What do you think?
Rate this book
Slutet på glitterscenen #2
Säihkenäyttämö
Säihkenäyttämö on itsenäinen jatko-osa jännitysnäytelmälle, joka sai alkunsa romaanissa Amerikkalainen tyttö.
Eletään 2000-luvun alkua ja amerikkalaisen tytön kuolemasta syksyllä 1969 on kulunut jo aikaa. Silti sen jälkeiset traagiset tapahtumat kietovat edelleen Seudun ihmisten kohtalot toisiinsa. Johanna asuu Solveigin kanssa rajametsän vieressä, joka loppuu etelässä Toisella niemellä sijaitsevaan Talvipuutarhaan. Siellä on näytillä Seudun tarinat ja ympärillä soi tuttu musiikki. Kertomukset, päiväunelmat ja musiikki, joita voi luulla vain lapsuuden muistoiksi, muuttuvatkin joksikin muuksi, todelliseksi ja raa'aksi.
Eräänä päivänä Johanna kohtaa rajametsässä Ulla Bäckströmin. Ulla on ollut Talvipuutarhassa ja tavannut siellä henkilön, joka on kertonut hänelle vanhoista asioista: pojasta metsässä, amerikkalaisesta tytöstä. Ja vain muutaman päivän päästä tästä kohtaamisesta Ulla kuolee. Johannan elämään ilmaantuu myös toinen hirviö, joka saa Johannan pelkäämään ja laittaa kaiken liikkeelle.
Fagerholmin nerokas ja omalakinen romaani vie lukijan kuvitelmien, unien, muistojen ja todellisuuden rajamaille. Säihkenäyttämö on moniulotteisen ja kiehtovan palapelin puuttuva osa. Kuten Talvipuutarhan salaisissa huoneissa, kaikuu myös romaanissa selvänä se, mistä ei puhuta, se minkä voi kenties vain aavistaa.
Eletään 2000-luvun alkua ja amerikkalaisen tytön kuolemasta syksyllä 1969 on kulunut jo aikaa. Silti sen jälkeiset traagiset tapahtumat kietovat edelleen Seudun ihmisten kohtalot toisiinsa. Johanna asuu Solveigin kanssa rajametsän vieressä, joka loppuu etelässä Toisella niemellä sijaitsevaan Talvipuutarhaan. Siellä on näytillä Seudun tarinat ja ympärillä soi tuttu musiikki. Kertomukset, päiväunelmat ja musiikki, joita voi luulla vain lapsuuden muistoiksi, muuttuvatkin joksikin muuksi, todelliseksi ja raa'aksi.
Eräänä päivänä Johanna kohtaa rajametsässä Ulla Bäckströmin. Ulla on ollut Talvipuutarhassa ja tavannut siellä henkilön, joka on kertonut hänelle vanhoista asioista: pojasta metsässä, amerikkalaisesta tytöstä. Ja vain muutaman päivän päästä tästä kohtaamisesta Ulla kuolee. Johannan elämään ilmaantuu myös toinen hirviö, joka saa Johannan pelkäämään ja laittaa kaiken liikkeelle.
Fagerholmin nerokas ja omalakinen romaani vie lukijan kuvitelmien, unien, muistojen ja todellisuuden rajamaille. Säihkenäyttämö on moniulotteisen ja kiehtovan palapelin puuttuva osa. Kuten Talvipuutarhan salaisissa huoneissa, kaikuu myös romaanissa selvänä se, mistä ei puhuta, se minkä voi kenties vain aavistaa.
455 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
10 people are currently reading
439 people want to read
About the author
Monika Fagerholm
24 books63 followersMonika Fagerholm’s much-praised first novel, Wonderful Women by the Sea, became one of the most widely translated Scandinavian literary novels of the mid-nineties and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 1998 it was followed by the cult novel Diva, which won the Swedish Literature Society Award. Her third novel, The American Girl, became a number-one best seller and won the premier literary award in Sweden, the August Prize, as well as the Aniara Prize and the Gothenburg Post Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 3, 2011
I tried very hard to read this book but after 256 pages, I still don't have the slightest idea what's going on. The story's timeline jumps around, the narrator changes, and the different stories don't match up. One character relays a story in which she murders another character. Later, we learn that she may not have killed this character and that said character suddenly went away on vacation, thus explaining her disappearance. BUT, you never learn which version is accurate, at least not by page 256. I was thoroughly confused and thought I'd take a break from reading this. Now, the thought of having to finish the book is making my stomach tie up in knots. Not a good sign. I'm not doing a very good job of reviewing the story, a great review can be found on http://marywhipplereviews.com. Check it out if you'd like a comprehensive review of the book. Goodreads giveaway.
September 25, 2018
Not everyone will like this book. To be honest, I can't even imagine someone saying, "Well, it was so-so"--you either love it or hate it, and there aren't many stories I have run into that are able to do this. The reasons for extreme reactions are: multiple unreliable narrators (a trope which I happen to love!); so many flashbacks and flash-forwards that you run out of breath (I don't mind at all); nothing is said explicitly.
The last point is what makes this really hard to chew, but also why I loved The American Girl and now this sort-of-a sequel: in order to find out who killed the American girl, the protagonists have to look deep into their own pasts and face unpleasant truths--but nobody is willing to do it, because they are human after all. Instead, further webs of lies are spun in order to protect the mental well-being of selves and other people while trying to dig into each others' lives, and it's all done to the eventual detriment of everyone. The result is a dream-like story, where you don't quite know whose reality matches what truly happened, and where sentences are cut off like they would in real life when you are about to say too much. The same phrases and the family stories they come from repeat and repeat to a point where they become axioms that are no longer attached to any particular time or reality.
I had just finished reading Good Morning, Midnight, which I criticized for repetitions. Säihkenäyttämö is riddled with obvious repetitions, but the author lays down the reasons why in the novel. It's all not just intentional, but has meaning. And that's the really fun part about this book: if you try to just skim through to get to the meat of the murder investigation, you're doing it wrong--the phrases and family legends repeat and repeat, but suddenly there is half a sentence that either explicitly explains on a meta-level what is happening, or it shocks you into reality, revealing something you never expected and changes the way you view the characters. This is definitely not a book to read when you are half asleep or distracted.
It's hard for me to say why I like this novel over many other stream-of-consciousness style books, which I often find unbearably gimmicky. There is something honest about the way these characters act and view themselves, as if they are actors on the Glitter Scene that the novel keeps on referring to and the childhood games and plays the children put up; they're all trying to elevate themselves to the stuff of legends when in reality, most of them are petty, gossipy, violent, envious, unhappy people from a very small town who just want to be whisked away. The only thing making their lives glamorous is their proximity to the American Girl and the mystery of her violent end. Does it even matter, then, who killed her? Knowing who did it might break the spell. (Spoiler, sort of: The readers will find out the murderer, but not without some mental gymnastics!)
The last point is what makes this really hard to chew, but also why I loved The American Girl and now this sort-of-a sequel: in order to find out who killed the American girl, the protagonists have to look deep into their own pasts and face unpleasant truths--but nobody is willing to do it, because they are human after all. Instead, further webs of lies are spun in order to protect the mental well-being of selves and other people while trying to dig into each others' lives, and it's all done to the eventual detriment of everyone. The result is a dream-like story, where you don't quite know whose reality matches what truly happened, and where sentences are cut off like they would in real life when you are about to say too much. The same phrases and the family stories they come from repeat and repeat to a point where they become axioms that are no longer attached to any particular time or reality.
I had just finished reading Good Morning, Midnight, which I criticized for repetitions. Säihkenäyttämö is riddled with obvious repetitions, but the author lays down the reasons why in the novel. It's all not just intentional, but has meaning. And that's the really fun part about this book: if you try to just skim through to get to the meat of the murder investigation, you're doing it wrong--the phrases and family legends repeat and repeat, but suddenly there is half a sentence that either explicitly explains on a meta-level what is happening, or it shocks you into reality, revealing something you never expected and changes the way you view the characters. This is definitely not a book to read when you are half asleep or distracted.
It's hard for me to say why I like this novel over many other stream-of-consciousness style books, which I often find unbearably gimmicky. There is something honest about the way these characters act and view themselves, as if they are actors on the Glitter Scene that the novel keeps on referring to and the childhood games and plays the children put up; they're all trying to elevate themselves to the stuff of legends when in reality, most of them are petty, gossipy, violent, envious, unhappy people from a very small town who just want to be whisked away. The only thing making their lives glamorous is their proximity to the American Girl and the mystery of her violent end. Does it even matter, then, who killed her? Knowing who did it might break the spell. (Spoiler, sort of: The readers will find out the murderer, but not without some mental gymnastics!)
October 7, 2011
Won this book to review, but I'm sorry, I just could not get into it. I'm one of those crazy people who like a book with a beginning, middle, and end. This book, however, makes me feel like I'm listening to a story told by someone suffering from attention deficit disorder who has run out of medication.
October 5, 2025
Kirjapari suosikkikirjailijaltani! Tässä yhteisesti sekä Amerikkalainen tyttö (2004) ja Säihkenäyttämä. On neidolla punapaula kun tanssiin käy (2009).
Amerikkalainen tyttö - ollaan 1969 vuodessa, Seudulla, jonne palataan myös Säihkenäyttämössä. Seudulle ajautunut tyttö, Eddie de Wire, kuolee /tapetaan /murhataan / sattuman kautta menehtyy, mitä lie, hukkuu, häviää Bule- järveen punaisessa sadetakissaan vuonna 1969. Tyttö on asunut Lasitalossa, sieltä heitetty pois (huono käytös, tottelemattomuus) ja on kaksi poikaa, melkein veljekset Bengt ja Björn.
Nuori rakkaus.
On Serkkumamma, talo lapsia täynnä, ja on myös Doris Flinckenberg, löydetty lapsi ja paljon kuolemia, itsemurhia, katoamisia, niin, ennen kaikkea on kaksoset Rita ja Solveig ja veljensä Tom. Ja on ja on ja on… porukkaa ja epäselvät tapahtumat, jotka lukiessa eivät selkiinny (?) ja Fagerholm, fragmentaarisen ja toisteisen tekstin mestari,
kuningatar,
kirjoittaa ajassa edestakaisin menneeseen tulevaan tähän hetkeen painostavasti kevyesti mainiten jankaten toistaen aina vaan eri kulmasta eri ihmisen suulla jauhaa toistaa kertoo, omalla kielellään, keksityin sanoin,
ja piirtää eteen, esiin tutuiksi, aivan vieraiksi jäävät Seudun ihmiset - ja kuitenkin- mitä heistä tiedetään, mitä totuutta he itsestään antavat ilmi, (Fagerholm antaa heistä ilmi)millaista totuutta he puhuvat turhauttaa kiinnostaa tylsistyttää.
Onko mikään totta, todellista?
Ja niin - näiden kahden järkälekirjan jälkeen, melkein tuhannen sivun jälkeen- en tiedä mitä seudulla tapahtui, en tiedä mitä Seudulla noiden neljän vuosikymmenen aikana tapahtui.
En tiedä.
(Muutakuin, että Fagerholm, ah Fagerholm. Mestari.)
Amerikkalainen tyttö - ollaan 1969 vuodessa, Seudulla, jonne palataan myös Säihkenäyttämössä. Seudulle ajautunut tyttö, Eddie de Wire, kuolee /tapetaan /murhataan / sattuman kautta menehtyy, mitä lie, hukkuu, häviää Bule- järveen punaisessa sadetakissaan vuonna 1969. Tyttö on asunut Lasitalossa, sieltä heitetty pois (huono käytös, tottelemattomuus) ja on kaksi poikaa, melkein veljekset Bengt ja Björn.
Nuori rakkaus.
On Serkkumamma, talo lapsia täynnä, ja on myös Doris Flinckenberg, löydetty lapsi ja paljon kuolemia, itsemurhia, katoamisia, niin, ennen kaikkea on kaksoset Rita ja Solveig ja veljensä Tom. Ja on ja on ja on… porukkaa ja epäselvät tapahtumat, jotka lukiessa eivät selkiinny (?) ja Fagerholm, fragmentaarisen ja toisteisen tekstin mestari,
kuningatar,
kirjoittaa ajassa edestakaisin menneeseen tulevaan tähän hetkeen painostavasti kevyesti mainiten jankaten toistaen aina vaan eri kulmasta eri ihmisen suulla jauhaa toistaa kertoo, omalla kielellään, keksityin sanoin,
ja piirtää eteen, esiin tutuiksi, aivan vieraiksi jäävät Seudun ihmiset - ja kuitenkin- mitä heistä tiedetään, mitä totuutta he itsestään antavat ilmi, (Fagerholm antaa heistä ilmi)millaista totuutta he puhuvat turhauttaa kiinnostaa tylsistyttää.
Onko mikään totta, todellista?
Ja niin - näiden kahden järkälekirjan jälkeen, melkein tuhannen sivun jälkeen- en tiedä mitä seudulla tapahtui, en tiedä mitä Seudulla noiden neljän vuosikymmenen aikana tapahtui.
En tiedä.
(Muutakuin, että Fagerholm, ah Fagerholm. Mestari.)
July 15, 2022
Kiehtova kirja lukea, monin tavoin erinomainen, mutta liian katkelmallinen ja välillä jopa pitkästyttävä.
Fagerholm kirjoittaa ihanasti. Ehdottomasti näin. Joten miksihän Säihkenäyttämö on vasta kolmas lukemani Fagerholm?
Fagerholm on selkeästi Suomen Sara Stridsberg. Stridsberg on upea kirjailija. Fagerholm kirjoitti ainakin tämän kirjan samalla katkonaisella ja toisteisella tyylillä. Asiat selkenevät välähdyksinä, arvoituksina tai jopa ilmestyksinä. Kun niitä toistetaan tarpeeksi usein, mukaan tarttuu uusia kerroksia. Säihkenäyttämössä myös ajallisesti, kun samoja tapahtumia kertaavat useat sukupolvet, mukana olleet ja sivusta seuranneet.
Samaa oli myös aihevalinnassa. Intohimoa ja mysteereitä. Kuolemankaipuuta ja nuorena päättyviä elämät.
Ei synny varsinaista tarinaa. Syntyy oivalluksia ja tulkintoja. Syntyy aika paljon kirjallista taidetta, kun Fagerholm käyttää kieltä niin taitavasti. Kiitos tietysti suomentajallekin!
Säihkenäyttämö olisi ollut parempi kirja, jos Fagerholm olisi tehnyt kuten Stridsberg. Lopettanut ajoissa. Nyt toistoa kertyi liikaa. Siitä syystä kirja ei vienyt mukanaan vaan lukeminen tuntui suorittamiselta - turhaan.
Fagerholm kirjoittaa ihanasti. Ehdottomasti näin. Joten miksihän Säihkenäyttämö on vasta kolmas lukemani Fagerholm?
Fagerholm on selkeästi Suomen Sara Stridsberg. Stridsberg on upea kirjailija. Fagerholm kirjoitti ainakin tämän kirjan samalla katkonaisella ja toisteisella tyylillä. Asiat selkenevät välähdyksinä, arvoituksina tai jopa ilmestyksinä. Kun niitä toistetaan tarpeeksi usein, mukaan tarttuu uusia kerroksia. Säihkenäyttämössä myös ajallisesti, kun samoja tapahtumia kertaavat useat sukupolvet, mukana olleet ja sivusta seuranneet.
Samaa oli myös aihevalinnassa. Intohimoa ja mysteereitä. Kuolemankaipuuta ja nuorena päättyviä elämät.
Ei synny varsinaista tarinaa. Syntyy oivalluksia ja tulkintoja. Syntyy aika paljon kirjallista taidetta, kun Fagerholm käyttää kieltä niin taitavasti. Kiitos tietysti suomentajallekin!
Säihkenäyttämö olisi ollut parempi kirja, jos Fagerholm olisi tehnyt kuten Stridsberg. Lopettanut ajoissa. Nyt toistoa kertyi liikaa. Siitä syystä kirja ei vienyt mukanaan vaan lukeminen tuntui suorittamiselta - turhaan.
September 15, 2011
When I received this book, courtesy of the publisher, I was a little puzzled as it was described as a murder mystery but the cover was unlike any other murder mystery book I'd seen. At this point I have to admit that I am a bit of a font and book nerd and the cover of this volume is absolutely beautiful – not just beautiful to look at, it is tactile as well (one point scored for the supporters of the “kindle-will-never-replace-that”). But I digress.
I started reading and I kept thinking I was missing words. The style of this book is so peculiar it was like reading Ulysses all over again: you will see what I mean when you read the book. It is like modern art or contemporary classical music: it takes a while to understand, and you think it's really weird, but amazingly it all works, and eventually you do understand it, a little while after having closed the book. Which is exactly what happened to me.
I don't think you can summarise the plot, as it is anything but linear: there are different points of view, flashbacks and overlap between them. It is an “impressionistic” book in that you have to let the words take you where the author wants you, the reader, to be. The characters are viewed from their own point of view and the point of view of one other character in the story: there isn't an omniscient narrator that we can rely on and trust, to help us form an opinion of the characters. This prevents empathising with them, but makes the reader be the narrator him/herself: it is almost as if the story is unfolding in front of our very eyes, with all its complexities, emotions and lack of objectivity.
I liked this book once I finished it – it is, more than a story, an experience or an emotion.
The translator has done a brilliant job for a book which must have been a very difficult assignment indeed.
I started reading and I kept thinking I was missing words. The style of this book is so peculiar it was like reading Ulysses all over again: you will see what I mean when you read the book. It is like modern art or contemporary classical music: it takes a while to understand, and you think it's really weird, but amazingly it all works, and eventually you do understand it, a little while after having closed the book. Which is exactly what happened to me.
I don't think you can summarise the plot, as it is anything but linear: there are different points of view, flashbacks and overlap between them. It is an “impressionistic” book in that you have to let the words take you where the author wants you, the reader, to be. The characters are viewed from their own point of view and the point of view of one other character in the story: there isn't an omniscient narrator that we can rely on and trust, to help us form an opinion of the characters. This prevents empathising with them, but makes the reader be the narrator him/herself: it is almost as if the story is unfolding in front of our very eyes, with all its complexities, emotions and lack of objectivity.
I liked this book once I finished it – it is, more than a story, an experience or an emotion.
The translator has done a brilliant job for a book which must have been a very difficult assignment indeed.
August 4, 2020
Awful, rambling, disjointed. Could not finish this book, I gave it until page 250 or so until I couldn't stand to read another word. It's very rare that I cannot finish a book. There is a good story in there somewhere but I got tired of trying to dig it out of the confusion.
September 1, 2011
I am grateful to have won this and its first part as a Goodreads Giveaway. I am equally grateful to be finished with them. Left with many questions at the end of The American Girl, I was looking for clarification here. Instead, things were muddied even more. The stream of consciousness style and annoying repetition saw to that! I have NO IDEA what really happened plot-wise. I did like the way the characters lives intersected at all kinds of different points, but I didn't really like anybody! It was quite a dysfunctional lot. I'm gonna need a straight-up, good, old-fashioned STORY now.
January 26, 2016
Fagerholmin kieli on lumoavaa. Toistoa on paljon mutta sepä ei olekaan rasittavaa vaan luo kirjan ihan omanlaisensa ilmapiirin, joka pistää lukijan pohtimaan, mikä on totta ja mikä on vain jonkun kuvitelmaa. Mysteeri ja draama kiertyy auki vähän kerrallaan, ja kirjailija onnistuu vielä loppuvaiheessakin yllättämään. Se, mikä ehkä jää kaihertamaan lukijan mieleen on kysymys, miten pienelle ruotsinkieliselle paikkakunnalle kertyykin iin paljon onnettomuutta. Ehkä trilogian päätösosa valaisee tätkin?
October 15, 2011
I won this novel in a Goodreads giveaway. The premise sounded compelling, and at times the book was, but mostly it failed to live up to it's promise. The timelines were difficult to follow as were some of the narrators. I liked the idea behind this novel, but not the execution. It felt like some books from the 90's that tried so hard to be artsy with the narrrative structure that they lost readers. I am glad I gave it a try and finished it, but it was not to my taste.
December 7, 2011
I honestly could only read the first few pages. I found this style of writing very hard to read. It seemed so fragmented and confusing. I received this book along with American Girl thru a giveaway from Goodreads.com. I probably won't even attempt to read American Girl b/c I assume it will be the same style of writing.
June 29, 2022
Det tar emot med en trea eftersom jag älskar Fagerholm och förmodligen egentligen borde älska den här också. Det kan bero på att jag är i en överarbetad/halvt utmattad situation (plus värmen!) och det är svårare att följa med i komplicerad berättarstruktur då, det här blev för snårigt för mig just nu. Och att jag lite känner att Den amerikanska flickan räckte?
December 18, 2012
Written in an overly fragmented style. Found it difficult to keep up with because of this. I give up on very few books, but this one was one of them. Do not recommend.
September 8, 2011
The follow-up to The American Girl, Monica Fagerholm's The Glitter Scene, sparkles a bit brighter than it's older sibling. Which makes you wonder: As the entirety of the two lengthy novels deal with siblings and family relationships - could it be? Is Fagerholm trying to play the two novels against each other? If this is the case, then expect The American Girl to commit suicide shortly. No, not the actual American Girl, she's already dead. [And don't fret, that's no spoiler. Fagerholm has an interesting habit of telling you everything that has happened and then retraces her steps as to why.]
All joking aside, I really did enjoy The Glitter Scene despite being at first wary of it's size. Having read some reviews that warn against waiting too long between the books, I dove in quickly. Yes, sometimes the 1000 pages of repetitive nature gets you down, but underneath it all is a very well connected story.
Fagerholm must have one hell of a storyboard set up in her office, because the interconnectedness of the characters is indicative of a seriously masterminded plan.
Disclosure: The above book was provided to me by Other Press through the Goodreads First Reads program. The opinions are all my own.
All joking aside, I really did enjoy The Glitter Scene despite being at first wary of it's size. Having read some reviews that warn against waiting too long between the books, I dove in quickly. Yes, sometimes the 1000 pages of repetitive nature gets you down, but underneath it all is a very well connected story.
Fagerholm must have one hell of a storyboard set up in her office, because the interconnectedness of the characters is indicative of a seriously masterminded plan.
Disclosure: The above book was provided to me by Other Press through the Goodreads First Reads program. The opinions are all my own.
June 19, 2012
This book jumps from 1969, 1989, 2006, and back and forth as the characters tell their stories and their views on the death of an American girl in 1969 in a remote town in Finland. The girl dies from falling off a cliff, and it is assumed that her boyfriend pushed her and then hung himself. But is there more to this story? Various different characters, with varying degrees of connections to this event, tell their stories. As the book goes on, you uncover some answers that relate to this mystery, discover information about mysteries you didn't even suspect, and at last get a final resolution on the American girl mystery. The book is written in an odd style. The best way I can describe it is each character is written in a stream of conciousness style. And you discover as the book goes on, some of the narrators are unreliable. This style of writing was unusual and confusing for me and I felt detracted some from the story. While you get a sense of the character some of what the character says doesn't make a lot of sense (at least to me though some things become clearer by the end of the book). I eventually got used to the style though, but I can't rate the book any higher because of it.
November 25, 2011
The Glitter Scene is a novel, in the strictest sense of the term. It tells of Johanna, who lives with her aunt, and who questions her past, uncovering different mysterious elements of her family's history. However, with this book, the story is not the most distinctive characteristic--rather, it is the storytelling that drives the reader to finish the story and that remains with the reader long after the book is over. The prose is very artsy, for want of a better term, and the book itself is a remarkably aesthetic work. The multiple voices and mysterious repetitions have a dizzying effect, and they lend the book a dreamlike quality. Reading this book is very much like walking through an art museum and seeing many different colors all at once, or like sledding very fast down a steep hill. The journey, not the destination, is important. If you are looking for a straightforward story geared only toward a plot, then this is not the book for you. If, however, you would enjoy a book that treats the novel as an art form in itself, you might enjoy Monkika Fagerholm's The Glitter Scene. I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
August 25, 2016
I might have given this a 2.5 if allowed because I thought the writing was good, but too disjointed overall. I could not make sense of the fragments as I was reading them. Pretty terrible people as characters and I did not feel hope it would get better. Depressing and a pretty dense read. I admit to skimming much of the second half. Nice to return this one to the library.
September 26, 2010
En underbar bok, fantastiskt hur händelser ur den amerikanska flickan aterges ur andra perspektiv, hur hela historien, alla historier, berättas med sa manga vinklingar. Spraket är finlandssvenskt västnyländskt vackert.
August 11, 2011
"...brilliantly engaging mystery for all fans of gripping suspense novels..." my full review may be read on my book review blog Rundpinne.
February 16, 2010
Huhhuh, kesken jäi
December 24, 2014
This book has all the downsides of the first book, but none of the upsides. What a letdown.
June 29, 2014
a book that sounded good but with syntax too convoluted to understand. the narration skips around without any clear path. decided not to continue with it after only twenty pages.
August 13, 2017
Just couldn't read it
April 29, 2021
Is Monika Fagerholm een intrigerende auteur? Ja! Bijna geniaal? Ja!
Zijn haar verhalen mysterieus, haar gedachtegang dikwijls raadselachtig, haar teksten cryptisch? Ja!
Schrijft ze innig mooie beschouwingen, Ja! Prachtige zinnen? Ja! En toch heb ik dit boek, ondanks mijn enorme bewondering voor deze schrijfster voorlopig terzijde gelegd.
Het verhaal in één zin: de getalenteerde Ulla Bäckström speelt in 2006 in haar ‘Glitterpaleis’ de dood na van een Amerikaanse meisje dat in het jaar 1969 verdween en werd teruggevonden op de bodem van een poel. Gelukkig had ik vroeger het boek ‘Het Amerikaanse meisje’ al gelezen (dat ik trouwens vijf sterren gaf) zodat ik toch al iets van de nieuwe plot begreep.
Helaas: in dit boek is er geen eenheid van tijd noch plaats, noch van personages. Er worden voortdurend sprongen in de tijd gemaakt tussen 2004, 2006, 1989, 1990; talloze onbekende personages (dikwijls uit het vorige boek), verschijnen uit het niets en verdwijnen weer. Korte zinnen, soms zonder werkwoord en zeer veel te onthouden namen zoals May-Gun Maalamaa, het neven-en-nichtenhuis, de Bulepoel, de Wintertuin, het Glazen Huis, de Eerste Landtong, De tweede Landtong, Ylla van dood, Kapu Kai, Zusje Blauw, Zusje Rood, De Poelkoningin, De vallende Ulla, The Screaming Toys, De Domineeskroonprinses maken het lezen erg moeilijk.
Misschien probeer ik het later nog een keer…
Zijn haar verhalen mysterieus, haar gedachtegang dikwijls raadselachtig, haar teksten cryptisch? Ja!
Schrijft ze innig mooie beschouwingen, Ja! Prachtige zinnen? Ja! En toch heb ik dit boek, ondanks mijn enorme bewondering voor deze schrijfster voorlopig terzijde gelegd.
Het verhaal in één zin: de getalenteerde Ulla Bäckström speelt in 2006 in haar ‘Glitterpaleis’ de dood na van een Amerikaanse meisje dat in het jaar 1969 verdween en werd teruggevonden op de bodem van een poel. Gelukkig had ik vroeger het boek ‘Het Amerikaanse meisje’ al gelezen (dat ik trouwens vijf sterren gaf) zodat ik toch al iets van de nieuwe plot begreep.
Helaas: in dit boek is er geen eenheid van tijd noch plaats, noch van personages. Er worden voortdurend sprongen in de tijd gemaakt tussen 2004, 2006, 1989, 1990; talloze onbekende personages (dikwijls uit het vorige boek), verschijnen uit het niets en verdwijnen weer. Korte zinnen, soms zonder werkwoord en zeer veel te onthouden namen zoals May-Gun Maalamaa, het neven-en-nichtenhuis, de Bulepoel, de Wintertuin, het Glazen Huis, de Eerste Landtong, De tweede Landtong, Ylla van dood, Kapu Kai, Zusje Blauw, Zusje Rood, De Poelkoningin, De vallende Ulla, The Screaming Toys, De Domineeskroonprinses maken het lezen erg moeilijk.
Misschien probeer ik het later nog een keer…
January 5, 2023
3,5. Jag gillade språket och den synliga berättaren i romanen men jag fastnade inte för alla karaktärer och rycktes inte helt med av berättelsen.
March 6, 2024
Has NO idea what was going on from page 1-515
December 22, 2014
Partly continues in the scenes and stories of The American Girl, yet changing the time and the characters. You could say there are multiple miniature stories going on in the book.
I loved The American Girl and it was one of those books that stay within my thoughts a long time. Compared to that, The Glitter Scene was a bit disappointing experience. Not bad, but this book tried to play too much with the same scene, while losing the small things that were the most fascinating in TAG. To sum up, a bit blunt semi-sequel.
I loved The American Girl and it was one of those books that stay within my thoughts a long time. Compared to that, The Glitter Scene was a bit disappointing experience. Not bad, but this book tried to play too much with the same scene, while losing the small things that were the most fascinating in TAG. To sum up, a bit blunt semi-sequel.
Want to read
June 3, 2011From publisher/BEA
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews