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Pępowina #1-2
Pępowina
Czy brak miłości się dziedziczy? I czy da się od tego uciec?
Małe szwedzkie miasteczko. Jesienny sztorm. Nadciąga powódź. Grupa mieszkańców znajduje schronienie w restauracji Minny.
Z czasem aż trudno uwierzyć, że to przypadek ułożył listę przepełnionych trwogą gości... Restauracja staje się dla nich więzieniem. Schwytani w pułapkę, z godziny na godzinę coraz bardziej rozpaczliwie wypatrują ratunku. Stres wyzwala w nich skrajne emocje, uwalnia demony przeszłości, na jaw wychodzą coraz mroczniejsze tajemnice..
Małe szwedzkie miasteczko. Jesienny sztorm. Nadciąga powódź. Grupa mieszkańców znajduje schronienie w restauracji Minny.
Z czasem aż trudno uwierzyć, że to przypadek ułożył listę przepełnionych trwogą gości... Restauracja staje się dla nich więzieniem. Schwytani w pułapkę, z godziny na godzinę coraz bardziej rozpaczliwie wypatrują ratunku. Stres wyzwala w nich skrajne emocje, uwalnia demony przeszłości, na jaw wychodzą coraz mroczniejsze tajemnice..
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
10 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Majgull Axelsson
32 books271 followersMajgull Axelsson (b. 1947) is a famous Swedish journalist and writer. She grew up in Nässjö and had education in journalism.
Her first book was non-fiction, and focused on the problems of child prostitution and street children in third world, and poverty in Sweden. April witch is her second novel, and one that was well received in Sweden. With over 400,000 copies sold in hardcover, It landed on several bestsellers lists for months and received important Swedish literature awards including the Moa Martinsson Prize Jörgen Eriksson's Prize and Augustpriset. It addresses themes of mother-daughter relationships, competition between women, and the failures of Sweden's postwar welfare state.
Axelsson lives with her husband on Lidingö.
(From wikipedia.org.)
Her first book was non-fiction, and focused on the problems of child prostitution and street children in third world, and poverty in Sweden. April witch is her second novel, and one that was well received in Sweden. With over 400,000 copies sold in hardcover, It landed on several bestsellers lists for months and received important Swedish literature awards including the Moa Martinsson Prize Jörgen Eriksson's Prize and Augustpriset. It addresses themes of mother-daughter relationships, competition between women, and the failures of Sweden's postwar welfare state.
Axelsson lives with her husband on Lidingö.
(From wikipedia.org.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 9, 2023
W małym szwedzkim miasteczku, na wskutek powodzi, kilkoro mieszkańców zamyka się w restauracji Minny. Sytuacja staje się o tyle groźna, że po jakimś czasie okazuje się, że ci mieszkańcy nie mogą z tej restauracji wyjść. Nerwy spowodowane całą sytuacją oraz niepewność powodują, że ci ludzie zaczynają wyzwalać swoją agresję i ujawniają się różne tajemnice.
Ta książka jest przede wszystkim o relacjach, na różnych płaszczyznach: matki z córką, ojca z córką, między kobietą, a mężczyzną, między kobietami, między mężczyznami i tak dalej. Pojawia się równocześnie znany motyw - jak dzieciństwo, to jak traktują nas rodzice oraz jakie emocje w nas przelewają, ma wpływ na nasze decyzje w późniejszym okresie oraz traktowanie innych osób.
To moja druga książka tej autorki. Wcześniej czytałam "Ta, którą nigdy nie byłam", którą określiłam jako trudną, zawiłą, ale zarazem z tym czymś co przytrzymuje czytelnika do samego końca. Tutaj jest inaczej, niestety, jak dla mnie, gorzej. Chyba ogólnie mam problemy z książkami, które są o relacjach międzyludzkich, bo nie chwytają mnie za serce i są dosyć w mojej pamięci ulotne. Ogólnie ta książka jest napisana bardzo ciekawie, autorka lubi bawić się słowem dla stworzenia ciekawych wizji, ale sama tematyka nie była taka dla mnie.
"Ta, którą nigdy nie byłam" dostała ode mnie trzy gwiazdki. Ta pozycja dostanie dwie.
Ta książka jest przede wszystkim o relacjach, na różnych płaszczyznach: matki z córką, ojca z córką, między kobietą, a mężczyzną, między kobietami, między mężczyznami i tak dalej. Pojawia się równocześnie znany motyw - jak dzieciństwo, to jak traktują nas rodzice oraz jakie emocje w nas przelewają, ma wpływ na nasze decyzje w późniejszym okresie oraz traktowanie innych osób.
To moja druga książka tej autorki. Wcześniej czytałam "Ta, którą nigdy nie byłam", którą określiłam jako trudną, zawiłą, ale zarazem z tym czymś co przytrzymuje czytelnika do samego końca. Tutaj jest inaczej, niestety, jak dla mnie, gorzej. Chyba ogólnie mam problemy z książkami, które są o relacjach międzyludzkich, bo nie chwytają mnie za serce i są dosyć w mojej pamięci ulotne. Ogólnie ta książka jest napisana bardzo ciekawie, autorka lubi bawić się słowem dla stworzenia ciekawych wizji, ale sama tematyka nie była taka dla mnie.
"Ta, którą nigdy nie byłam" dostała ode mnie trzy gwiazdki. Ta pozycja dostanie dwie.
October 20, 2019
På grund av att romanen är skriven in-media-res tar det en stund att få rätsida på handlingen, men sen blir det tydligt. Jag tycker mycket om hur Axelsson låter sitt deterministiska budskap komma fram via dessa dynamiska karaktärer. Jag tror tyvärr inte heller att ett äpple kan falla speciellt långt från trädet. Det är en oerhört mörk bok detta om det värsta som kan hända, klass- och könshierarkier och om att kvinnors sexualitet får samhället att få i baklås. Men jag skrattar ändå högt ibland, kanske mest tack vare Katarina Ewerlöfs teatrala uppläsning.
”De enda normala människor man vet är de man inte känner!”
Kanske lite väl många dödsfall för min smak dock. Och lite förutsägbart slut.
”De enda normala människor man vet är de man inte känner!”
Kanske lite väl många dödsfall för min smak dock. Och lite förutsägbart slut.
April 28, 2017
Oh. My.
These characters (perhaps except Tyrone) will stay with me for a long time. Some of the stories truly broke my heart. And I couldn't help but think of my mother, grandmother, and all the mothers before them - I wish I knew their stories. The importance of these stories, or the lack of, is evident in Axelsson's novel.
Having said that, it is the story of the minor character Anette, who truly touched my heart - she was such a broken person! Her part of the story is small, but important, devastating. Still, no matter how much she annoyed and angered me, no matter how much I despised her, I could not help but sympathize with her. Still...
Oh, but there is so much to be said about this novel! I wish I could discuss it with others.
These characters (perhaps except Tyrone) will stay with me for a long time. Some of the stories truly broke my heart. And I couldn't help but think of my mother, grandmother, and all the mothers before them - I wish I knew their stories. The importance of these stories, or the lack of, is evident in Axelsson's novel.
Having said that, it is the story of the minor character Anette, who truly touched my heart - she was such a broken person! Her part of the story is small, but important, devastating. Still, no matter how much she annoyed and angered me, no matter how much I despised her, I could not help but sympathize with her. Still...
Oh, but there is so much to be said about this novel! I wish I could discuss it with others.
July 4, 2022
Moderspassion - (2011) av Majgull Axelsson.
Majgull är helt otroligt bra på att förstå sig på och beskriva människor i livets alla olika svårigheter och trauman. En mästare på att skapa större förståelse mellan människor. Även att berätta om när människors olika behov krockar.
Tänker på Hjalmar Söderbergs kända citat, om att själen ryser för tomrummet och vill beröra på vad sätt som helst. (Citatet är ej korrekt återgivet korrekt här. Bara en liten minnesbit.) Majgull gör hans ord än strörre och djupare. Majgull Axelsson är en mästare i berättande.
Majgull är helt otroligt bra på att förstå sig på och beskriva människor i livets alla olika svårigheter och trauman. En mästare på att skapa större förståelse mellan människor. Även att berätta om när människors olika behov krockar.
Tänker på Hjalmar Söderbergs kända citat, om att själen ryser för tomrummet och vill beröra på vad sätt som helst. (Citatet är ej korrekt återgivet korrekt här. Bara en liten minnesbit.) Majgull gör hans ord än strörre och djupare. Majgull Axelsson är en mästare i berättande.
August 23, 2024
3,5 *
November 3, 2025
Tog sig på slutet.
October 3, 2013
"Mother's Passion" was really good! Surprisingly so considering the terrible title. I'm not sure how the author did it, but she managed to make a page-turner out of a book with very little plot and lots of feelings, thoughts, and relationship stuff.
July 28, 2014
En bladvändare och den bästa sen Aprilhäxan. Om utsatthet och utanförskap, men inte utan hopp. Så bra.
March 10, 2019
The quickie
1. Three words to describe it: dramatic, dark, raunchy (haha, never used that one before!)
2. Main theme: how we get stuck in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and how that can be the most lethal poison
3. Leaves you feeling: somber but with some hope
4. Read this book if you: enjoy seeing lives intertwine thought puzzled narratives and want to scratch the surface and step into someone else’s internal dialogue – their life – for a moment
5. Don’t read this book if you: think romcom is the big deal, or need swords and magic and perfect characters to appreciate a story
6. Life lesson to be learned from: To not get so stuck in our lives and our own narratives that we forget we have the power to change everything about them if we want to.
The review attempt
Moderspassion — roughly translated Motherly passion or maybe Mother's passion? – is novel with split narratives sprouting from a group of people, mostly strangers to each other; who find their refuge from a terrible storm and flood at Sally’s cafe and restaurant outside the small town of Arvika. After the first chapter, narrated by the owner of Sally’s, Minna, we as readers might think we have a fairly good grasp who these people, sheltered at Sally’s during the storm, are – or at least their type of character. However, as the narrative moves on from Minna, allowing the reader to see these strangers selves and lives from their own eyes, we realize just how little can actually be ascertained about a person just looked at from the outside. Though not at all being a sentimental novel, these narratives call on our compassion for the characters presenting them. The character portraits are by no means pretty – in fact, the feeling of antipathy might be just as present as any sympathy – but the characters are real enough within the covers of the novel (to be critical, they do border on parodic in some instances, but with some goodwill one can let that go for the purpose of puzzling the story together) to, at the very least, awaken a sense of understanding of how framed our lives and selves are, by the stories we tell about them to ourselves and to others.
There is no picture perfect in this novel – except maybe in the grandness of the storm and in the beautiful nature surrounding Sally’s and Arvika. As imperfect as the characters are – because this is a novel about people, not about grandiose events – they are perfect for the purpose of delivering what might be the morale of the story: that our lives are no more and no less than what we tell ourselves they are. We see this in all the narratives of the novel, perhaps most so in Minna’s. Minna makes her life’s story out to be much more full of live than it actually is, denying a truth so hard to come to terms with that she convinces herself to believe completely in another life, although it is not there… We see this also in how the inevitableness of life, the causality of one thing leading to the next, is depicted in the novel: how one lie told there inevitably leads to this tragedy here. It’s a well woven webb, where the narratives overlap and the use of flashbacks slowly build the puzzle showing the chain of events, creating the sense that the outcome cannot be averted.
Just as the characters find themselves both saved and trapped at Sally’s during the storm, they are safe but imprisoned in the idea of their lives – they are stuck with the way things are, no matter if they want for change or for more, or if they don’t. This notion is present in the novel to such an extent that at times, the reading is quite despairing. But there are enough turns in this novel to give the reader hope for a better tomorrow, although it won’t be all roses and sunshine and popsicles.
1. Three words to describe it: dramatic, dark, raunchy (haha, never used that one before!)
2. Main theme: how we get stuck in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and how that can be the most lethal poison
3. Leaves you feeling: somber but with some hope
4. Read this book if you: enjoy seeing lives intertwine thought puzzled narratives and want to scratch the surface and step into someone else’s internal dialogue – their life – for a moment
5. Don’t read this book if you: think romcom is the big deal, or need swords and magic and perfect characters to appreciate a story
6. Life lesson to be learned from: To not get so stuck in our lives and our own narratives that we forget we have the power to change everything about them if we want to.
The review attempt
Moderspassion — roughly translated Motherly passion or maybe Mother's passion? – is novel with split narratives sprouting from a group of people, mostly strangers to each other; who find their refuge from a terrible storm and flood at Sally’s cafe and restaurant outside the small town of Arvika. After the first chapter, narrated by the owner of Sally’s, Minna, we as readers might think we have a fairly good grasp who these people, sheltered at Sally’s during the storm, are – or at least their type of character. However, as the narrative moves on from Minna, allowing the reader to see these strangers selves and lives from their own eyes, we realize just how little can actually be ascertained about a person just looked at from the outside. Though not at all being a sentimental novel, these narratives call on our compassion for the characters presenting them. The character portraits are by no means pretty – in fact, the feeling of antipathy might be just as present as any sympathy – but the characters are real enough within the covers of the novel (to be critical, they do border on parodic in some instances, but with some goodwill one can let that go for the purpose of puzzling the story together) to, at the very least, awaken a sense of understanding of how framed our lives and selves are, by the stories we tell about them to ourselves and to others.
There is no picture perfect in this novel – except maybe in the grandness of the storm and in the beautiful nature surrounding Sally’s and Arvika. As imperfect as the characters are – because this is a novel about people, not about grandiose events – they are perfect for the purpose of delivering what might be the morale of the story: that our lives are no more and no less than what we tell ourselves they are. We see this in all the narratives of the novel, perhaps most so in Minna’s. Minna makes her life’s story out to be much more full of live than it actually is, denying a truth so hard to come to terms with that she convinces herself to believe completely in another life, although it is not there… We see this also in how the inevitableness of life, the causality of one thing leading to the next, is depicted in the novel: how one lie told there inevitably leads to this tragedy here. It’s a well woven webb, where the narratives overlap and the use of flashbacks slowly build the puzzle showing the chain of events, creating the sense that the outcome cannot be averted.
Just as the characters find themselves both saved and trapped at Sally’s during the storm, they are safe but imprisoned in the idea of their lives – they are stuck with the way things are, no matter if they want for change or for more, or if they don’t. This notion is present in the novel to such an extent that at times, the reading is quite despairing. But there are enough turns in this novel to give the reader hope for a better tomorrow, although it won’t be all roses and sunshine and popsicles.
December 14, 2021
Mother’s Passion by Majgull Axelsson – I have seen this book on one of the bookstagrams and was fascinated with the cover. Do you sometimes buy books just because they have beautiful covers? I do, and bought four books by Axelsson by the same publisher…I am a compulsive book buyer. J The description of the book was also up my street though. But the title – the English and Swedish titles are so sad and imply so much pain. The Polish translation, if done literally is: The Umbilical Cord – very unliterary right?
It is a character driven novel with a simple plot where we meet all of the characters in a small Swedish town during a storm. Some of them get trapped in a local inn run by Minna, others come to their rescue. The stories are slowly uncovered in individual chapters which are titled by their names. I am probably a fairly naïve reader and didn’t foresee that there are very strong links between the various characters, and after I have read the book I was wondering if this was a bit far-fetched. On the other hand I have been to Sweden and can very much imagine communities like that. I need more time to make up my mind about it.
Anyway, so the plot is not very strong and there isn’t much action yet the book reads like a page turner. The inner lives of the characters and their stories are presented with so much emotion and depth, there is so much sadness, pain and tragedy in their lives. What made me really love this book is that the author is not a sensationalist and some very strong themes run through the book in an understated way but they get to you. The strongest theme, as the title suggest, are mothers and their relationships with their children, their love but also despair, their care but also pain they can bring to their children’s lives.
I did not entirely get on with the language and cannot say whether it is the author or the translation from Swedish to Polish. There were parts which I found clunky, especially some of those describing the main character’s haunting thoughts. There was something artificial in some sentences and the presence of the ‘Bronze Angel’ seemed to clash with the rest of the book. It did not spoil the book for me but I was cringing at times. I am definitely reading the other three books I have by Axelsson.
It is a character driven novel with a simple plot where we meet all of the characters in a small Swedish town during a storm. Some of them get trapped in a local inn run by Minna, others come to their rescue. The stories are slowly uncovered in individual chapters which are titled by their names. I am probably a fairly naïve reader and didn’t foresee that there are very strong links between the various characters, and after I have read the book I was wondering if this was a bit far-fetched. On the other hand I have been to Sweden and can very much imagine communities like that. I need more time to make up my mind about it.
Anyway, so the plot is not very strong and there isn’t much action yet the book reads like a page turner. The inner lives of the characters and their stories are presented with so much emotion and depth, there is so much sadness, pain and tragedy in their lives. What made me really love this book is that the author is not a sensationalist and some very strong themes run through the book in an understated way but they get to you. The strongest theme, as the title suggest, are mothers and their relationships with their children, their love but also despair, their care but also pain they can bring to their children’s lives.
I did not entirely get on with the language and cannot say whether it is the author or the translation from Swedish to Polish. There were parts which I found clunky, especially some of those describing the main character’s haunting thoughts. There was something artificial in some sentences and the presence of the ‘Bronze Angel’ seemed to clash with the rest of the book. It did not spoil the book for me but I was cringing at times. I am definitely reading the other three books I have by Axelsson.
November 6, 2017
Egentligen tror jag att boken är bättre än min bedömning, men som ljudbok var den svår. Det krävdes fullt fokus hela tiden, annars var man snabbt bortkollrad bland alla personer som turades om att vara "jaget" i berättelsen. Berättelsen tar ganska lång tid på sig att vecklas ut. Axelsson väver skickliga trådar som knyts ihop, men uppstartssträckan kunde bjudit på mer för att väcka intresse. Detta var en bok som nog borde landat på en fyra i betyg, men då ljudboksformatet inte var optimalt (och inte heller min koncentration under bokens första fem cd-skivor) så blir det istället en trea.
September 17, 2019
Opowieść z jednej strony o utknięciu życiowym (czy też samooszukiwaniu się), a z drugiej o relacjach bohaterów z potomstwem i własnymi rodzicami. I cytat:
"To właśnie jest życie wieczne. Tkwić w głowie swoich dzieci jak cholerna zwinięta żmija i jak tylko pojawi się okazja, obnażać wypełnione jadem zęby..."
Powieść dość mroczna i surowa, ale też w jakiś dziwny sposób krzepiąca.
"To właśnie jest życie wieczne. Tkwić w głowie swoich dzieci jak cholerna zwinięta żmija i jak tylko pojawi się okazja, obnażać wypełnione jadem zęby..."
Powieść dość mroczna i surowa, ale też w jakiś dziwny sposób krzepiąca.
July 23, 2022
3.5 sterren.
Een boek wat gaat over mensen waar het leven niet over rozen gaat.
Iets verdringen en daardoor niet de kans krijgen om te verwerken.
Je anders en mooier / beter voordoen dan je in werkelijkheid bent / voelt.
Iemand zo de grond intrappen dat degene alleen nog in staat is om zelfmoord te plegen...
Achter elk gezicht zit een verhaal....
Een boek wat gaat over mensen waar het leven niet over rozen gaat.
Iets verdringen en daardoor niet de kans krijgen om te verwerken.
Je anders en mooier / beter voordoen dan je in werkelijkheid bent / voelt.
Iemand zo de grond intrappen dat degene alleen nog in staat is om zelfmoord te plegen...
Achter elk gezicht zit een verhaal....
July 14, 2017
gewoon een mooi verhaal om te lezen. de auteur geeft de karakters goed weer.
August 8, 2018
Vackra porträtt, nära och starka. Historian som växer fram är levande, känslosam och omvälvande, och drar med läsaren till regniga Arvika och några trasiga människors livsöden.
May 5, 2019
Wspaniała! Pochłonięta, a na koniec chce się płakać, że za szybko😥
January 18, 2020
Po przeczytaniu tej ksiązki został we mnie niepokój. Bardzo wartościowa książka, pokazuje jak relacje (lub ich brak) z najbliższą rodziną mogą zniszczyć życie. Nawet takie najmniejsze głupotki na pierwszy rzut oka.
5/5
5/5
August 7, 2023
Otrolig! Precis som alla böcker jag läst av Majgull Axelsson.
August 15, 2024
Gav upp.
October 29, 2023
Edit: podwyższam ocenę na 4 gwiazdki, bo jednak czasem wracam do niej myślami i po czasie czuje jak pewne kwestie mnie poruszyły
Źle nie było, natomiast przewidziałam pewne rzeczy. Nie zmienia to jednak faktu, że ciekawie opisana historia. Pomimo to, nie wyróżnila się w moich oczach i podejrzewam, że szybko mogę o niej zapomnieć.
Źle nie było, natomiast przewidziałam pewne rzeczy. Nie zmienia to jednak faktu, że ciekawie opisana historia. Pomimo to, nie wyróżnila się w moich oczach i podejrzewam, że szybko mogę o niej zapomnieć.
August 15, 2014
I didn't know what genre this was until I finished it. The writer (though famous in Sweden) was new to me and I picked it up at random. It was like a crime drama, but much more sublime. Minna denies her past. Anette denies her present. And the only happy person is a blabbering nurse four months from retirement. The book was heavy, dealing with serious subjects. But it was never over the top. Reading from several flawed people's point of view is a challenge and I feel that Tyrone was an unneccessary chapter. He gets character development but I didn't really understand why. Overall interesting and original story.
July 29, 2016
En ovädersnatt samlas några människor på Sallys Café. I centrum står Minna som bär på en smärta så svår att hon helt förträngt den. Långsamt står den smärtsamma verkligheten klar henne och även för läsaren... En stark bok om smärta, föräldraskap, skuld och dubbelmoral som stannar kvar länge!
November 11, 2012
Sterk begin, maar als het verhaal op dreef komt verliest het even wat van zijn oorspronkelijke kracht. Ik zit nu op pag. 127 van de 506. Afwachten wat de rest nog brengt...
De rest: goed te pruimen, onderhoudend. Maar geen topper.
De rest: goed te pruimen, onderhoudend. Maar geen topper.
August 28, 2013
Ei yhtä huikea kuin edellinen lukemani Axelsson (Huhtikuun noita), mutta ihan hyvä tämäkin. Ja mitä voi odottaa jos siirtyy kirjailijan viimeisimmästä tämän esikoiseen. Positiivista että Axelsson on kehittynyt kertojana (:
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