What do you think?
Rate this book
Skuggserien #4
Skugg-gömman
Skugg-gömman skiljer sig något från de första tre böckerna i serien, framförallt för att man som läsare får byta perspektiv från Berta till Caroline. För första gången får man följa med i Carolines tankegångar. Flickorna har nu även blivit några år äldre, vilket Maria Gripe skickligt skildrar genom mer vuxna tankar och funderingar. I Skugg-gömman har Caroline flyttat till Stockholm där hon utbildar sig till skådespelare.
396 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
12 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
Maria Gripe
60 books199 followersMaria Gripe, born Maja Stina Walter (25 July 1923, Vaxholm, Uppland – 5 April 2007, Rönninge), was a Swedish author of books for children and young people, often written in a magical and mystical tone. In 1946 she married the artist Harald Gripe, who created cover illustrations for most of her books. His illustration career, in fact, began in connection with his wife's debut as author of I vår lilla stad ("In our little town"). Maria Gripe's first major success was Josephine (1961), the first of a series of novels that later included Hugo and Josephine and Hugo. During most of her adult life Maria Gripe lived in Nyköping, where an adaptation of her book Agnes Cecilia was filmed. After a long period of dementia Maria Gripe died at 83 in a nursing home in Rönninge outside Stockholm; her husband Harald had predeceased her by 15 years. Their daughter Camilla Gripe is also a children's author.
Much of her writing, particularly the later works, is suffused with a supernatural or mystical element. This change in her writing style from her less mature work was partly a result of the influence of Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, and Carl Jonas Love Almquist, and partly a reaction to violence in entertainment that had begun to gain ground in cultural expression; Gripe sought to manufacture plot tension in less overt ways. A prominent feature of Maria Gripe's writing is a respect for individuals and their unique characteristics, a trait which is especially perceptible in the social realism of the Elvis series, which she co-wrote with her husband Harald in the 1970s.
Gripe wrote 38 books, translated into 30 different languages, making her one of Sweden's most prolific writers. Her last published book is Annas blomma ("Anna's Flower", 1997). Several of Gripe's books have been filmed, such as Glasblåsarns barn (The Glassblower's Children), Agnes Cecilia: en sällsam historia ("Agnes Cecilia: a singular history") and the "Shadow" series, directed by Anders Grönros in the 1990s. Kjell Grade directed Hugo and Josephine in 1967, while Kay Pollak filmed Elvis! Elvis (Elvis and his friends) in 1976 and Flickan vid stenbänken ("The girl on the stone bench") became a television series in 1989. Dramatized versions of Tordyveln flyger i skymningen ("The dung-beetle flies at dusk"), Agnes Cecilia, Tanten ("The Aunt") and Svinhugg går igen ("The backbiter bitten") have been produced as radio serials. She also wrote the original Swedish television script for Trolltider ("Magic Time", 1979).
Stockholm University Literature professor Boel Westin praised Maria Gripe to a writer for Svenska Dagbladet, declaring that her Shadow books presented an exciting narrative that enabled readers to feel as if they were participants: "She has meant a lot. She renewed children's prose."[1]Literary researcher Ying Toijer-Nilsson, who wrote a biography Skuggornas förtrogna ("Confidant to shadows") of the author, echoed the remarks, saying that she would miss "the warm and humorous human being who was Maria Gripe." The biographer continued: "She has done a lot for the children's book world, and she got her readers to think about philosophy, about the world and about death." Toijer-Nilsson pointed out that Gripe's books also have "a significant tendency to support the social advancement of women." Her books have won many awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1974, and she was the 1979 Swedish winner of the Dobloug Prize for Swedish and Norwegian fiction.
Much of her writing, particularly the later works, is suffused with a supernatural or mystical element. This change in her writing style from her less mature work was partly a result of the influence of Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, and Carl Jonas Love Almquist, and partly a reaction to violence in entertainment that had begun to gain ground in cultural expression; Gripe sought to manufacture plot tension in less overt ways. A prominent feature of Maria Gripe's writing is a respect for individuals and their unique characteristics, a trait which is especially perceptible in the social realism of the Elvis series, which she co-wrote with her husband Harald in the 1970s.
Gripe wrote 38 books, translated into 30 different languages, making her one of Sweden's most prolific writers. Her last published book is Annas blomma ("Anna's Flower", 1997). Several of Gripe's books have been filmed, such as Glasblåsarns barn (The Glassblower's Children), Agnes Cecilia: en sällsam historia ("Agnes Cecilia: a singular history") and the "Shadow" series, directed by Anders Grönros in the 1990s. Kjell Grade directed Hugo and Josephine in 1967, while Kay Pollak filmed Elvis! Elvis (Elvis and his friends) in 1976 and Flickan vid stenbänken ("The girl on the stone bench") became a television series in 1989. Dramatized versions of Tordyveln flyger i skymningen ("The dung-beetle flies at dusk"), Agnes Cecilia, Tanten ("The Aunt") and Svinhugg går igen ("The backbiter bitten") have been produced as radio serials. She also wrote the original Swedish television script for Trolltider ("Magic Time", 1979).
Stockholm University Literature professor Boel Westin praised Maria Gripe to a writer for Svenska Dagbladet, declaring that her Shadow books presented an exciting narrative that enabled readers to feel as if they were participants: "She has meant a lot. She renewed children's prose."[1]Literary researcher Ying Toijer-Nilsson, who wrote a biography Skuggornas förtrogna ("Confidant to shadows") of the author, echoed the remarks, saying that she would miss "the warm and humorous human being who was Maria Gripe." The biographer continued: "She has done a lot for the children's book world, and she got her readers to think about philosophy, about the world and about death." Toijer-Nilsson pointed out that Gripe's books also have "a significant tendency to support the social advancement of women." Her books have won many awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1974, and she was the 1979 Swedish winner of the Dobloug Prize for Swedish and Norwegian fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 23, 2021
Завършекът на тетралогията на Мария Грипе за "Сенките" е книга, която се чете бавно, защото за разлика от предишните три части, тук основно е описанието, а не действието. Разкрива се философският свят в душата на борещата се със себе си млада жена Каролин-Сага.
Добър завършек на поредицата, макар че феминистката страна към края и разсъжденията за киното ми се сториха излишни.
Добър завършек на поредицата, макар че феминистката страна към края и разсъжденията за киното ми се сториха излишни.
September 24, 2025
3.5. Och så var Skuggserien slut! Det ska bli roligt att diskutera dem
April 20, 2025
Den avslutande delen av Skuggserien och definitivt den sämsta, kanske t.o.m att det hade varit bättre om den inte skrivits då den inte tillför historien något.
Även om det känns som att författaren har kul med den annorlunda stilen, delvis skrivet ut Sagas perspektiv, delvis ur Carolins, ibland i brevform, ibland filmmanus osv så blir det ganska jobbigt för läsaren, ofta t.o.m tråkigt och det blir ett trist avslut på en annars fantastisk bokserie.
Del 2 är och förblir bäst men även del 1 och 3 var bra och tillförde något, medan den här boken mest blir tuff att ta sig igenom, delvis för att perspektivet är skrivet av den person man tyckt sämst om i serien. I de andra böckerna har Berta varit en bra motvikt till den mer dramatiska och ärligt talat ofta själviska Carolin, och den motvikten saknas verkligen i den här boken.
Det blir ett trist avslut och alldeles för långt, och tyvärr många upprepningar från de andra böckerna, saker som man redan läst och känner till. Ingen kommer att plocka upp och läsa den sista boken i en serie så upprepningarna känns bara onödiga.
Känns även ofärdig och jag undrar om Maria Gripe funderade på att göra ytterligare en del men aldrig fick till det. Kanske var tur det, för det är inte säkert att någon hade pallat läsa mer om det här gänget.
Även om det känns som att författaren har kul med den annorlunda stilen, delvis skrivet ut Sagas perspektiv, delvis ur Carolins, ibland i brevform, ibland filmmanus osv så blir det ganska jobbigt för läsaren, ofta t.o.m tråkigt och det blir ett trist avslut på en annars fantastisk bokserie.
Del 2 är och förblir bäst men även del 1 och 3 var bra och tillförde något, medan den här boken mest blir tuff att ta sig igenom, delvis för att perspektivet är skrivet av den person man tyckt sämst om i serien. I de andra böckerna har Berta varit en bra motvikt till den mer dramatiska och ärligt talat ofta själviska Carolin, och den motvikten saknas verkligen i den här boken.
Det blir ett trist avslut och alldeles för långt, och tyvärr många upprepningar från de andra böckerna, saker som man redan läst och känner till. Ingen kommer att plocka upp och läsa den sista boken i en serie så upprepningarna känns bara onödiga.
Känns även ofärdig och jag undrar om Maria Gripe funderade på att göra ytterligare en del men aldrig fick till det. Kanske var tur det, för det är inte säkert att någon hade pallat läsa mer om det här gänget.
October 20, 2009
(Translation of title: Shadow-hide)
The idea of this book is that we follow Carolin's investigation of life and faith and follow her training to become an actress. This means that this book is narrated by Carolin - parts of it even in first person. This also means that we get Carolin's attempts to write a movie script throughout the book and also Carolin's letters to the other half of her, Saga. Some of these interrupt the flow of the book, unfortunately.
In the beginning of the book we meet Carolin in Stockholm. She is living on her own after her mother Ida (Lydia) left her to go back to Rosengave and be with Arild and Rosilda, Carolin's half sister and brother. Carolin is working hard to become an actress and we follow her struggles with herself and the characters she plays - as well as her evolving friendship with Ingeborg, Berta's friend from an earlier volume, and some boy trouble. Also her attempt to come to terms with her mother slowly transforming back into Lydia Stenstierna and thereby hiding away Carolin's mother Ida.
There were actually a few parts of the book that annoyed me. First of, a couple of mistakes like Saga being written Sara at one point and suddenly Carolin never entered Lydia's apartment before she knew Lydia was alive - although she did so in book 3 and suffered terribly guilt afterwards because of it. The book takes place during the beginning of WWI and Carolin being an actress, she is of course very interested in movies as a new way of acting. However, her constant irritation over the missing sound in the movies ('talkies' not yet been invented) and hope that there will be movies with sound one day becomes too much and actually makes parts of the book seem a bit dated. I'm not sure why this doesn't work since the discussion of other subjects from the time - especially women's right to vote - doesn't seem dated in the same way but serves to paint a picture of the time. Also, the many letters and movie scripts get to be too much. There is also a side story much like the one about Flora and her three children, Edvin, Ejnar and Edit, this time about Gerda and her two children Åke and the baby Tyra with Gerda struggling to raise her two children without her alcoholic father ruining it for them. I'm not sure either if the introduction of 'the stalker', Adam, really works - especially not the way the book ends with regard to Adam and Carolin. This seems like a plot that wasn't developed enough - or maybe shouldn't even have been there.
On the positive side, it actually works having Carolin narrating this one and Berta only being a side character. I like the other point of view and getting more of an inside scoop on what Carolin really thinks about Berta, Lydia etc. And again Gripe plays with the shadow concept when she writes that an actor is a mirror, a mirror is a shadow-hide and therefore an actor is a shadow-hide and also quotes The Picture of Dorian Gray about how the theater is a shadow world. This is actually my favourite part of the whole series - how Gripe uses her shadow theme in all four books.
As a whole, I really like this series. My favourite is definitely book two but all four books have something to offer. Book 1 and 4 seem like the frame for book 2 and 3 since it's in book 2-3 we visit Rosengave and really dive into the big plot of the books, Lydia Stenstierna and her disappearance/apparent suicide and her later re-appearance. Book 1 is all about Berta and her relationship with Carolin and their probable sister relationship while book 4 closes off the series with Carolin having finally found her passion in life and working hard to become the very best in her field while the rest of her life more or less settles. The series works - and book 1 works better than I first though, after having read the other volumes. A highly recommend ya series that I for one loved as a kid/teenager - and still really likes.
The idea of this book is that we follow Carolin's investigation of life and faith and follow her training to become an actress. This means that this book is narrated by Carolin - parts of it even in first person. This also means that we get Carolin's attempts to write a movie script throughout the book and also Carolin's letters to the other half of her, Saga. Some of these interrupt the flow of the book, unfortunately.
In the beginning of the book we meet Carolin in Stockholm. She is living on her own after her mother Ida (Lydia) left her to go back to Rosengave and be with Arild and Rosilda, Carolin's half sister and brother. Carolin is working hard to become an actress and we follow her struggles with herself and the characters she plays - as well as her evolving friendship with Ingeborg, Berta's friend from an earlier volume, and some boy trouble. Also her attempt to come to terms with her mother slowly transforming back into Lydia Stenstierna and thereby hiding away Carolin's mother Ida.
There were actually a few parts of the book that annoyed me. First of, a couple of mistakes like Saga being written Sara at one point and suddenly Carolin never entered Lydia's apartment before she knew Lydia was alive - although she did so in book 3 and suffered terribly guilt afterwards because of it. The book takes place during the beginning of WWI and Carolin being an actress, she is of course very interested in movies as a new way of acting. However, her constant irritation over the missing sound in the movies ('talkies' not yet been invented) and hope that there will be movies with sound one day becomes too much and actually makes parts of the book seem a bit dated. I'm not sure why this doesn't work since the discussion of other subjects from the time - especially women's right to vote - doesn't seem dated in the same way but serves to paint a picture of the time. Also, the many letters and movie scripts get to be too much. There is also a side story much like the one about Flora and her three children, Edvin, Ejnar and Edit, this time about Gerda and her two children Åke and the baby Tyra with Gerda struggling to raise her two children without her alcoholic father ruining it for them. I'm not sure either if the introduction of 'the stalker', Adam, really works - especially not the way the book ends with regard to Adam and Carolin. This seems like a plot that wasn't developed enough - or maybe shouldn't even have been there.
On the positive side, it actually works having Carolin narrating this one and Berta only being a side character. I like the other point of view and getting more of an inside scoop on what Carolin really thinks about Berta, Lydia etc. And again Gripe plays with the shadow concept when she writes that an actor is a mirror, a mirror is a shadow-hide and therefore an actor is a shadow-hide and also quotes The Picture of Dorian Gray about how the theater is a shadow world. This is actually my favourite part of the whole series - how Gripe uses her shadow theme in all four books.
As a whole, I really like this series. My favourite is definitely book two but all four books have something to offer. Book 1 and 4 seem like the frame for book 2 and 3 since it's in book 2-3 we visit Rosengave and really dive into the big plot of the books, Lydia Stenstierna and her disappearance/apparent suicide and her later re-appearance. Book 1 is all about Berta and her relationship with Carolin and their probable sister relationship while book 4 closes off the series with Carolin having finally found her passion in life and working hard to become the very best in her field while the rest of her life more or less settles. The series works - and book 1 works better than I first though, after having read the other volumes. A highly recommend ya series that I for one loved as a kid/teenager - and still really likes.
July 28, 2019
В „Скривалище на сенки“ най-сетне имаме възможност да надникнем във вътрешния свят на една от най-интересните героини в поредицата "Тетралогия на сенките" – Каролин. Тя влиза в живота на четиринайсетгодишната Берта като прислужница в дома на семейството й и не само разчупва спокойното им ежедневие, но донася и своята тайна, която я свързва още по-силно с новата й приятелка.
Разказът върви ту от първо лице, ту под формата на писма между Каролин и скритата й „половина“ Сага. Моменти от живота й се визуализират като сцени от филм. Като далечен фон на творческите и личните й търсения се явява Първата световна война – за съжаление, съвсем повърхностно загатната, без реално отражение в развитието на действието.
Ще успее ли Каролин да помири двете половини на своята душа? Защо приятелката й Ингеборг не иска Берта да научи за тяхното познанство? Ще намерят ли Каролин и майка й отново път една към друга?
Въпреки че за мен най-силни и спиращи дъха си остават първата и втората книга, „Скривалище на сенки“ стои добре като своеобразен и оригинален финал, в който сюжетните линии от предишните книги намират логична развръзка.
Цялото ревю в сайта "Детски книги": https://www.detskiknigi.com/maria-gri...
Разказът върви ту от първо лице, ту под формата на писма между Каролин и скритата й „половина“ Сага. Моменти от живота й се визуализират като сцени от филм. Като далечен фон на творческите и личните й търсения се явява Първата световна война – за съжаление, съвсем повърхностно загатната, без реално отражение в развитието на действието.
Ще успее ли Каролин да помири двете половини на своята душа? Защо приятелката й Ингеборг не иска Берта да научи за тяхното познанство? Ще намерят ли Каролин и майка й отново път една към друга?
Въпреки че за мен най-силни и спиращи дъха си остават първата и втората книга, „Скривалище на сенки“ стои добре като своеобразен и оригинален финал, в който сюжетните линии от предишните книги намират логична развръзка.
Цялото ревю в сайта "Детски книги": https://www.detskiknigi.com/maria-gri...
July 24, 2025
In my opinion books went downhill from part 2. This one is a spectacular crash. There is nothing in this book and easily we could do without it. As it says on the cover, all the secrets are revealed in this part. But actually I can’t say that. We learn about Maximilian being alive and maybe Carolina’s (and Bertha’s) father kind of acknowledges her in a letter, but it all happens on the side. We meanwhile read endless scripts, thoughts which go round and round and actually don’t matter. It seemed to me Carolina’s character isn’t consistent in this part. We get a glimpse into her mind and suddenly she’s not the one we knew from previous 3 books. She is a kind, considerate girl. And the ending is so bizarre. Especially after all the endless thoughts about being alone and free.
Oh and actually funny we never hear about a poor dead girl from part 2(?) Elonie or what was her name? Dead and forgotten she is. It was so traumatic that she died of love for Carolina that I would think she occasionally would remember her! But no.
Oh and actually funny we never hear about a poor dead girl from part 2(?) Elonie or what was her name? Dead and forgotten she is. It was so traumatic that she died of love for Carolina that I would think she occasionally would remember her! But no.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2017
(Eftersom denna bokserie, till skillnad från många av Maria Gripes andra böcker, aldrig översattes till engelska skrivs recensionen på svenska.)
I denna sista del av Skuggserien följer läsaren främst Carolines liv som skådespelerska i Stockholm. Historien berättas dels från tredje person och dels som brev skrivna från Caroline till alter egot Saga och vice versa. Boken skildrar väl Carolines utveckling som skådespelerska och ung kvinna, men skildrar även livet i Stockholm för de olika samhällsklasserna under tidigt 1900-tal. Jämställdhet är också ett centralt tema i boken, då Caroline som första kvinna i Sverige försöker slå genom som regissör och känner sig nödgad att (återigen) klä ut sig till man. Då boken är skriven på 80-talet, och inte nu, och därmed undsluppit alltför mycket historisk revisionism, ger den en hyfsat bra bild av Sverige och Stockholm förr. En bra bok, och bra avslut på skuggserien.
I denna sista del av Skuggserien följer läsaren främst Carolines liv som skådespelerska i Stockholm. Historien berättas dels från tredje person och dels som brev skrivna från Caroline till alter egot Saga och vice versa. Boken skildrar väl Carolines utveckling som skådespelerska och ung kvinna, men skildrar även livet i Stockholm för de olika samhällsklasserna under tidigt 1900-tal. Jämställdhet är också ett centralt tema i boken, då Caroline som första kvinna i Sverige försöker slå genom som regissör och känner sig nödgad att (återigen) klä ut sig till man. Då boken är skriven på 80-talet, och inte nu, och därmed undsluppit alltför mycket historisk revisionism, ger den en hyfsat bra bild av Sverige och Stockholm förr. En bra bok, och bra avslut på skuggserien.
April 21, 2025
Skugg-gömman är den sämsta delen i Skuggan-serien, men fortfarande bra och läsvärd. Det är intressant att få byta perspektiv från Berta till Caroline, men upplägget känns lite rörigt när berättelseformen växlar mellan tredje peron huvudberättelse, brevväxling mellan Caroline och alterego Saga, och utkast till filmmanus. Bitvis är den riktigt bra, men flera episoder känns långtråkiga och då främst breven. Dock knyter boken ihop berättelsen för hur det gick sedan i familjen Stenstierna och man får lära känna Caroline bakom fasaden. Berta har däremot ytterst litet utrymme i denna berättelsen.
November 3, 2018
I love this book, like every book in this series!
I love that we got to see through Carolin's eyes in this one! She is so lovely and interesting! All the characters are wonderful!
So, if you are looking for books with a lot of amazing personalities I highly recomend this series.
I love that we got to see through Carolin's eyes in this one! She is so lovely and interesting! All the characters are wonderful!
So, if you are looking for books with a lot of amazing personalities I highly recomend this series.
March 22, 2020
I jämförelse med de tre tidigare böckerna i serien så fångar den här inte mig alls. Boken är i det närmaste överflödig för seriens skull och faller slutligen ganska platt.
April 30, 2021
Svag avslutning som mest består av upprepningar.
March 26, 2022
Ibland är den helt magisk, men oftast bara tråkig med många upprepningar och långa scener där det enda som händer är att Carolin ser sig i spegeln en stund. Stor besvikelse.
March 9, 2023
Krystat, utdraget och alldeles för långt. Tråkigt. Serien började bra men blev bok efter bok tråkigare och tråkigare.
Read
May 19, 2025DNFed at 25% for now, might take up again later
December 19, 2021
8.43 on CAWPILE
Best one in the series. The chistmas vibes were incredable
Best one in the series. The chistmas vibes were incredable
October 23, 2017
"Verkligheten är underbarare än dikten. Det är ingenting nytt, det har hon alltid vetat. Men man glömmer det ibland, för det kan gå långliga tider innan verkligheten på detta sätt gör sig påmind.
Men nu för den det plötsligt för henne."
<3
(Omläsning.)
Men nu för den det plötsligt för henne."
<3
(Omläsning.)
December 13, 2020
Skuffende avslutning på en ellers fantastisk serie.
April 16, 2022
Sista boken i denna otroliga serien, man blir nästan lite tårögd av att den är slut! Om du inte har läst dessa fyra böckerna, borde du verkligen göra det!
April 19, 2024
Audio
June 19, 2025
Ahhh Carolin blev ju (tyvärr) lättare att stå ut med men herregud, det fanns sån potential att ge henne en riktig käftsmäll 🙃
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews