevre.
November 24, 2015
I picked this book up from Arkbooks in Copenhagen (an English language bookseller) as I wanted to grab some works by Danish authors while there on holiday. As much as I knew a collection of Karen Blixen stories wasn't likely to be my thing, given my experience with Out of Africa, but I tried keeping an open mind throughout the book. Ultimately while I recognize her skill as a storyteller the themes and cast of characters weren't accessible for me. That doesn't make this a poor collection it just wasn't my taste.
April 5, 2016
Except for the last story, there are some excellent tales, stories within stories, and captivating visuals here. The catch: most of them are unfinished. And I don't think these were written intentionally without closure. They are simply unfinished. The yarns unfold like a thread of fairy tales, grisly ones. Incest, witchcraft, curses are in order. How and where did she get all this material? I really should read up on Isak Dinesen's biography...
July 10, 2008
I was fairly amused with the bio, which said that the author married her cousin (my immature sense of humour). These are tales that you can imagine someone telling you, full of easily imagined characters and random offshoots. The stories were varied, but one of the problems I have with short stories is that you never really lose yourself in them.
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August 2, 2016K. Blixon's imagination seems to reside in 19th century Italy and France. Devastating family secrets, child-brides, dynastic wealth, Catholicism, puppeteers, and betrayed sculptors dance before the reader in a layered experience that blends the fantastically picturesque with nuanced spiritual portraits.
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