Biler og dyr

by Helle Helle

Ganske almindelige hverdagssituationer udvikler sig stille og roligt i mere og mere foruroligende eller rent ud sagt uhyggelig retning. Vanskeligheden ved at få sagt hvad man ville, er et gennemgående træk for personerne i disse noveller.

Genres: Short Stories, Contemporary, Danish, Fiction

99 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Helle Helle (born 1965) published her first book in 1993. Since then, her work has garnered overwhelming critical and popular acclaim.

Recently awarded the Golden Laurel literary prize, Helle Helle is the recipient of countless literary accolades, among them the Danish Critics’ Prize, the Danish Academy’s Beatrice Prize, the P.O. Enquist Award and the prestigious Lifetime Award of the Danish Arts Council.

Her novels and short stories have been translated into 18 languages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bob / novel / 2021
They / novel / 2018
If You Want / novel / 2014
This Should Be Written in the Present Tense / novel / 2011
Down to the Dogs / novel / 2008
Rødby-Puttgarden / novel / 2005
The Idea of an Uncomplicated Life with a Man / novel / 2002
Cars and Animals / short stories / 2000
House and Home / novel / 1999
Remains / short stories / 1996
Example of Life / novel / 1993

Reviews

[Ea E. Danielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine noveller i typisk Helle Helle stil, men synes hun gør sig bedre i hendes romaner. Men altid dejligt at læse og blive mindet på Lolland, det føles som en komprimeret versioner på hver en side skrevet af hende💌

[Bodil Sixhøj · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Biler og dyr” af Helle Helle er typiske noveller for hendes skrivestil og persongalleri. (Se evt. min anmeldelse af “Rester”) I denne novellesamling er der dog nogle af novellerne, der rummer ansats til konflikter, ofte nogle man kunne have undgået, hvis man var i stand til at sige fra. (Endnu et Helle Helle-præg.)

[Sofie Amalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeg ved godt, at der brude være noget fantastisk over Helle Helles minimalistiske skrivestil, men jeg bryder mig bare ikke om den.

[Byurakn · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read several of Helle Helle's novels, I was sure she was more of a short story writer. Indeed, "Biler og dyr", being a short story collection, shows Helle Helle's writing skills in a stronger light. With minimalistic language and well-crafted dialogues Helle Helle is exploring the lives of the most ordinary people with their ordinary mundane problems. These characters would normally not be interesting enough for writers to write about but Helle Helle's mastery is finding the fascinating aspects of being human and telling their stories, translating their emotions to words, which are not always direct translations.

As a writer myself, I find Helle Helle one of those few writers that inspire me a lot. The biggest lesson learnt from her stories: tell as much as you can with as few words as possible.

[Ida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eighth book of 2023:

I didn't dislike it, but as much as I admire the minimalistic style of writing, I just have to admit that it isn't really for me. I initially like the prospect of a lot of empty holes in the story that I'll have to interpret on my own, but honestly it's just too much work for my brain, and most of the time I'm second guessing my ability to come to the right conclusions, even though as far as I've gathered, there are no right conclusions.

Anyway, had to read it for my Danish class and have to admit it's one of the better books we've read so far. It was short, easy and took me like and hour to read, so at least that's something. I'm also very convinced that Helle Helle is good as writing like she does, but it's just not my genre, so it's not entirely doing it for me. But hey, it's not bad, so give it a go if you want.

[Ploni Almoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biler og Dyr er nok den slags noveller som de fleste, der har gået i alment gymnasium, forbinder med Helle Helle…. Den indeholder store klassikere fra danskfagets opgaver som Globryllup, og der er ikke flere sennepsmarker i Danmark.

Er novellerne gode? Ja! Utvivlsomt - ordene falder som perler på en snor… i de her små symboltunge hyperrealistiske fortællinger, hvor der sjældent sker der helt store… Hvorfor får den så kun tre stjerner? Jamen jeg var sgu ikke rigtig underholdt, det hele føltes lidt for stilsikkert/kunstlet og derfor ikke helt levende nok.

Nok desværre en samling, hvor anmelderens kendte ord - Hun hedder Helle Helle og hun kan skrive skrive, men hun har ikke noget at skrive skrive om, kommer tættest på at være virkelighed!

[Anne Marte Jordet Stensrud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noen av novellene treffer mer enn andre, og de er til gjengjeld veldig gode i både tematikk og fortelleteknikk. Jeg er begeistret for Helle Helles minimalistiske skrivestil på ord- og komposisjonsnivå. En gjennomgående tematikk i Biler og dyr, slik jeg leser det, er møter mellom det trivielle og det eksistensielle, fasade og mangel på (genuin) kommunikasjon mellom mennesker.
De feste av tekstene er imidlertid nokså kjedelige og/eller intetsigende. Jeg liker Helle Helles senere noveller og romaner bedre enn denne samlingen.

[Nullerbuller16 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almindeligt, kedeligt liv, som mellem linjerne ikke er så almindeligt eller kedeligt. Raseri, kaos og menneskelighed. Jeg kan se mig selv i næsten alle karakterene, og Helle Helle fanger det vi alle prøver at skjule og karmoflere.

[Søren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der er en del biler. Og også nogle dyr. God bog.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

love me some helle helle

[Esi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeg kan stadig godt lide Helle Helles minimalisme i hendes noveller. Jeg kunne dog bedre lide Rester end denne.

[Henrik Stub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ret morsom faktisk.

[Signe Hovgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humor bag hverdagssproget. Gode noveller der alle sætter spor

[Nami Nilsson]

Although I didn’t particularly like reading this book I find myself using it a lot of times to describe a very specific feeling of being dazed in city, hot from summer with buzzing cars

[Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helle's minimalist realism style often seems pointless in short stories. Her writing is quite pleasant, even beautiful, but I want to be moved in some way when I read. Maybe it works better in a longer work. The stories feel like part of a bigger story that is never defined.
However, there is one story that contradicts all of this: En lille tur, about a woman, her mother, and the family dog. True to her style, letting the situation speak for itself, it is a beautiful, moving, engaging story. If that is the height of "minimalist realism" then it can be quite beautiful.
An easy read, it's still all worth reading (and En lille tur is definitely worth reading).

[Martina B.. · Rating 5 out of 5]

... En ældre dame ved min side læner sig ind over mig.
- Neej, siger hun lavt.
Hendes stemme sitrer. Hun lugter af kamfer.
- Jo, hvisker jeg.
- Ja, ikke, siger damen, stadig sitrende. Vi sætter os, og ceremonien går i gang.

(fra novelle Globryllup)

Hvor genkendelig.
Helle Helle har fået mig totalt.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helles noveller virker mest som skriveøvelser. Der er utroligt mange konflikter og masser af vrede og flere af dem er lidt teatralske, som skuespillere der øver skænderi-scener. Men der er ikke nogen af dem der for alvor er interessante ift hendes mesterlige romaner.

[Tritia van der Velde · Rating 3 out of 5]

erg vermakelijk. fijne subtiele, droge humor. ook al kreeg ik waarschijnlijk niet alles mee, want zo goed is mijn Deens nou ook weer niet (integendeel).

[Rasmus Puggaard]

Minimalistic short stories - a bit too minimalistic for my taste

[Michael Krarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://bogbrokken.blogspot.dk/2010/11...

[Linnea Gelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novellerna är trevliga och smått komiska, men jag kan inte låta bli att tycka att de slutar väl så plötsligt ibland.