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De bedste af os
Den store universitetsromanen om kunnskapsglede, lidenskap og umettelige ambisjoner. Om heftige mål og prisen for å nå dit, om kjærlighet, intriger og bedrageriets besettelse. Og midt i alt dette: språkforskeren Pål Bentzen, den unge, søte kollegaen hans Nanna Klev og den strenge - og farlige? - femtiårige professoren Edith Rinkel.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
20 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
Helene Uri
53 books84 followersHelene Uri is a Norwegian linguist, novelist, and children's writer. She has published a number of novels, children's books and young adult novels, as well as nonfiction books.
She is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature, board member of the Norwegian Language Council, and jury member of the Nordic Council's Literature Prize.
She is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature, board member of the Norwegian Language Council, and jury member of the Nordic Council's Literature Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 5, 2023
Románc a nyelvészeti tanszéken. Na, az milyen lehet? Gondolom, a felek nem olyanokat mondanak egymásnak, hogy "Nyakad íve, mint az impaláé!" (mert az a zoológusok asztala), vagy "Hadd hámozzam meg lédús licsigyümölcsödet!!!" (mert így meg nyilván a botanikusok édelegnek). Hanem elcsukló hangon ajnározzák egymás uvuláris "r"-jeit, az eksztázis pillanatában pedig így kiáltanak: "Igen! Igen!!! És most mond ugyanezt hedmarki dialektusban is!!!!!"
Oké, bevallom, kicsit lájkvadász voltam. Mert van ugyan romantika ebben a szövegben, mint amúgy a legtöbb szövegben, ami emberi kapcsolatokkal foglalkozik - de elsősorban nem a szerelemről szól. Legalábbis nem szerelemről ember és ember között - sokkal inkább az író és nyelvtudomány között. Uri szemérmetlenül beleírja saját tudományos elköteleződését a szövegbe, aminek köszönhetően az egész regény a norvég nyelvészeti tanszék mikrokozmoszának keresztmetszetévé válik. A nyelvészek pedig - mint kiderül - majdnem olyanok, mint az emberek: áskálódnak, szövetségeket kötnek, pletykáznak, elcsavarják egymás fejét... annyiban különböznek tőled meg tőlem, hogy közben olyan morfológiai vagy nyelvtörténeti problémákon agyalnak, amelyeknek mi a létezéséről se értesültünk. És ami azt illeti, nem is éreztük, hogy hiányoztak.
Okos, csavaros egyetemi regény, ami metsző iróniával ábrázolja választott közegét - ez azonban nem zárja ki, hogy szeretetet érezzen iránta. Uri helyenként remek karaktereket rajzol, bizonyos párbeszédei pedig fenomenálisak. Ha kicsit több affinitást éreznék nyelvészeti kérdések iránt, bizonnyal még elbűvölőbbnek tartottam volna.
(Íme, egy alvó vörös panda. Mert melléknévi igenevekről vagy grammatikai kapcsolóelemekről nem találtam képet.)
Oké, bevallom, kicsit lájkvadász voltam. Mert van ugyan romantika ebben a szövegben, mint amúgy a legtöbb szövegben, ami emberi kapcsolatokkal foglalkozik - de elsősorban nem a szerelemről szól. Legalábbis nem szerelemről ember és ember között - sokkal inkább az író és nyelvtudomány között. Uri szemérmetlenül beleírja saját tudományos elköteleződését a szövegbe, aminek köszönhetően az egész regény a norvég nyelvészeti tanszék mikrokozmoszának keresztmetszetévé válik. A nyelvészek pedig - mint kiderül - majdnem olyanok, mint az emberek: áskálódnak, szövetségeket kötnek, pletykáznak, elcsavarják egymás fejét... annyiban különböznek tőled meg tőlem, hogy közben olyan morfológiai vagy nyelvtörténeti problémákon agyalnak, amelyeknek mi a létezéséről se értesültünk. És ami azt illeti, nem is éreztük, hogy hiányoztak.
Okos, csavaros egyetemi regény, ami metsző iróniával ábrázolja választott közegét - ez azonban nem zárja ki, hogy szeretetet érezzen iránta. Uri helyenként remek karaktereket rajzol, bizonyos párbeszédei pedig fenomenálisak. Ha kicsit több affinitást éreznék nyelvészeti kérdések iránt, bizonnyal még elbűvölőbbnek tartottam volna.
(Íme, egy alvó vörös panda. Mert melléknévi igenevekről vagy grammatikai kapcsolóelemekről nem találtam képet.)
September 30, 2019
Szent Habakuk, ez a könyv rólam szólt! :)
Na jó, valójában egy kupac elméleti nyelvészről, akikkel külön-külön nem feltétlenül azonosultam, de bizonyos szempontból ez itt az életem nyomtatásban. Ha karácsony lenne, minden kollégámnak megvenném, mert régen mulattam ilyen jól.
Maga a regény nem egy briliáns darab, bár szerintem nem is éppen rossz. A karakterek például kifejezetten tetszettek. A történetszálak néhol kicsit elfáradnak vagy széttöredeznek, de engem tökéletesen kárpótolt a miliő ábrázolása, lebontva egészen az apró epizódokig.
Konferenciaelőadásokra gondolok, amikről kiderül, hogy féléve már hallottuk a világ egy másik csücskében, így a kemény padon fészkelődve azon tűnődünk, hogy egy hideg sör kiöntésekor a pára vajon a pohár külső vagy belső oldalán csapódik le, esetleg az előttünk ülők toalettjének stíluskritikai osztályozásával próbáljuk elmorzsolni az unalom lassan múló perceit. Aztán a béna beszélgetésekre gondolok az előadások közötti kávészünetekben, beleértve azokat a kínos pillanatokat is, amikor nem tudjuk eldönteni hogy a külföldi kolléga a mellünket bámulja, vagy csak a nevünket próbálja leolvasni a kitűzőről. (A szállodai szobákban sűrűsödő entyem-pentyemből azért gyököt lehet vonni .) Aztán ott vannak a munkaebédek, pályázat- és beszámológyártások, útiköltségelszámolások, folyosói intrikák... borgőzös információcserék és féltékenykedő pletykák az esti sörözéseken... vagy a munkába feledkezett órák egy íróasztali lámpa mellett a kongóan üres, sötét épületben. És persze a másik oldal: a kutatás és a felismerés öröme, az új eredmények feletti eksztázis, a megosztás izgalmai, egy kis rivaldafény, ambíciók, világmegváltó tervek és álmok...
A hangulat tehát tökéletesen átjön, de maga a szerző már az első lapokon "jelzi" menyire kell komolyan venni a valósnak tűnő környezetet. A Futurista Nyelvészeti Intézet és a Jövő Morfológiája Tanszék már nevében is nonszensz, de ha a helyszínek önmagukban nem is rángatják meg mindenki belső vészcsengőjét, az olyan dolgozatcímektől, mint a Hogyan ragozzuk a főnevet 2108-ban? bizonyára sokan gyanút fognak. A konfliktus magját képező, hőseink által kidolgozott, mindent átfogó elmélet is valójában nyelvészeti techno-blabla, de a kellőképpen homályos tálalás miatt a cselekmény végeredményben nem sérül, és a történések, a reakciók és viselkedések egészen hihetőek lesznek.
Elismerem, hogy a könyv élvezeti értékét nálam megsokszorozta a bennfentesség érzete, így elfogult a véleményem, de ezzel együtt szívesen ajánlom mindenkinek, akit érdekel a tudományos közeg kicsit kifordítva, hétköznaposítva, érzelmekkel átitatva, (olykor szó szerint) lemeztelenítve.
Na jó, valójában egy kupac elméleti nyelvészről, akikkel külön-külön nem feltétlenül azonosultam, de bizonyos szempontból ez itt az életem nyomtatásban. Ha karácsony lenne, minden kollégámnak megvenném, mert régen mulattam ilyen jól.
Maga a regény nem egy briliáns darab, bár szerintem nem is éppen rossz. A karakterek például kifejezetten tetszettek. A történetszálak néhol kicsit elfáradnak vagy széttöredeznek, de engem tökéletesen kárpótolt a miliő ábrázolása, lebontva egészen az apró epizódokig.
Konferenciaelőadásokra gondolok, amikről kiderül, hogy féléve már hallottuk a világ egy másik csücskében, így a kemény padon fészkelődve azon tűnődünk, hogy egy hideg sör kiöntésekor a pára vajon a pohár külső vagy belső oldalán csapódik le, esetleg az előttünk ülők toalettjének stíluskritikai osztályozásával próbáljuk elmorzsolni az unalom lassan múló perceit. Aztán a béna beszélgetésekre gondolok az előadások közötti kávészünetekben, beleértve azokat a kínos pillanatokat is, amikor nem tudjuk eldönteni hogy a külföldi kolléga a mellünket bámulja, vagy csak a nevünket próbálja leolvasni a kitűzőről. (A szállodai szobákban sűrűsödő entyem-pentyemből azért gyököt lehet vonni .) Aztán ott vannak a munkaebédek, pályázat- és beszámológyártások, útiköltségelszámolások, folyosói intrikák... borgőzös információcserék és féltékenykedő pletykák az esti sörözéseken... vagy a munkába feledkezett órák egy íróasztali lámpa mellett a kongóan üres, sötét épületben. És persze a másik oldal: a kutatás és a felismerés öröme, az új eredmények feletti eksztázis, a megosztás izgalmai, egy kis rivaldafény, ambíciók, világmegváltó tervek és álmok...
A hangulat tehát tökéletesen átjön, de maga a szerző már az első lapokon "jelzi" menyire kell komolyan venni a valósnak tűnő környezetet. A Futurista Nyelvészeti Intézet és a Jövő Morfológiája Tanszék már nevében is nonszensz, de ha a helyszínek önmagukban nem is rángatják meg mindenki belső vészcsengőjét, az olyan dolgozatcímektől, mint a Hogyan ragozzuk a főnevet 2108-ban? bizonyára sokan gyanút fognak. A konfliktus magját képező, hőseink által kidolgozott, mindent átfogó elmélet is valójában nyelvészeti techno-blabla, de a kellőképpen homályos tálalás miatt a cselekmény végeredményben nem sérül, és a történések, a reakciók és viselkedések egészen hihetőek lesznek.
Elismerem, hogy a könyv élvezeti értékét nálam megsokszorozta a bennfentesség érzete, így elfogult a véleményem, de ezzel együtt szívesen ajánlom mindenkinek, akit érdekel a tudományos közeg kicsit kifordítva, hétköznaposítva, érzelmekkel átitatva, (olykor szó szerint) lemeztelenítve.
August 28, 2025
Bursdagsgave fra Bestemor.
Historien var i og for seg drivende, men intriger på fakultetet for språk og lingvistikk er ikke helt mitt største interessefelt.
Historien var i og for seg drivende, men intriger på fakultetet for språk og lingvistikk er ikke helt mitt største interessefelt.
August 12, 2014
3,5 stars.
This is the book I thought I was starting when I was reading Den rettferdige. Turns out the latter is actually better, even though the subject matter of this book is closer to my heart: linguistic research at the University of Oslo at the fictive and costly (hah! humor right there!) institute of Futuristic Linguistics.
Everything that does concern the university, all the small comments on different departments and researchers are pure gold. It's so perfectly done it just has to be extremely spot-on (I currently work on a linguistics project at a university, but from home, so I see very little drama). The rest, however, is a bit too long. It only gets really interesting during the last 100 pages, and half the characters are... unlikeable or borderline unlikeable. The narrative style reminds me a lot of Den rettferdige, but the techniques that worked there are somewhat overworked here. The hints at what will come are too many, and too ominous, considering the plot does not concern life and death, but rather careers and hurt pride. Instead of having so many actual hints referring to "the event" and "what will happen", more hints could have been incorporated in the actual events. When Nanna doesn't get Pål's childhood story of singing on the tram, that's one. There could have been more things like that, subtler and more insinuative than outright stating So This Will Soon Be Going To Hell, Just Wait A Bit.
That being said, I love one of the main characters: Edith. Edith the super linguist with less than perfect people skills is the female counterpart of Albert Sterne in The Definitive Albert J. Sterne (awesome book!). She's like my linguist super hero. You don't meet lots of those. Her, I love. The other characters are just annoying enough to be unpleasant to read about. That made the book a bit of a chore, since the plot is something like 50/50 centered around Edith and Nanna/Pål respectively. Nanna? Ugh, hate at first sight...
And Pål? I do get Pål. The way Uri illustrates his anxieties and shortcomings through his two key childhood stories is actually very good, but the whole thing somehow falls short. Pål should perhaps have been less happy for his character to fully work; despite his "chameleon"-thing, he's too confident in his own skills (both social and professional), and he ends up getting no sympathy - from me, at least. His behavior at the very end doesn't quite match up with his Happy Confident Man-character.
Helene Uri deserves an applause for including Pål's mother, though. Pål's mother secretly writes historical and other type romances, but she does it without being ridiculed for it in a book that belongs to The Elite World of Real Literature, and guess what? Miss Super Linguist shamelessly reads those books. Guess what Miss Super Linguist also does? Scoffs at linguistic prescriptivism. Me and Edith, we're like two peas in... no, wait, Edith is actually a brilliant linguist. I wish I had more of her intelligence, and not just her "people? urghrgh..."-traits. (Other activities of Edith's include playing around with young students, admiring her shoe collection, eating chocolate and generally not giving a fuck. What a woman.)
This is the book I thought I was starting when I was reading Den rettferdige. Turns out the latter is actually better, even though the subject matter of this book is closer to my heart: linguistic research at the University of Oslo at the fictive and costly (hah! humor right there!) institute of Futuristic Linguistics.
Everything that does concern the university, all the small comments on different departments and researchers are pure gold. It's so perfectly done it just has to be extremely spot-on (I currently work on a linguistics project at a university, but from home, so I see very little drama). The rest, however, is a bit too long. It only gets really interesting during the last 100 pages, and half the characters are... unlikeable or borderline unlikeable. The narrative style reminds me a lot of Den rettferdige, but the techniques that worked there are somewhat overworked here. The hints at what will come are too many, and too ominous, considering the plot does not concern life and death, but rather careers and hurt pride. Instead of having so many actual hints referring to "the event" and "what will happen", more hints could have been incorporated in the actual events. When Nanna doesn't get Pål's childhood story of singing on the tram, that's one. There could have been more things like that, subtler and more insinuative than outright stating So This Will Soon Be Going To Hell, Just Wait A Bit.
That being said, I love one of the main characters: Edith. Edith the super linguist with less than perfect people skills is the female counterpart of Albert Sterne in The Definitive Albert J. Sterne (awesome book!). She's like my linguist super hero. You don't meet lots of those. Her, I love. The other characters are just annoying enough to be unpleasant to read about. That made the book a bit of a chore, since the plot is something like 50/50 centered around Edith and Nanna/Pål respectively. Nanna? Ugh, hate at first sight...
And Pål? I do get Pål. The way Uri illustrates his anxieties and shortcomings through his two key childhood stories is actually very good, but the whole thing somehow falls short. Pål should perhaps have been less happy for his character to fully work; despite his "chameleon"-thing, he's too confident in his own skills (both social and professional), and he ends up getting no sympathy - from me, at least. His behavior at the very end doesn't quite match up with his Happy Confident Man-character.
Helene Uri deserves an applause for including Pål's mother, though. Pål's mother secretly writes historical and other type romances, but she does it without being ridiculed for it in a book that belongs to The Elite World of Real Literature, and guess what? Miss Super Linguist shamelessly reads those books. Guess what Miss Super Linguist also does? Scoffs at linguistic prescriptivism. Me and Edith, we're like two peas in... no, wait, Edith is actually a brilliant linguist. I wish I had more of her intelligence, and not just her "people? urghrgh..."-traits. (Other activities of Edith's include playing around with young students, admiring her shoe collection, eating chocolate and generally not giving a fuck. What a woman.)
April 18, 2024
Boka kom ut i 2006, og fikk veldig gode anmeldelser, husker jeg. Og jeg hadde vel tenkt at den må jeg lese, uten at det ble realisert da. Så dukket den nylig opp i en bruktbutikk, så da fikk jeg sjansen til å lese den.Handlingen dreier seg om akademiske intriger og utspiller seg på Universitetet i Oslo. Helene Uri har ikke lagt skjul på at hun er inspirert av sin egen arbeidsplass. Dette var ei treig bok å lese ferdig. Den er godt skrevet (det skulle ellers bare mangle) men det mangler driv i boka. Jeg blir ihvertfall ikke revet med. Kanskje er det for mange anekdoter og digresjoner. For akademisk? For intelligent for mitt hode? Jeg vet ikke. Jeg skjønner hvor historien ender så avsløringen til slutt er forventet og derfor flater det hele ut i ingenting. Dette var en fortellingen som gav meg svært lite. Litt skuffet rett og slett
October 11, 2007
Førsteinntrykk etter første dag og ca 30 sider:
Boka roper allerede til meg: JEG ER SÅ FLINK, ATTE.
Se hvordan jeg er tilstede i teksten, går inn og ut av fortellingene, fram og tilbake i tid, men uten å miste den røde tråden. Jeg er bare så utrolig flink, altså!
Og så språket da! De fremmedordene ser du ikke ofte, tenker jeg. Også så morsom jeg er, "instituttet for
futuristisk lingvistikk (Futling)", hæ?
Irriterende dame.
Enda mer irriterende at det faktisk stemmer. :-)
Etter at boka er ferdiglest:
Underveis spurte jeg meg selv: Hva er det Uri vil med boka? Få hevn over de som var slemme med henne og lage et nidportrett av tidligere arbeidsgiver? Si noe om hvor langt enkelte er villige til å gå for ære og berømmelse?
Det slo meg også at jeg egentlig ikke fattet sympati for noen av hovedpersonene. Romanen er så veldig, veldig flink, men den mangler sjel og varme, dette "noe" som gjør at du virkelig blir engasjert. For det ble jeg ble ikke
før ca side 370 av 432.
De språkvitenskapelige digresjonene appellerte veldig
til nerden i meg, og var kanskje det jeg likte best.
Alle de andre digresjonene og sidesporene avskriver jo Uri selv, hun sier at "dette er ikke viktig i denne historien".
Jeg lurer også også på om hun kan skrive like treffende
observasjoner av andre miljøer som hun ikke kjenner
like godt. En del av det er nesten avskrift av
virkeligheten, litt fordreid.
Konklusjon, forsøksvis: Den er ikke spennende nok til
å være spenningsroman. Den er ikke dyp nok til å
skulle avsløre menneskets natur eller akademia eller
maktspill mellom mennesker generelt eller kjønn
spesielt eller noe annet jeg kan komme på.
Det er godt håndverk, men ikke stor kunst.
Boka roper allerede til meg: JEG ER SÅ FLINK, ATTE.
Se hvordan jeg er tilstede i teksten, går inn og ut av fortellingene, fram og tilbake i tid, men uten å miste den røde tråden. Jeg er bare så utrolig flink, altså!
Og så språket da! De fremmedordene ser du ikke ofte, tenker jeg. Også så morsom jeg er, "instituttet for
futuristisk lingvistikk (Futling)", hæ?
Irriterende dame.
Enda mer irriterende at det faktisk stemmer. :-)
Etter at boka er ferdiglest:
Underveis spurte jeg meg selv: Hva er det Uri vil med boka? Få hevn over de som var slemme med henne og lage et nidportrett av tidligere arbeidsgiver? Si noe om hvor langt enkelte er villige til å gå for ære og berømmelse?
Det slo meg også at jeg egentlig ikke fattet sympati for noen av hovedpersonene. Romanen er så veldig, veldig flink, men den mangler sjel og varme, dette "noe" som gjør at du virkelig blir engasjert. For det ble jeg ble ikke
før ca side 370 av 432.
De språkvitenskapelige digresjonene appellerte veldig
til nerden i meg, og var kanskje det jeg likte best.
Alle de andre digresjonene og sidesporene avskriver jo Uri selv, hun sier at "dette er ikke viktig i denne historien".
Jeg lurer også også på om hun kan skrive like treffende
observasjoner av andre miljøer som hun ikke kjenner
like godt. En del av det er nesten avskrift av
virkeligheten, litt fordreid.
Konklusjon, forsøksvis: Den er ikke spennende nok til
å være spenningsroman. Den er ikke dyp nok til å
skulle avsløre menneskets natur eller akademia eller
maktspill mellom mennesker generelt eller kjønn
spesielt eller noe annet jeg kan komme på.
Det er godt håndverk, men ikke stor kunst.
September 3, 2007
Har vel lest bedre bøker, og var veldig forutsigbar. Godt språk og en del finurligheter, men den ble langtekkelig.
March 14, 2023
"Det kan være svært at indrømme det, men det er tilfældigheder, der i stor grad styrer vores liv. Man vil så gerne tro, at man lykkes med noget, fordi man har fortjent det. Man roser sig af, at alt blev som planlagt, netop fordi man havde planlagt det så godt. Men i virkeligheden er det sjældent sådan."
De beste blant oss is about the linguistic department at Oslo University. We follow three academics and their journey to and in academia, and how ambitions may help - or destroy - them.
I am very much in two minds about this book. I loved everything to do with working in academia. I myself am doing a PhD at the moment of reading this book, and Uri gets so many details absolutely spot on. I know that this is satire, but it is almost too true to be actual satire. I could absolutely recognise how we all behave at conferences (mostly very bored, doodling, waiting for the talks to be over), and the administrative minutia that we spent more time on than actually doing research. I couldn't help laughing, and I thought that Uri did a fantastic job!
But then there was the rest of the book which I wasn't a fan of. The plot and the characters felt mismatched; their inner actions and motivations were filled with weird inconsistencies with the way that they would behave. And these inconsistencies did not feel deliberate in the way to portray complex characters, but more in a way to serve the plot. It made the book fall rather flat, and I was never really that invested in the plot.
So if it only had been satirical musings about working at a university, then I would have loved this book, but the rest wasn't to my taste. But if you are interested in academia and want a kind of true depiction, then I would give this book a go.
De beste blant oss is about the linguistic department at Oslo University. We follow three academics and their journey to and in academia, and how ambitions may help - or destroy - them.
I am very much in two minds about this book. I loved everything to do with working in academia. I myself am doing a PhD at the moment of reading this book, and Uri gets so many details absolutely spot on. I know that this is satire, but it is almost too true to be actual satire. I could absolutely recognise how we all behave at conferences (mostly very bored, doodling, waiting for the talks to be over), and the administrative minutia that we spent more time on than actually doing research. I couldn't help laughing, and I thought that Uri did a fantastic job!
But then there was the rest of the book which I wasn't a fan of. The plot and the characters felt mismatched; their inner actions and motivations were filled with weird inconsistencies with the way that they would behave. And these inconsistencies did not feel deliberate in the way to portray complex characters, but more in a way to serve the plot. It made the book fall rather flat, and I was never really that invested in the plot.
So if it only had been satirical musings about working at a university, then I would have loved this book, but the rest wasn't to my taste. But if you are interested in academia and want a kind of true depiction, then I would give this book a go.
October 2, 2025
This sharp satire set in academia, exploring rivalries between professors, caused controversy in Norway, as the author shattered readers’ illusions about the exceptionality of these people. It’s no coincidence that the story opens with a quotation from Holberg’s Erasmus Montanus: “It is a terrible thing about these scholarly people. They are so jealous of each other, and no one of them can endure the thought that another is as learned as he.” The author shows no mercy toward her characters.
Edith Rinkel is an attractive woman and an outstanding linguist, but she has no feelings for anything beyond linguistics and her collection of luxurious shoes. Pål Bentzen is intelligent and good-looking; one casual remark is enough to make women throw themselves at him - though his naïveté is astonishing. Nanna Kleve is a blonde-haired angelic type, vulnerable - or so it seems. From the outset, readers are told by the omniscient narrator that one of these three is the villain. Yet it takes quite some time before suspicions begin to point toward the guilty party.
The author devotes considerable space to events that happened long before, which are not strictly necessary to understand the characters, but they read well nonetheless.
What I really enjoyed about the novel is the space given to linguistics. The author is seen as a popularizer of the field and has a gift for conveying complex linguistic ideas to a general readership. Her playful comparison of subfields — grammar, syntax, morphology — to a medical hierarchy, with syntacticians cast as the cardiac surgeons, makes it perfectly clear even to laypeople who is considered (or rather, who considers themselves) the top tier in linguistics.
Edith Rinkel is an attractive woman and an outstanding linguist, but she has no feelings for anything beyond linguistics and her collection of luxurious shoes. Pål Bentzen is intelligent and good-looking; one casual remark is enough to make women throw themselves at him - though his naïveté is astonishing. Nanna Kleve is a blonde-haired angelic type, vulnerable - or so it seems. From the outset, readers are told by the omniscient narrator that one of these three is the villain. Yet it takes quite some time before suspicions begin to point toward the guilty party.
The author devotes considerable space to events that happened long before, which are not strictly necessary to understand the characters, but they read well nonetheless.
What I really enjoyed about the novel is the space given to linguistics. The author is seen as a popularizer of the field and has a gift for conveying complex linguistic ideas to a general readership. Her playful comparison of subfields — grammar, syntax, morphology — to a medical hierarchy, with syntacticians cast as the cardiac surgeons, makes it perfectly clear even to laypeople who is considered (or rather, who considers themselves) the top tier in linguistics.
October 26, 2022
The biggest question that appeared in my mind after finishing this book: is there any continuation? Is there the next chapter? Because it feels really unfinished. In a book description it is written that this novel is about ambitions, high goals and price that should be paid for that. Closer to the end we can finally see the culmination of that story (which was quite predictable), but there is no denouement - we don’t see any price paid.
Style of narration is captivating and easy-going, it’s easy and fascinating to read, enjoyable. However characters are quite template and not fully developed. It’s not clear why everyone likes Nanna, love story is also pretty cliché. The best of this novel is actually not the plot part, but a dive into linguistics. There are many scientific explanations that draw attention to history of languages and arouse interest towards field of language science.
The overall impression is disappointing. I really don’t enjoy books that seem incomplete or leave a reader think about the possible ending. However at the same time the book brought thoughts and joyful hours of exciting reading.
7/10
Style of narration is captivating and easy-going, it’s easy and fascinating to read, enjoyable. However characters are quite template and not fully developed. It’s not clear why everyone likes Nanna, love story is also pretty cliché. The best of this novel is actually not the plot part, but a dive into linguistics. There are many scientific explanations that draw attention to history of languages and arouse interest towards field of language science.
The overall impression is disappointing. I really don’t enjoy books that seem incomplete or leave a reader think about the possible ending. However at the same time the book brought thoughts and joyful hours of exciting reading.
7/10
July 26, 2019
+ tematikk. mye gjenkjennelig for en iln-student. spennende mot slutten og var gøy å rette riktig på hva som ville skje. likte barnefortellingen om huset
- synes det var litt barnebok-skrivestil på resten også, som jeg overhodet ikke syntes fungerte. mislikte metaen. karakterne virka veldig kunstige.
- synes det var litt barnebok-skrivestil på resten også, som jeg overhodet ikke syntes fungerte. mislikte metaen. karakterne virka veldig kunstige.
October 17, 2024
Eg diggar eigentleg Helene Uri, men denne boka leid eg meg gjennom. Klarte så vidt å fullføre boka. Alt for mykje snakk om/rundt/på det lingvistiske fakultet utan ei tilhøyrande engasjerande historie.
August 7, 2018
Velskrevet bok. Må leses av alle som noen gang har vært innom et universitet.
September 3, 2018
Lettlest og underholdende om akademia. Spesielt gøy som språkstudent å lese om alle fiktive prosjekter.
July 17, 2021
3.5 stars
Perhaps a bit too long and uneventful, but nonetheless a very entertaining and poignant book about what it takes to be successful in academia.
Perhaps a bit too long and uneventful, but nonetheless a very entertaining and poignant book about what it takes to be successful in academia.
November 15, 2021
Artig med språklige finurligheter hele veien. Historien blir mer og mer spennende, men dessverre kan man, litt for tidlig, gjette seg til hvordan det vil ende.
August 17, 2022
Gleder meg til studiestart!
March 1, 2024
Skikkelig gøyal
October 5, 2024
Den frække narrer den mindre kloge som til gengæld tar røven på den klogeste. Skarp satire over universitetsverdenen. Heldigvis i Norge! 😋
January 3, 2026
Witty and spot-on. Uri perfectly captures the quirks of university life.
July 1, 2024
Jeg har lenge hatt lyst til å lese noe av Helene Uri, og hadde kanskje litt høye forventninger. De beste blant oss var bare .. Kjedelig? Flat og ensformig historie, selv om den tok seg en smule opp på slutten.
February 18, 2025
En ekstra stjerne for språkhumoren og nordist-dissingen.
May 7, 2012
En af de bedst skrevne bøger, jeg har læst i lang tid. Helene Uri udforsker sproget og hvordan det bruges, samtidig er hendes skrivestil nytænkende og interessant. Selve temaet vil måske ikke fænge alles interresse, men plottet er velgennemtænkt og godt udført. Jeg havde delvis gættet slutningen - men jeg måtte i løbet af romanens forløb ændre på mit bud adskillige gange.
July 14, 2020
Bidende satirisk, underholdende bog om forskningsmiljøet på et lingvistisk universitetsfakultet i Oslo. Denne specielle verden, der ofte er lidt lukket om sig selv, bliver der ikke skrevet meget fiktion om. En roman om begær efter anerkendelse, prestige og kærlighed. Og om at blive snydt.
Alle jer der finder ord, sprog og lingvistik interessant vil kunne lide denne bog. I andre vil kede jer.
Alle jer der finder ord, sprog og lingvistik interessant vil kunne lide denne bog. I andre vil kede jer.
May 24, 2008
En ganske udmærket bog lidt i stil med Undtagelsen af Chr. Jungersen om ærgerrighed, misundelse og bristede forventninger. Minder mig om mine studenterdage på KUA i starten af årtusindet og minder mig om hvorfor jeg ikke valgte den akademiske karriere. Mon Dieu!
June 26, 2009
Litt meiningslaus bok, masse ord som for å brilljera med språket.
January 2, 2011
How wonderful it should be working on the Phd thesis in the field of futuralistic linguistics! Trying to imagine and predict what parts of the word and sentence will disappear in 50 years!
Read
August 5, 2011Hvis den ikke hadde dreid seg om språkvitenskap så hadde jeg gitt opp for lenge siden. Innholdet fortjener nemlig bare en stjerne
June 1, 2013
Dit verhaal over de taalkundige academische wereld van Oslo deed me denken aan Onder Professoren van W.F. Hermans. Het zit leuk in elkaar. De plot zag ik al even aankomen, maar echt erg was dat niet.
May 24, 2013
Indrukwekkend boek.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews