Minna Needs Rehearsal Space

by Dorthe Nors

Minna is feeling desperate. Lars has just dumped her by text message. Her friends are constantly flaunting their lovers, children and dogs (with Facebook as their cruel accomplice). And her neurotic sister is everywhere she turns. Minna needs security, and a place in Copenhagen to practise her music. Minna wants a child. Minna needs to stop being answerable to everyone. So, with only Ingmar Bergman for comfort and company, she decides to take a trip away from it all.

In this highly original, playful, poignant yet funny novella, Dorthe Nors explores our struggles to find love, relate to others and simply be heard above the relentless noise of the modern age.

Genres: Fiction, Danish, Scandinavian Literature, Novella, Denmark

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Dorthe Nors is a Danish author and writer. She is the first Danish author to be published in the American magazine The New Yorker. She was born in 1970 and studied literature and art history at the University of Aarhus. After publishing three novels, she wrote Karate Chop, her collection of short stories, in 2008 and Minna Needs Rehearsal Space in 2013. She has seen her short stories in various publications, including The Boston Review, Harpers and The New Yorker, and has contributed to anthologies in Denmark and Germany. Having international acclaim, she lives in rural Jutland, Denmark.

From http://pushkinpress.com/author/dorthe...

Reviews

[Uroš Đurković · Rating 2 out of 5]

Povukla me forma.
Ceo roman ima ovakve rečenice.
Baš ovakve.
I nakon svake ide enter.
Nešto je bilo simpatično.
Ali uglavnom nije simpatično.
Ovo je pokušaj ogoljenog jezika.
Nije doprlo do mene.
Mada ponešto cenim.
Mina je glavna junakinja.
Mina je u problemu.
Skandinavski humor je šašav.
To je to.

[Christian Dalager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian læser om Minna
Minna mangler et øvelokale
Christian mangler ikke et øvelokale
Christian er færdig med at øve sig
Nogen synes at Christian burde øve sig mere, men
Christian vil hellere læse om Minna
Nogen burde læse om Minna i stedet for at bekymre sig om Christians øvning.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dorte Nors je Seli Runi za starije.
Eksperimentalan roman, čija struktura postane malo naporna posle nekog vremena.
Očekivala sam više od priče. Razumem Minu i njene probleme, ali me je veoma nervirala svojim postupcima i nedostatak njenog glasa nije doprineo priči. Imalo je potencijala, ali nije ispunilo moja očekivanja.
Nadam se da će mi se više dopasti druge dve Norsine knjige, tačnije roman i zbirka priča.

[Lauren]

• MINNA NEEDS REHEARSAL SPACE by Dorthe Nors, translated from the Danish by Misha Hoekstra, 2013/2014.

#ReadtheWorld21 📍Denmark
#womenintranslation

MINNA is the 1st work I've read by Nors, and it was a good place to start. A 96-page experimental novella.

Why experimental?

Well, it's the way she formats the text and plays with language and perspective. The whole novella is written in short declarative sentences in the present tense. So while not expressly a "novel in verse", it has that effect. I saw it called "banal as a shopping list, but beautiful as poetry" in The Guardian. Feels accurate.

One great little linguistic effect is the way Minna is called up in third-person, almost always by her proper name, but the effect is more first-person. In English, we often do this (as a joke or gimmick) in spoken language, so it was a neat little switcheroo to see Nors do it here in written language - and for Hoekstra to translate those little nuances!
E.g. Lauren writes a post about a novella she finished reading.
Lauren sits at her desk on a Friday evening in June and thinks about a book. 😁

The story itself is more "second fiddle" to the form - that is what I'll remember most about this clever little book.

[Mina · Rating 2 out of 5]

ovo su pozitivne dve zvezdice, slatko i lako i apsolutno razumljivo i bez teksta na kraju koji objašnjava celu priču. izuzev forme ne bih rekla da je nešto revolucionarno niti da me je oborilo sa nogu. simpa, eto, morala sam da pročitam zbog junakinje imenjakinje.

[Milica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Htela sam da joj dam šansu, ali mi se nikako ne sviđa ovakav vid eksperimentalnog romana. Autorka nije uspela da stvori utisak kakav je želela i kratkoća izraza u ovom slučaju samo doprinosi nakaradnosti cele knjige.

[5rovsvet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ono što sam znao o ovom romanu je da je roman neobične forme. Naime, napisan je u slobodnom stihu. Čini mi se da ta forma može biti vrlo nezgodna, u smislu da je to mač sa dve oštrice. Na kraju je rezultat da se meni nije forma dopala. A onda zbog forme, ni sam roman mi nije prijao.
🚫🔊
Slobodan stih će nekom biti zanimljiv, veravatno. Ali meni deluje kao niz sklepanih rečenica. One prate radnju, da. Ali ceo roman je sterilan što se tiče emocija. Vidimo naznake njih, ali tu nema topline, nema dubine, nema opisa emocija ili "približavanja" slika koje vidi Mina.
🚫🔊
Sa druge strane, ta Minina samoća koja je protkana kroz sve te stihove je gotovo svakodnevnica većine ljudi. Svi mi imamo neke svoje živote, hobije, ljubavi, sreće i nesreće, ali na kraju verujem da se većina oseti bar u jednom delu dana, u delu sedmice ili meseca kao Mina. Mina je ogolila sve te naše običaje i izvore frustracije.
🚫🔊
Nisam siguran kojoj grupi ljudi bih preporučio ovaj roman. Od Dorte Nors nisam ništa drugo ni čitao, pa opet ne bih da joj sudim kao piscu. Ali ukoliko ste radoznali, zavirite i u ovu knjigu. Što da ne?

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, and bitter-sweet, Minna's tale is one of a true modern heroine. Funny, heart-felt and completely relatable, Nors has created a smarter, more astute, and certainly more capable Bridget Jones.
Admittedly, the one line format may deter readers, but it shouldn't, especially as once you relate it to the short and simple snippets of life we gather (and supply) through social media, it all makes much more sense.

[Lyndsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was formally quite experimental but in a way that was easy to read and that actually worked. Lovely story.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, declarative sentences remind one of Elfriede Jellinek, but Nors is playing for lower stakes. This story of a youngish woman coping with a breakup and her inability to assert herself with friends and family is well observed, sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant. Yet, it rarely transcends Minna's rather narrow world and the moment of epiphany, itself telegraphed, is undercut with farce - which might be excused - and sealed with a too-tidy resolution that undercuts the book's impact, for me. Still, a quick, delightful read with many lovely turns of phrase, at least in this translation by Misha Hoekstra.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colin found this in Foyles.
Colin was intrigued by the writing style.
Colin read 15 pages.
Colin began to feel annoyed.
Colin read all the other pages.

[Ulla Arent Henriksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

En bog man kan tænke (længe) over.... poesi, malende billedsprog og god kvindehumor. Jeg klukkede af grin ind imellem. :-) Den er hurtigt læst. Kan anbefale den til dem, der trænger til en god, lidt udfordrende og anderledes læseoplevelse.

[Theresa Juhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short (88 pages), danish book. It's the second book i've read by Dorthe Nors (Author of Karate Chop). I absolutely loved 'Dage' (=days) and it was incredible and inspiring & Minna didn't really do the thing for me. In this book, every single sentence begins with a proper noun, and in Dage the book is just a bunch of lists. - Very experimental.. I thought this book was really cute and i obviously flew through it.

[Rachel Axton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minna is from Amager, Denmark, she isn’t a day over forty, is a composer and can play four instruments. Minna is also trying to write a sonata (quietly) in the library as she has lost her rehearsal space. In a few pages, her boyfriend breaks up with her and Minna faces a frustrating, lonely and trying period, as she attempts to navigate relationships, family and her music.

The delivery of this novella, is unique. It is conveyed almost entirely in short sentences which rarely spill over a single line. It is creative and brave, and in this modern story, where each sentence could be a text, it propels Minna forward in steps and stumbles. And, while this writing style does not give much opportunity for adjectives and wordy descriptions, they are not required. Nors has a way of creating detailed characters and very visual scenes in a half dozen sentences.

This is a short, pacey, clever and enjoyable read. I loved reading it in bursts throughout the day and found many of the clusters of sentences brought a smile to my lips. At only 96 pages, it perfectly fits the style without becoming irritating or tired.

[Lesley Glaister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was excited by this little book; it’s utterly different from anything I’ve read before. Rather than the usual developed paragraphs, this writer has told her story in short, simple sentences, always starting with the subject, which is very often the main character, Minna. For instance: ‘Minna is on Facebook. Minna isn’t a day over forty. Minna is a composer.’ Each of these is presented on a separate line so that the pages have the look of poems. What’s surprisingly wonderful about it is how with so few words – you could read it in an hour – so much is implied about the very sympathetic and funny Minna and her plight – she’s been dumped by text message. It’s a fresh experience to read, funny and moving, and I enjoyed every word.

[Frances Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little story, where you really feel the sadness and loneliness of the protagonist. The characters around her are very real, particularly her insufferable sister! I enjoyed the plot, short as it is. There's a nice little bit of drama at the end which made me feel all kinds of things.

I was drawn to this story initially because of its classical musical references but also because of its intriguing style - the whole thing is written in short sentences; there are no paragraphs. Unfortunately, I found this made it a very unmusical and actually quite tiring read. So while I liked the content, I did not enjoy the meter.

[Bronwen Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably didn't like this quite as much as Nors' short story collection - perhaps because I found the experimental style just a little irritating at times. However, having said that, I still felt a great deal of empathy for the narrator Minna and her boyfriend issues. Like Nors' other work, this small novella is a mix of pathos, love, disappointment, frustration and is at times, both funny and gob-smackingly shocking.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up years ago and read the opening section and loved it but never got further. This time around I finally finished it, but it was a bit of a slog. I'm in a slump reading-wise so maybe this is more of a me problem but yeah, this was fine. Very Danish (duh) and I couldn't be arsed looking up all the references (also a me problem) but it didn't help make this a quick read despite the very short length.

[Marika Blad · Rating 4 out of 5]

1 Was it useful? What for?
2 Did I like it, and why?
3 Did it change the way I think? How?
4 Will it change the way I behave?

1 Har inte läst mycket som är skrivet likadant
2 Det avhuggna sättet att skriva gör att känslomolnet som huvudpersonen befinner sig blir starkare
3 En bra beskrivning kan bestå av flera enkla meningar som enskilt beskriver varsin detalj
4 Jag skulle vilja testa stilen på en kortare text eller dikt

[Lizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The form is like a series of Facebook statuses, from back in the day when Facebook posts could only be one sentence. Cleverly pokes at loneliness in life mediated by social media. At first I felt tired reading the lines - 'this is not the break from the computer I wanted for this week,' I thought to myself - but the form does work in the end. Ties together nicely.

[Kaz Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but very very darn sweet! Adored the way it was written (don’t know if i’ll be able to go back to books with long sentences) and adored how truthfully flawed Minna was - her cynicism, dry humour, obsessiveness, antisocial nature and inability to set boundaries was REAL! Very intrigued to read some more of Nors stuff

[Matt Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but enjoyable.
Enjoyed the short sentences.
And that everything was on a new line.
Very good for dyslexia :)

Matt enjoyed this.
Matt updates Goodreads.
Matt goes to find another book.

Just wish it was longer.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy to read short story unlike anything I've read before. One short sentence per line and over 80 odd pages a nice simple story with complex characters and a moving narrative came about. Just nice.

[Uroš Martinović · Rating 2 out of 5]

1) Ne znam šta je ovde naročito eksprimentalno, sem možda forme, ali Dorte Nors stvarno nije prva napisala roman u stihu
2) Kao što je stil namerno? jednostavan i običan, tako je i knjiga sterilna, ravna linija

[Kåre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mere digterisk stil end Spejl, skulder blink, men samme historie. Dog føjer hun en mere banal slutning på her.
Kort og med mange godt sat sammen ord, billeder.

[Peter Thorell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varm, poetisk og anderledes. Nogle vil sikkert blive irriteret over måden den er skrevet på, men hovesætninger og gentagelser, men det fungerer, synes jeg. Smukt og stærkt:-)

[Rachel Bookish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and cute, a bit experimental, really a short story, not long enough to be a novella.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike anything I have ever read, both in good and bad ways.

[molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

reread!

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A break-up novella in the form of a prose poem. Very much enjoyed. Full review on my blog for my #NordicFINDS project for Jan 2022. https://annabookbel.net/nordicfinds-d...