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Nur Ein Spielmann
Rare Book
367 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
3 people want to read
About the author
Hans Christian Andersen
7,823 books3,545 followersHans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H.C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories — called eventyr, or "fairy-tales" — express themes that transcend age and nationality.
Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.
Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.
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May 23, 2023
# Nur ein Spielmann
I'm honestly surprised how much I loved this book because the beginning was rather dull and slow.
But throughout the book I got reminded of how impressive Andersen's way of writing is.
Firstly, his writing style is, as expected, immaculate. He creates such vivid images and writes very simple yet uniquely beautiful. Just to give an example (and this is freely translated by myself, as I don't have the English translation of this book, so I'm very sorry if I don't manage to capture Andersen's way of writing perfectly):
«Besides his grave, the priest would say: ‘His days passed quietly and happily! No heavy, threatening storm clouds ever hovered above him!'
– No, his life was evenly grey, always grey, and by staring at it for a long time, one could get the impression that it was blue sky.»
«Crimson is the colour of hope! The red stripe in the east announces the rebirth of life and light! Unless – just like one's hope might be nothing but deception – it is the glow of a burning city.»
On the same note, I truly adored how Andersen created his narrator. The third person omniscient narrator made jokes, openly criticised society or presented very interesting ideas and thoughts on life. I really loved that!
Now I want to talk about the content of this book. Andersen touches on topics like prostitution, antisemitism, religion as an institution, infidelity, social status and its effect on someone's life. Considering the time at which this book was written (1837!), I truly admire Andersen's progressiveness and modern way of thinking. He was definitely ahead of his time!
Also, I LOVED the ending of the book. It was so tragical. The characters are kind of likeable eventhough they have flaws and I find it interesting that our protagonist isn’t typical at all. This book isn’t about someone who dreams big and reaches those dreams - but it is about someone who dreams big but never gets to live those dreams. Very heart-breaking.
I'm honestly surprised how much I loved this book because the beginning was rather dull and slow.
But throughout the book I got reminded of how impressive Andersen's way of writing is.
Firstly, his writing style is, as expected, immaculate. He creates such vivid images and writes very simple yet uniquely beautiful. Just to give an example (and this is freely translated by myself, as I don't have the English translation of this book, so I'm very sorry if I don't manage to capture Andersen's way of writing perfectly):
«Besides his grave, the priest would say: ‘His days passed quietly and happily! No heavy, threatening storm clouds ever hovered above him!'
– No, his life was evenly grey, always grey, and by staring at it for a long time, one could get the impression that it was blue sky.»
«Crimson is the colour of hope! The red stripe in the east announces the rebirth of life and light! Unless – just like one's hope might be nothing but deception – it is the glow of a burning city.»
On the same note, I truly adored how Andersen created his narrator. The third person omniscient narrator made jokes, openly criticised society or presented very interesting ideas and thoughts on life. I really loved that!
Now I want to talk about the content of this book. Andersen touches on topics like prostitution, antisemitism, religion as an institution, infidelity, social status and its effect on someone's life. Considering the time at which this book was written (1837!), I truly admire Andersen's progressiveness and modern way of thinking. He was definitely ahead of his time!
Also, I LOVED the ending of the book. It was so tragical. The characters are kind of likeable eventhough they have flaws and I find it interesting that our protagonist isn’t typical at all. This book isn’t about someone who dreams big and reaches those dreams - but it is about someone who dreams big but never gets to live those dreams. Very heart-breaking.
Displaying 1 of 1 review