Olga

by Bernhard Schlink, Maia Phanjikidze (Translator)

A sweeping novel of love and passion from author of the international bestseller The Reader about a woman out of step with her time, whose life is witness to some of the most tumultuous events of modern age.

Abandoned by her parents, young Olga is raised by her grandmother in a Prussian village in the early years of the twentieth century. Smart and precocious, endearing but uncompromising, she fights against ingrained chauvinism to find her place in a world run by lesser men.

When Olga falls in love with her neighbor, Herbert, the son of a local aristocrat, her life is irremediably changed. While Herbert indulges his thirst for exploration and adventure, Olga is limited by her gender and circumstance. Her love for Herbert goes against all odds and encounters many obstacles, but even when they are separated, it endures.

Unfolding across decades—from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century—and across continents—from Germany to Africa and the Arctic, from the Baltic Sea to the German south-west—Olga is an epic romance, and a wrenching tale of a woman’s devotion to a restless man in an age of constant change. Though Olga exists in the shadows of others, she pursues life to the fullest and her magnetic presence shines—revealing a woman complex, fascinating, and unforgettable.

 Told in three distinct parts, brilliantly shifting from different points of view and narrative formats, Bernhard Schlink’s magnificent novel is a rich, full portrait of a singular woman and her world.

Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins 

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Germany, German Literature, Romance, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Bernhard Schlink is a German lawyer, academic, and novelist. He is best known for his novel The Reader, which was first published in 1995 and became an international bestseller. He won the 2014 Park Kyong-ni Prize.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come …. This book was beautiful to me. I read it in two sittings. The writing was gorgeous!!!
It’s a novel but — I need to look some things up.
OLGA couldn’t have been fictionalized character. Could she?
I don’t think I’ve read a book this year where the main character has felt more alive— a woman in history who lived an ordinary and extraordinary life, more than Olga.
I’m hoping this novel was based on a true story — but honestly at this point I don’t know.
If not —- wow— how does anyone make up this much fiction? There are letters that feel so real, I was certain the author must’ve found them in a vault.

Sorry for rambling I’ll write a review later— for me this book is a strong five stars!!! (no matter what else I write about it)
If anyone has more true facts about this book that you fine before I do I’m certainly interested.

UPDATE:
The blurb tells us that “Olga” is a sweeping novel of love and passion from the author of the international bestseller ‘The Reader’ about a woman out of step with her time, whose life is witness to some of the most tumultuous events of modern age..
Abandoned by her parents, young Olga was raised by her grandmother in a Prussian Village in the early years of the 20th century. Smart and precocious, endearing but uncompromising, she fights against ingrained chauvinism to find her place in a world run by lesser men”
KUDOS to people who write blurbs....and to the person who wrote the above blurb for this book!

The first thing I must set clear — Olga Rinke was ‘not’ a real person....rather she is a fictionalized character inspired by several strong women (if Bernhard Schlink would be willing to share ‘which’ strong women inspired ‘him’ — I’d be interested to learn more)

“Olga” is 288 pages - so not long - but like an over-flowing suitcase - we must sit our butts on top of it and squish vigorously to close it.
I cried at the end of this novel...(but I’m getting ahead of myself)...I wanted soooo bad for Olga to have been a real person...that her life was not lived in vain. I know that it’s a little absurd to have wished Olga had been a real person and my friend— but it happens sometimes....just call me a little weird and strange.

If you read the Guardian review (I love the Guardian), the reviewer said secrets were given away too early....
Okay....confession...”what secrets was he or she talking about?”
This novel is divided into three parts — but I didn’t look at any of it as if it were hiding secrets. However....I was totally melting-in-love- with this novel....
Yet...the ending threw me. I wasn’t and am still not 100% sure if what I read is what I think I read — (but tears came anyway)....
but please forgive me — I’m doing my best here — I got a little confused about a ‘surprise’. I didn’t see secrets coming down the pipes. The Guardian reviewer is smarter than me. (Ha, ha, which is why they get paid to write a review and I don’t)....

Some of the history was challenging for me — I understood that Olga lived through two World Wars ...but holes in my education showed up about the brutal genocide in Colonial Africa — the Herero and Namaqua genocide (google helped)....
Mostly (I will admit)...I cherished the personal relationship aspects of this novel - more than trying to keep my history perfectly straight.

I liked many little moments - along more ‘bigger moments - and personal profile descriptions of the characters. I liked how little enjoyable scenes were the building blocks to the entirety on the novel.

When Olga was a young girl....(orphaned & poor), her friendship with
Herbert (a neighborhood aristocratic kid), was priceless....(minus the wrench in their pure enjoyment from Herbert’s family). Herbert’s sister Viktoria, didn’t come to her brothers defense in the area of love...and Herbert’s parents threaten to disinherit him if he married Olga.

I liked the conversations that Olga and Herbert had about life.
When they were young — sneaking off secretly- to be together — they talked about philosophy, psychology, social issues, politics, infinity, God, eternity, books, art music education, justice, families, love, dreams, ....etc.
One day, Herbert asked Olga, “what do you know that you didn’t know this morning?” Great question....don’t you think?
So I asked my husband the question ....”what do you know now that you didn’t know this morning?”
Paul had to ‘think’...then told me he “Jeff Bezos will fly aboard Blue Origin’s First Human Trip to Space”.

The years were passing by....
When Olga saw Herbert again after his return from German South West Africa, (gone two years), she was so happy that she didn’t question him on the atrocities she had read about. She didn’t want to hear anymore about the battles.
She wanted to know whether the blacks were beautiful, the men and women, how they lived. She wanted to know what their hopes were for the future. What he liked over there and what had disgusted him.
She wanted to know what disgusted him there… The diseases, typhoid fever and malaria, yellow fever and meningitis. She wanted to know what he had liked.

“Olga liked it when there was something Herbert couldn’t understand, couldn’t explain, couldn’t express. He was strong, refused to be intimidated, and didn’t give in, and that was the kind of man she wanted. At the same time she didn’t just want to look up to her man; she liked to have an advantage over him and someways. But he didn’t need to know that, and he certainly didn’t need to get annoyed about it.

There were more journeys that separated Olga and Herbert....
long sea journeys....Argentina, Brazil, Siberia, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Arctic.
Herbert was going to attempt the crossing of the Northeast Passage or the conquest of the North Pole.

Germany declared war on Russia. The Russians occupied Tilsit and had to abandon it again; in between, people stood outside their houses and heard the cannons at Tannenberg. I really felt how ‘loud’ those cannons were.....(credit goes to Bernhard Schlink).
Men were missing, and some wives and mothers were already wearing black.
“Two years had passed since Herbert had set out, and the idea that he would hold out longer than the Danes had done in Greenland was a dream from which Olga awoken as soon as she began to dream it. But his death wasn’t real for Olga either”.

Olga continued to teach in her village until the land north of Neman, split off from Germany. The Treaty of Versailles was administered by France, and was annexed by Lithuanian in 1923. After that she taught in a village south of Neman.
Olga’s great joy was Eik....(a student she taught)
“He was a gifted child, an ingenious and skillful hobby craftsman who built himself a boat and a soapbox cart and at the same time a dreamer you couldn’t hear enough about far-off seas and distant lands.
Olga told Eik about Hebert‘s travels to German South West Africa and Argentina and Karelia and the peninsulas in Siberia. She didn’t want to tell him about Spitsbergen or that Herbert was missing, presumed dead”.
Olga presented Eik with a heroic Herbert, not the boy from Pomerania who had overreached himself and frozen to death, but the adventurer full of longing for great expanses and distant lands, who had not given up, who had overcome the worst hardships and the greatest of dangers. It was as if, although Herbert had failed in the eyes of the whole world, Olga nonetheless wanted to present him to someone as he had seen himself and had wanted to be seen, as if she had forgotten the things she had reproached herself for.
Later she would fear that Eik was taking the wrong path in life, as Herbert had.
Because he was gifted, he made it out of the village to the city, from the elementary school to the high school and from Tilsit to Berlin. He studied architecture at the technical University and sometimes Olga would visit and admire him.
Later he won prizes, designed and built a department store in Halle, a hotel in Munich, a consulate in Genoa, and spent many years in Italy.

During the summer holidays, Olga caught a fever, thought it was influenza, went to bed, woke up the next morning you could no longer hear.
She was deaf.
She was dismissed, at 53. The school administration wanted to get rid of her anyway. She didn’t suit the new age. She wouldn’t have stopped teaching if she hadn’t had to. But for sometime she had assumed the Nazis would dismiss her, and since then the school had felt increasingly alien to her.
And she had been a teacher for more than 30 years perhaps it was enough.


Thoughts to contemplate about a cemetery, about those who have died, about those who have lived:
“She liked to walk through the cemeteries because everyone was equal here: the powerful and the weak, the poor and the rich, the love and the neglected, those who had been successful and those who had failed. A mausoleum or angel statue, or a big tombstone didn’t change any of that. All were equally dead. No one could or wanted to be grand anymore, and too grand wasn’t a concept”.


Olga’s Life was her love for Herbert — her resistance to him, as fulfillment and as disappointment.

Love, loss, history, memories....BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you, HarperVia, Netgalley, and Bernhard Schlink

[Dem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of love and loss that was entertaining but not a book that I will remember a year from now.>

Having read Bernhardt Schlick’s The Reader and rating it three stars this wasn’t high on my list of books to read. However it was a gift from a friend who thought I might enjoy it.

The premise of the novel did catch my attention. Olga is an orphan raised by her grandmother Olga is an orphan in a Prussian village around the turn of the 20th century. Smart and precocious, she fights against the prejudices of the time to find her place in a world that sees her as second-best.
When she falls in love with Herbert, a local aristocrat obsessed with the era's dreams of power, glory and greatness, her life is irremediably changed.

I found the story interesting in parts but the narrative never really pulled me in or made me care enough about the characters.
Olga is a story which moves from the late nineteenth century and through two world wars and which for me was a really interesting part of the story as I enjoyed how the author entwined Germany's history with Olga and Herbert's love story.

I did like the last quarter of the story and the ending was well thought out.

An interesting tale just not a book for my favourites shelf.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes the reader on a journey - a literal one from Germany to Africa, South America and the Arctic but it is also the journey of the relationship between Olga, raised in poverty by a harsh grandmother and Herbert, an aristocrat. In the background but very significant to the story, is the political journey of Germany through the turbulence of the twentieth century. Like the country of his birth Herbert also goes on s journey in pursuit of ‘greatness’. It is a fascinating journey and a very different book which is beautifully written as you would expect from this author.

This is a clever multi layered book with several twists that take you by surprise. Olga is an amazing character and my admiration for her grows and grows as the story progresses. In the first part, I only got some sense of her, the writing feels detached and then as you read on to the second part you realise her story in that part is being narrated by Ferdinand who Olga befriends after World War Two when he was a little boy. Their friendship grows to love and is deeply touching. In this section via several different techniques we learn of the real Olga, her background and her determination to succeed to be a teacher and rise above the station of her birth. Her relationship with Herbert is one of deep love but also anger at his wanderlust, her frustrations with his pursuit of grandeur which she views as nothingness. Her political views are very interesting, she an original thinker and does not follow crowds. Her situation as a woman in the early part of the century also reveals her powerlessness. Herbert is very much a product of his time, he is arrogant, brash, a self believer but also one who is prepared to pursue his own path in defiance of the expectations of his class. I like the way we get different views across the vast period of time from Olga, Herbert and Ferdinand and many are very thought provoking. In places, especially the second half it is very moving and touching and it feels very real and authentic. The translation is very good too and it flows seamlessly.

Overall, although it took me a while to get into this book it’s an absolutely fascinating and absorbing read. It reflects political turmoil but also the turmoil of passionate love. Olga experiences a whole gamut of emotions through her love for Herbert but she stays very true to herself throughout. Highly recommended for fans of Literary Fiction and Historical Fiction.

With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group W and N for the arc in return for an honest review.

[Kalliope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blurbs are dangerous things. Isolated quotes probably even more dangerous.

With this book I felt several times as if my mind, inevitably, liked to make guesses as to where the story, and its significance, was going. I felt I was responding, correctly, to cues in the text. But it was a quote in the blurb “The story of Olga is the story of Germany’s modern history” that made me think that the characters were allegorical figures representing factors of Germany. Wrong.

Then, on its next section (there are three), we no longer have an impersonal and omnipresent narrator but a first person one. Consequently, I dropped the allegorical rubbish and thought that could be Schlink’s personal account and that Olga was or had been an actual person. Wrong again. It turned out this narrator was not a Bernhard.

Then the third section is composed of a series of letters which promise the revelation of a hidden secret (recalling then the plot of S’s famous The Reader). And here, you can imagine, I was wrong again.

In spite of the wrong turnings that my mind was taking when reading Olga’s story, and despite feeling somewhat let down since the plot is not as powerful as The Reader, I enjoyed reading, again, how Schlink presents the dangers of thinking in the absolute and its moral: Greatness is not something Germany ought to pursue.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover is what drew my attention to this book. After noticing the author, I decided it was about time I read Schlink.

Olga follows the life of Olga Rinke from birth, at the end of the nineteenth century, to death, in 1971. The last part is also about Olga through the eyes of Ferdinand, the son of a German family Olga used to sew for. Throughout her life, Olga was witness to great historical events, but her life stayed small and lonely. Olga's life is sad, devoid of parental love, and amorous love. She filled her life with work, culture and domesticity.

This is a short book, an easy read. Unfortunately, I found it uneven, either too boring or too rushed and it felt directionless. The last chapter is made up of letters written by Olga to her first and only lover, Herbert. They were superfluous. I don't know if it's the translation's fault, but the writing was flat and I was kept at a distance.

[Paula Mota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questiono-me: terás sido sempre um fantasma? Terei sempre amado tão-só uma imagem de ti que criei para mim mesma? Uma imagem de ti que é inalterável, estejas ainda vivo ou estejas morto? Não quero banir-te da minha vida. Deverás manter um lugar no meu coração, um relicário onde te tenho guardado, só a ti, diante do qual por vezes me detenho, a pensar em ti. Mas preciso de fechar esse relicário e de poder desviar o olhar. De outro modo, a dor é demasiada.

Passei a primeira parte deste livro a pensar que não podia ser só isto, a vida de uma mulher normalíssima, na sua vidinha, à espera de um homem nas suas idas e vindas, com a História da Alemanha do século XX em pano de fundo.
Na segunda parte, é bonita a amizade da protagonista já idosa com um jovem, mas sem nada que a distinga de tantas outras relações de puro afecto entre gerações diferentes.
Apostei, portanto, tudo na terceira parte, que decerto me revelaria por que razão Berhnard Schlink, que não é nenhum estreante, achou que a vida de Olga dava um livro. Há toda uma linhagem de obras que se alicerça na reviravolta, na grande revelação final que vai fazer o livro valer a pena, mas a mim essas pouco me dizem. Além disso, é um truque já estafado: não é porque teve muito sucesso com “O Leitor”, que encobria um grande segredo, que deva continuar a fazê-lo, primeiro, porque a fórmula se esgota e depois porque dificilmente voltará a causar o choque usando a mesma receita. Assim sendo, quando o segredo de Olga foi exposto, pareceu-me uma grande pastilha que demora muito a mastigar até ficar pronta para o balão que, afinal, pouco enche e logo faz puf! O final irreverente fica-lhe bem, mas não permite mais do que 3*.
É difícil não simpatizar com Olga, a órfã pacata, tranquila mas firme, uma rapariga estudiosa e íntegra que tenta subir um pouco acima da sua condição, mas que não é aceite pela família abastada do seu pretendente. Ela, porém, é a típica mulher de todos os descobridores e aventureiros, que espera resignadamente o seu regresso, enquanto eles fazem tudo o que cabe a homens de acção. Neste caso, um homem que tem meios para fazer uma expedição ao Pólo Norte, mas não para casar com o seu amor de juventude.

Olga constatava que o papel que desempenhava na vida de Herbert lembrava o de uma amante na vida de um homem casado. Este homem vive no seu mundo, ocupa-se dos seus assuntos e, de vez em quando, dedica alguns momentos da sua vida à amante, mas esta não participa de modo algum na vida dele nem nesses assuntos. Só que Herbert não era um homem casado, não tinha mulher nem filhos para junto de quem tivesse de regressar. Olga sabia que ele a amava (...). Herbert nada negava a Olga que lhe pudesse dar. Aquilo de que ela sentia falta era algo que ele não estava em condições de dar.

E é essa a resignação da protagonista que me causa desconforto, porque é a constância que a define até ao fim, não havendo altos e baixos na recta que é a sua vida, apesar das guerras, das mortes em seu redor, da sua deficiência. Creio que Olga, mais do que uma mulher, é o símbolo da estabilidade, do conservadorismo, do mundo tradicional, um contraponto aos três homens que passam pela sua vida, Herbert, Eik e Ferdinand, que representam a aventura, a mudança e a justiça social. E isso é pouco para uma mulher que dá título a um livro.

Demasiada grandiosidade – eis o que a levara a perder Herbert e Eik, eis aquilo por que responsabilizava Bismarck, e eis o que ela acreditava ser também a perigosa tentação da minha geração. Eu contestava-a, acusava-a de enaltecer a exiguidade, a ninharia, a estreiteza, de não distinguir entre as grandes ideias que são certas e as que são erradas, entre as que são boas e as que são más. Não fui, no entanto, capaz de a convencer.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story, but unexceptional. I never really felt completely engaged, always at arm's length.

[Kuszma · Rating 5 out of 5]

(„A felolvasó írójától” - ez van a könyvborítóra írva. Akkor viszont az értékelés elé írjuk azt, hogy: „A felolvasó olvasójától”. Úgy korrekt.)

Csudaszép. Szép és szomorú. És még bölcs is.

Schlink nagyon ért a tömörítéshez. Több évtizednyi történelmi időt átfogni szűk háromszáz oldalban nem piskóta, de ő meg tudja csinálni: finoman és érzékenyen. Itt van Herbert, a gazdag úri csemete, akinek a távolság a heroin. Ő az, aki menne a messzeségbe, szabadon, függetlenül, lobogó sörénnyel, mert túlteng benne a férfiprincípium. Szerelme, Olga nem követheti, egyfelől mert szegény árva, akinek a tanítónői pálya az elérhető legmagasabb karriercél, másfelől meg azért, mert Olga tudja: a messzeségtől nincs mit várjon az ember, folyton a messzeségbe nézni csak gyávaság, a közeli dolgoktól való félelem jele. De nem dob kötőféket Herbert nyakára, úgyhogy a férfi elvágtat lelkesen a vadregénybe, a vadregény meg, ahogy az lenni szokott, elnyeli őt. Olga pedig egyedül marad.

Mesteri húzás, hogy Schlink ezen a ponton, a szöveg kábé harmadánál-felénél teljesen átstukturálja a regényt azzal, hogy megmutatja, ki is az igazi elbeszélő. Ezzel behoz egy új szereplőt, aki a maga sajátságos szemszögével és indítékaival új lendülettel ajándékozza meg történetet. Kitágul a regény időspektruma, a cselekmény új ösvényekre téved, de közben a fókuszban továbbra is Olga marad, akinek személye folyamatosan kerekedik az író keze alatt.

És akkor az utolsó etapról ne is beszéljünk, Olga leveleiről Herberthez, amelyek mindegy felteszik a koronát az egészre, úgy-ahogy elvarrva a szálakat. No most a levélregényről tudvalévő, hogy idejétmúlt műfaj, amit a kortárs író többnyire kerül, mint a Múzsák Demeter Szilárdot – de Schlink ezt is megoldja: az intimitás szédítő tereit nyitja meg velük.

Van Schlink stílusában valami, ami levegős, könnyed hatást kelt. Talán a tökélyre vitt tömörítés miatt. Nem tudom. De ezzel együtt úgy tudja ábrázolni a veszteségek súlyát, hogy én zsibbadok tőle.

[Gabril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olga è una bambina che ama guardare, in piedi, tutto ciò che la circonda. Manterrà la sua posizione eretta e dignitosa anche a novant’anni. Olga è povera, ben presto sarà orfana, affidata alla nonna che non la ama, ma la sua volontà è più forte di tutto: vuole studiare e ci riuscirà; il suo amore è tenace, più potente della morte, e ha un nome: Herbert, irrequieto compagno di giochi, ma anche erede di una ricca famiglia borghese che non può approvare, ovviamente, la loro unione.
La storia di Olga percorre quasi per intero il 900: la Grande guerra, l’illusione di una Germania eroica e invincibile, il nazismo, la ricostruzione, e infine la speranza malfondata di poter costruire un mondo nuovo.
Attraverso i pensieri, le emozioni e il comportamento di Olga vediamo stralci di storia tedesca, ne ascoltiamo il riverbero. Ma il libro è complesso perché costituito da tre parti con tre diversi punti di vista. Ed è solo alla fine che noi capiremo di quale tempra Olga è fatta, come sono profondi i suoi sentimenti, com’è limpido e schietto il suo pensiero.
Schlink, con grande maestria, riesce ad appassionarci alla vita dei personaggi principali del romanzo e insieme a darci una visione di insieme di una nazione, la Germania, e di una storia, quella del Novecento, che ci tocca e ci riguarda tutti.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mich hat das Buch doch sehr begeistern können. Das Geschehen und die Charaktere bewegen und Schlinks Schreibstil zeigt sich auch hier als passend gehoben, aber flüssig und auf den Punkt gebracht. Es wird aus turbulenten Zeiten berichtet, überlebt unsere Protagonistin doch zwei Weltkriege, und auch die Liebesbeziehung, die eine große Rolle spielt, verläuft alles andere als ruhig. Insgesamt fand ich die Geschichte sehr spannend und einfühlsam geschildert. Mein einziger Kritikpunkt liegt im letzten Teil des Buches, der einfach zu langatmig gestaltet ist und sich oft im Gesagten wiederholt. Das hätte man eleganter lösen und ein wenig abkürzen können. Dennoch hat mir Olga insgesamt sehr, sehr gut gefallen und ich vergebe 4,5 Sterne.

[Gaby Meares · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved The Reader. But I've found Schlink's subsequent novels disappointing. Olga has moments that shine, but on the whole I found it a sad story about a woman who wasted her love on a man who didn't return it in kind. She just kept making excuses for his selfishness, and waited for him, and waited for him, and waited for him!
The blurb promotes their love as 'a love against all odds', but it wasn't really a love story at all. In fact, it could be seen as a cautionary tale to women not to waste their lives, and their love, on a man who is narcissistic and unable to return their love.

[Hulyacln · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Özlem nedir? Bazen bir eşyaya benziyor, ne görmezden gelebiliyorum, ne yerinden oynatabiliyorum, çoğunlukla yolumu tıkıyor ama odanın bir parçası o ve ben ona alıştım. Ama sonra birden yumruk gibi çarpıyor bana ve içimden haykırmak gerekiyor.'
.
Olga bir hayat gözlemcisi. Aşık bir kadın, kendini durmaksızın büyüten bir eğitimci. Sevildiğinden daha mı çok seviyor emin değiliz ama yıllara yayılan hikayesinde bizi çeken bir şey var. Olga bekleyen bir kadın aynı zamanda. Sevdiği adamı -Herbert- bekliyor örneğin. Daha adil bir düzeni, yeni yerler görmeyi..Çocukluğundan itibaren tanıyoruz onu, savaşlara tanıklık ettiğini biliyoruz, bazen bir göçebe kuş gibi olduğuna tanık oluyoruz. Olga'yı farklı toprakların, farklı zamanın insanları olsak dahi çok seviyoruz.
Bize de şöyle sesleniyor sanki: 'çocuk!'
.
Olga'nın hikayesi beni öyle etkiledi ki. Kitabı elimden bırakamadım çünkü 'şimdi ne olacak' diyen iç sesim bir türlü susmak bilmedi. Hem ağladım hem güldüm, hem sinirlendim hem Olga'nın şefkatinde sakinleştim. 
.
Lütfen siz de okuyun.
.
İlknur Özdemir'in özenli çevirisi, Geray Gençer kapak tasarımıyla ~

[Calzean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olga's story is told in the first half of the book. Then the second half is narrated by a man who's family used Olga as a seamstress and he became a friend with her for the rest of her life. A lot of Olga's life is repeated until the narrator gets hold of some old Olga letters and her secret is revealed.
So the first half was good. The second mystifyingly boring.

[Marisa Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A história de Olga é a história de muitas mulheres alemãs cuja vida atravessou a Primeira e a Segunda Guerras Mundiais. É a história de uma vida interrompida pelo desaparecimento e pela perda de alguém que se ama. É a história de uma vida em que a ausência está sempre presente... até ao fim dos dias.

"Olga" acompanha a história da Alemanha desde pouco antes da corrida pela posse de colónias em África até ao pós Segunda Guerra Mundial. É a história da ambição desmedida do país, disposto a querer sempre mais para ser maior, independentemente das perdas e dos custos virem a ser muito superiores do que os potenciais ganhos...

Schlink retrata igualmente a evolução da mulher na sociedade alemã, sobretudo quando esta vem de origens mais humildes e pretende estudar, o mais possível, num tempo em que isso não era comum. Sem querer entrar em mais detalhes, diria que "Olga" consegue cativar o leitor desde as primeiras páginas, não sendo possível largá-lo antes do fim.

A escrita é simples, clara e fluida. Há momentos em que também é intensa e emotiva. E o livro está dividido em três partes que dão dinâmica à narrativa: uma primeira em que o narrador conta a história de Olga e Herbert, uma segunda em que Ferdinand fala de si e de como conheceu Olga, e uma terceira constituida pelas cartas de Olga para Herbert.

Apesar deste romance ainda não estar traduzido para muitos idiomas, penso que seria uma boa aposta investir na sua tradução e divulgação, mesmo como forma de compreensão do que foi e do que é a Alemanha. Além do que o livro é muito bonito. Muito bonito mesmo. E quando se chega ao fim... ficamos... pensativos e sem grandes palavras durante um bom bocado...! Grande livro, Herr Schlink. Mais um grande livro!

[Marta Xambre · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,4⭐
"Olga", um livro que fala sobre o amor e o poder que este exerce na vida de uma mulher. Olga, uma mulher, que ao longo da sua vida se ancorou ao amor. Simpatizei logo desde o início com a Olga e com a sua habilidade para amar e para se fazer valer na vida.
O contexto histórico presente no livro também é um aspeto interessantíssimo nesta história, nomeadamente a posição da mulher nesta época.
Gostei muito da forma bela, simples como a história foi contada e da estrutura apresentada.
Olga, não desiludiu, pelo contrário... Quantas Olgas terão existido nesta época? E no presente, será que ainda existem? Deixou-me a pensar cá com os meus botões ... E mais não digo.

[Maria Roxana · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Ce fericire când viața pe care o trăiește un om și nebunia pe care o săvârșește se armonizează precum melodia și contrapunctul! Și nu numai că sunt în armonie, doar omul însuși e cel care le îmbină!”

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch macht Lust auf mehr Bernhard Schlink. Ein paar Abzüge gab es für unpassende Bezeichnung von Bevölkerungsgruppen, aber Olga's Geschichte war wirklich ergreifend.

[Denisa Ballová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Najskôr som si pozrela film Predčítač, potom som si prečítala knihu a zostala zaskočená, koľko sa z knižnej predlohy nezmestilo do filmu. Dúfam, že Oľgu nikto nesfilmuje. Jej krása totiž spočíva v troch odlišných formách rozprávania.

Oľga je časovo aj geograficky rozsiahlejší román ako Predčítač. S knihou, ktorá Schlinka preslávila, má viacero spoločného. Aj tu sa objavuje vzťah medzi mladým chlapcom a staršou ženou, avšak v úplne inej podobe. Aj tu Schlink rieši nacistickú históriu Nemecka. Ústami Oľgy kritizuje túžbu po veľkom Nemecku, nadvláde, triumfoch. Vysmieva sa jej a označuje to za prázdne slová. Ide však omnoho ďalej – dej sa odohráva počas prvej a druhej svetovej vojny, aj v 70. rokoch.

Posledná Schlinkova kniha má široký záber a na ploche 200 strán pokrýva mnoho tém. Môže byť románom o osudovej láske a o tom, ako minulosť ovplyvňuje prítomnosť. Je to aj román o emancipácii, pretože je o žene s veľkou vierou, ktorá sa nechcela vzdať hoci sa prepadala do priepasti životných podmienok a okolností.

„Jako dítě jsem tolik toužila mít rodinu, která by mě milovala, podporovala a pomáhala mi. Neměla jsem ji a musela jsem všechno zvládnout sama. (…) To všechno jsem dokázala a jsem na to hrdá. Je pozdě učit se spolu žít tak, jak chcete vy, muži. Já se nepřizpůsobím, nepodřídím. Mohl by ses s tím naučit žít? Chtěl bys to?“

Román má trochu očakávané rozuzlenie, napriek tomu je to veľmi dobrá kniha predovšetkým pre hlavnú postavu, s ktorou nemusíme súhlasiť, ľahko ju však budeme obdivovať.

„Jaké štěstí, když život, který člověk žije, a bláznivý čin, jehož se dopustí, se k sobě mají jako melodie a kontrapunkt. A když obojí nejen souzní, ale člověk to spojí sám!“

[Viac som napísala tu - https://dennikn.sk/1442681/na-200-str...]

[Fern A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books you stumble across not expecting too much of to then turn the pages and be completely blown away by how wonderful it is!

Olga’s life is told in three parts; through her own narrative, through the memories of a man who knew her when he was a young boy and finally through letters she sent. Each section adds a few more layers and weaves into the narrative.

I really loved the writing style which was simple and sometimes said more by what was not mentioned. On reading the last page with all the information gathered, I wanted to return to page one to start all over again.

A truly wonderful book!

[Lidija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Užitak čitanja i prevođenja. Pa opet čitanja. Svakako preporučujem.

[Dunja · Rating 5 out of 5]

ljudi, čitajte šlinka i volite olgu, carica je 💜

[Έλσα · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα καθαρό ψυχογράφημα!

Η Όλγα είναι η κεντρική ηρωίδα. Ο Σλινκ εξιστορεί τη ζωή της γυναίκας που χάνει τα πάντα. Η Όλγα όμως, είναι μια κοπέλα που αγαπά τη ζωή, εργάζεται σκληρά κ προσπαθεί να επιβιώσει. Χάνει σε μικρή ηλικία τους γονείς της κ αναγκάζεται να μεγαλώσει μαζί με τη γιαγιά της. Η σκληρότητα κ το μίσος της γιαγιάς της είναι αγκάθι για την Όλγα.

Δυστυχώς η Όλγα δίνει αγάπη στους γύρω της, αλλά δεν παίρνει αγάπη. Ερωτεύεται τον Χέμπερτ ο οποίος παρόλο που την αγαπά έχει διαφορετικά όνειρα απ' αυτή. Ο Χέμπερτ οργανώνει μια αποστολή την Αρκτική. Η Όλγα μένει μόνη...

Η μοναξιά την κυριεύει, την πνίγει. Παρ' όλα αυτά συνεχίζει τον αγώνα της επιβίωσης. Η αγάπη της για τον αγαπημένο της την κρατά αισιόδοξη κ δυνατή. Ο πόλεμος την κάνει σκληρή.

Στέλνει γράμματα στον Χέμπερτ κ μ αυτό τον τρόπο τον νιώθει κοντά της.

Τα γράμματά της είναι μια κατάθεση ψυχής. Μια επιβεβαίωση της πραγματικής αγάπης, μια ελπίδα, ένα καταφύγιο. Αποτελούν την αλήθεια της, τη ζωή της. Αναπολεί το παρελθόν, ανακαλεί τις ελάχιστες, ήρεμες στιγμές της με τον έρωτα της ζωής της. Το μοναδικό της έρωτα.

Το βιβλίο χωρίζεται σε τρία μέρη, άρτια δομημένα. Το καθένα εξυπηρετεί κ ένα σκοπό. Μπορεί να μην αποτελεί αριστούργημα, αλλά η γραφή του κ το ύφος του σε μαγεύουν, σε ταξιδεύουν, σε συγκινούν....

[Digdem Absin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polonyalı annesi ve Alman babasını çok küçük yaşlarda kaybeden, Slav annesinden nefret eden büyükannesinin küçük bir köyde, sevgisiz büyüttüğü Olga’nın ve Almanya’nın hikayesi Olga. Bilgiye ve öğrenmeye tutkun Olga, büyük çabalar sonucu öğretmen olur. Köyün en zengin ailesinin yerinde duramayan, maceracı oğlu Herbert küçük yaşlardan itibaren her şeyi olur Olga’nın. Sömürgelerdeki askerliği, Güney Amerika, Sibirya ve bir çok yere yaptığı geziler boyunca bekler Herbert’i Olga; içindeki huzursuz çocuğun büyümesini bekler. Fakat Herbert, Kuzey Kutbuna yaptığı, başarısız keşif gezisinden geri dönemez. Olga tek başına iki dünya savaşı atlatır; yaşadığı felaketler ondan çok şey alsa da hayatta kalmayı başarır.

Hayatındaki erkekleri Büyük Almanya ideali ile gözleri boyanmış küçük çocuklara benzeten Olga ile güçlü bir kadın karakter yaratmış Bernhard Schlink. Bu okuduğum üçüncü romanı. Tarzını çok beğenmesem de etkileyici hikayelerine ve kadın kahramanlarına bayıldım. Hanna ve Irene’nin ardından güçlü ve renkli bir başka karakter Olga’yı da çok sevdim.

[Babywave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich habe den Schreibstil bis zum Ende geliebt, habe mein Herz an Olga verloren. So eine mutige, tolle Frau. Ich mochte die Geschichte sehr. Manchmal zog es sich ein wenig, aber ich konnte das gut ertragen.... Olga war ja da.

[Ubik 2.0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una vita

Ogni tanto provo a ricercare fra i romanzi pubblicati da Bernhard Schlink l’atmosfera, lo stile, la forza espressiva riscontrata in “A voce alta”, un’opera che a suo tempo mi ha colpito molto, forse anche oltre i suoi meriti oggettivi, per la capacità di coinvolgere emotivamente e psicologicamente, ma l’incanto non sembra funzionare più.

Dei romanzi dell’autore tedesco che ho letto dopo quel colpo di fulmine iniziale, “Olga” è quello che vi si può accostare maggiormente (anche perché diverse altre opere reperibili consistono in polizieschi di scarsa originalità) e per certi versi ripropone alcuni degli elementi che distinguevano il predecessore.

Schlink possiede la proprietà di articolare il romanzo con uno stile apparentemente piatto e descrittivo che tuttavia presenta scarti imprevisti ed improvvisi della narrazione che spostano la funzione del protagonista, il punto di vista di chi partecipa alle vicende narrate, le motivazioni delle azioni, il destino stesso dei personaggi.

Questa operazione si svolgeva in “A voce alta” con una precisa alchimia in grado di conferire un equilibrio finale ad un romanzo di per sé sfuggente e tale da rimescolare e quasi imbrogliare ogni volta le carte sorprendendo e stimolando l’attenzione del lettore: una tecnica forse non innovativa ma esercitata con una particolare appropriatezza e una sensibilità che mi parve fuori dal comune.

In “Olga”, che pone ugualmente al centro della narrazione un personaggio femminile molto ben caratterizzato e accompagnato nelle varie fasi della sua intera esistenza, non si ripete il medesimo effetto: dopo una prima metà che ridesta a sprazzi le sensazioni suscitate dall’altro romanzo, scade in uno scontato romanticismo e in una convenzionale rappresentazione dei sentimenti, soprattutto nella parte “epistolare” che tende a banalizzare gli elementi più originali del racconto, come l’inafferrabile personalità di Herbert, destinatario sfuggente dei messaggi di Olga, scritti o inespressi.

[Denisa T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olga, nejnovější kniha B. Schlinka, je příjemné čtení. Tenhle poměrně útlý text zvládl obsáhnout více než jedno století, život v tehdejším Prusku i obě světové války, a v postavě Olžiny životní lásky, nestálého dobrodruha Herberta, i německou kolonizaci Afriky, cesty po Jižní Americe nebo dobývání Severního pólu. A dotkne si i tématu ženské emancipace. Navíc je text zajímavě kompozičně vystavěn, v první části nám o Olze a Herbertovi vypráví autorský vypravěč, ve druhé Ferdinand, kluk, o kterého se Olga "na staré roky" stará a později se s ním intenzivně přátelí, a konečně jsou to Olžiny dopisy Herbertovi, které si nikdy nepřečetl, a o to intenzivněji působí na čtenáře. A k tomu všemu Schlink, původně autor detektivek, i tady zvládá wow efekt. Jakýpak? To už si musíte přečíst sami, Olga za to stojí!

[Marija Milošević · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ja se iznova oduševljavam Šlinkom i načinom na koji nepretenciozno, lako, potpuno dočara atmosferu i emocije.
Koliko god da mi je "Čitač" prijao, s Olgom sam saosećala, Olgi sam se divila i s uživanjem sam pratila njen život. Prikaz čiste i iskrene ljubavi, a zatim i divnog prijateljstva... Likovi su toliko opipljivi da mi se čini da sam u svakoj situaciji mogla da razumem njihove postupke. Retkost.
Tri dela ove priče međusobno se dopunjuju i daju kompletnu sliku onoga što je Šlink želeo da Olgom prikaže - razlike među društvenim klasama, ali i polovima u Nemačkoj u dvadesetom veku.

Čini mi se da Šlinkove knjige kod nas nisu dovoljno... "hajpovane" - mada, svaka knjiga nađe put do svog čitaoca (to sam naučila od Kalvina). Čitajte Olgu. 💜

[Понкратова Людмила · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книга така маленька, але яка глибока! Ольга - сильна, мудра жінка, яка протягом життя пронесла свою любов до коханого. Як же тоді все було несправедливо стосовно прав жінок (початок ХХ століття)- соціальна нерівність, неможливість обрати професію на рівні з чоловіками, багато всього іншого... Але вони кохали одне одного і намагалися бути щасливими. Цікавий образ Герберта, його намагання бігати, а не ходити по життю, мчатися в невідомі далі...
Листи до Герберта... Вони розкривають додаткові моменти з життя Ольги, які вони щирі, сповнені любові до коханого, надії на те, що він залишився живим.
Здалося, що Ольга залишала свій слід в душі тих, хто її розумів і потребував на все життя.
Сподобався стиль автора. Написано просто, але водночас проникливо...

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

O início da obra é soberbo, mas depois faltou-lhe alguma coisa...
Talvez lhe tenha posto em cima demasiadas expectativas por causa do impacto tremendo que a obra do autor - O leitor - causou e ainda causa em mim.

NOTA - 07/10

[NEKA · Rating 4 out of 5]

ისედაც ემოციური ვარ ბოლო დღეებში და ამ წიგნმა საბოლოოდ მომცელა🥺