Stjernerne Blegner

by Karl Bjarnhof

Stjernerne blegner er barndomserindringer skrevet af en digter, som ikke blot husker fortiden, men påny gennemlever sin skæbne og med sjælden intensitet reproducerer de sarteste nuancer i bevidstheden hos et begavet og følsomt barn, hvis fremtid tegner sig i skyggen af en tiltagende blindhed.

Allerede på første side anslås dette bogens hovedtema i beskrivelsen af barndomsegnens hjem for blinde piger, som drengen jævnligt passerer forbi og hvis fremmedartede atmosfære stærkt fængsler hans fantasi. Mættet af poetisk melankoli anslår denne skildring selve grundstenen i de følgende beskrivelser af forfatterens fattige barndomsmiljø.

Omkring drengen grupperer sig et rigt galleri af følsomt tegnede portrætter - moderen, hvis praktiske religiøsitet forener sig med den arbejdsomhed, som er nødvendig for at holde sammen på hjemmet, faderen, som skjuler et poetisk gemyt i studiet af biblen dølgen en aldrig slukket længsel efter sit hjemland Sverige. Humoren glimter frem i skildringen af egnens profet, murer Laursen, hvis evne til at gøre mirakler forældrene sætter deres lid til, efter at læger og specialister forgæves har forsøgt at helbrede drengen for hans øjensygdom. Skælmsk ironi og dyb menneskelig forståelse præger portrætterne af den gamle svenske farmor, som med almuens fattede resignation afventer døden på forhøjningen ved vinduet i drengens barndomshjem, og af morbroderen, håndværkeren, og bohemen med det zünftige københavnervid på læben.

Genres: Autobiography

275 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Karl Otto Anderson Bjarnhof was a Danish writer and journalist. As a writer he is most commonly known for his memoirs "Stjernene blegner" ("The Stars Grow Pale") from 1956 and "Det Gode Lys" ("The Good Light") from 1957, in which he describes his childhood in a poor home in the smaller Danish town Vejle. In an early age Bjarnhof was diagnosed with cataracts which would eventually result in him losing his ability to see. The fate of Bjarnhof's eyesight also serves as a subject in several of his published books.

Bjarnhof did not only shine within the field of literature. He became a journalist, and served in several years as a music critic and journalist at more than one of the larger Danish newspapers. He was very passionate about music and played the cello on Danish radio. His radio career was also extended through his skills as a journalist when he got his own radio show, in which he became infamous for his interviewing abilities.

In 1960 he co-founded Det Danske Akademi (The Danish Academy) with professor in Art History Christian Elling. He became secretary of the academy; a position he held for more than a decade.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am 3/4 of the way through this book and find it absolutely fabulous. Reading it is like listening to a fine opera or looking at a quality sunset. This book is a biography of the author's younger years and focuses on the fact that he becomes blind. He is obviously incredibly intelligent and his observations of nature, people and the events around him are sad, funny and just so readable! I highly recommend this book to anyone.

I finished the book and I longed to know more about the man when i finished. Thankfully, I was able to read about him on Wikipeida
I will always have fond memories of this book.

[Andres "Ande" Jakovlev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sain selle raamatu kingiks hea õppeedukuse eest neljandas või viiendas klassis. Umbes siis sai seda ka esimest korda loetud - ja mäletan siiani, et tegu oli väga erilise elamusega. Kuigi lugesin palju, oli see minu jaoks midagi täiesti uut. Raamat, kus suurt midagi ei toimunud, ent mille kirjeldused ja kulgemine mind kõnetasid. Raamat, mis andis suurepäraselt edasi emotsiooni. Ajarataste vaikset veeremist.

Jah, tegu on pigem kurva ja ängistava looga, aga ometi on tegu sellise mõnusa kulgemisega.

Nüüd sai see siis lastele unejutuks loetud. Peab ütlema, et unejuturaamatuna toimis see suurepäraselt - uni võttis võimust enne peatüki lõppu. Samas, mulle tundub, et tegelikult oli lastel ka huvitav.

Minu jaoks on see raamat eriline; ikkagi üks lapsepõlve lemmikuid.

[Leslie Reiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I'm shopping in used bookstores I’ll often pick out the oldest, most neglected volume I see there. It's kind of a superstition I have about people, writers being forgotten. A lot of the time my picks turn out to be sentimental post-Victorion pap, sweet in their way, but pretty pointless. Other times I discover something extraordinary. This is one of those.

This a fabulous book. The story details the childhood of a small town boy in Denmark who is steadily loosing his sight. In the end, as a teenager, he becomes "blind enough" to leave his constrained existence, to enter the "Institute" and the world. The sensory descriptions in this book are brillant - they take a reader back to memories she didn’t know she had. Rustlings, vague scents, the feel of the air at night in March, the grit on the floor in some particular house.

[Andrea Neves António · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este livro é especial, encantador, com uma narrativa cheia de beleza e detalhe.
É uma autobiografia, em que o narrador, na primeira pessoa e ainda criança, descreve a sua progressiva cegueira.
Nós acompanhamos a história, o seu dia a dia simples, o seu ambiente familiar e social e toda a injusta, preconceito e incompreensão de que é alvo, numa situação que não compreende e não controla.
Em nenhum ponto lastima-se ou queixa-se da sua sorte.
A impressão que causa, com tanta simplicidade, é intensa e duradoura.

[Bean in the Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really good book. I still felt like i was lost in the world of the boy’s little neighbourhood after reading it.

[Susan C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hjerteskærende og utrolig smukt fortalt!