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Title: The History of Danish Dreams by Peter Hoeg ISBN: 1-57511-006-7 Publisher: Publishing Mills Pub. Date: 01 October, 1995 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.21 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An exploration of the Danish Cultural Psyche
Comment: Don't think of this book as a traditional novel. There's not much traditional about it. The word "Dreams" in the title is a good choice. The many stories and characters which make up this book are like the fairie tales, fables and mythology that shape most cultures. And all these stories together start to shape a picture of what makes the Danish unique. This novel is expansive and ambitious, and even if it is uneven at times, it's characters, situations and images will stay with you for a long time
Hoeg's characters are tortured and flawed but always human. He is strongest when he writes characters that are children. They will haunt you and break your heart. His prose is poetic and thick with atmosphere. The mood is dark and suffocating. And yet there are plenty of moments of humor and hope.
This is one of my all time favorite novels. It's one of those books that envelopes you in it's unique world and when it let go of you, you feel changed by the experience.
Rating: 4
Summary: A little hard going, but worth the effort.
Comment: When I was reading this book, I was thinking "will this ever end?". I am glad I persevered with it. More than six months after I finished it, characters are popping back into my head and making me smile. I think that is the highest recommendation that you can give a novel. The way all the threads of the story were interconnected and in particular how they were resolved at the end was very satisfying. But, people who enjoyed 'Smilla's Sense Of Snow' may find that 'magic realism' is not the genre for them. In fact, the two books are so unalike that they don't even feel like were written by the same author. And that I think says something about Peter Hoeg's ability.
Rating: 5
Summary: Expect the unexpected
Comment: Danish author Peter Hoeg is best known for "Smilla's Sense of Snow," in which he took what could have been a tepid thriller and froze it into an icy sculpture. But his most outstanding work may be "History of Danish Dreams," a magnificently dreamlike novel -- not of Danish history, but Danish dreams.
The manipulative Carl Laurids was adopted by the steward of Morkhoj, a place where (the tyrannical Count has declared) time stands still. Elsewhere, little Amalie Teander is nearby when her fearsome grandmother dies; despite the fact that the old lady was illiterate, she somehow predicted the future in the newspapers... and then in her last will and testament, including how her daughter-in-law would die and how the house would be run.
And then there is the sweet, innocent Anna Bak, seemingly one of God's chosen, and Adonis, who turns away from thievery. Taking place in several generations over four centuries (16th to 20th), it shifts from surreal aristocratic realms to impoverished fishing villages, as the fates of the different people intertwine.
Don't expect a taut thriller like "Smilla" or a chilly sociological study like "Borderliners." Hoeg's first novel is far more nuanced and rich, with a dark, weight atmosphere hanging over the ornate language. It's a social satire, but so subtle that it only dawns on readers gradually just what he's saying through his surreal stories.
This book is well-named -- "History of Danish Dreams" does, indeed, seem like a dream. It's a reflection of our own world, but twisted and darkened. At times, Hoeg lets the storyline run away from him, as if the many intricate storylines are spilling out of his hands. But he makes up for this with his outstanding, poetic descriptions of the decayed Count's lands, the dusty house of Amalie's family, and the stinking little village.
His characters tend to be rather distant; there are so many of them that it's a bit difficult to get attached to them. But they are definitely interesting, from the manipulative Carl to the observant Amalie to the sweet, innocent Anna. Somehow the nastiest characters are the most fascinating, such as the Count who declares time "a common, modern invention."
A strange and unique debut, "History of Danish Dreams" is Peter Hoeg's best novel to date. With its veiled social commentary and dreamlike language, it is a vivid experience in itself.
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Title: Borderliners by PETER HOEG ISBN: 0385315082 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 01 October, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg ISBN: 0385315147 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Tales of the Night by Barbara Haveland, Peter Hoeg ISBN: 0374272549 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title:Smilla's Sense of Snow ASIN: B000056BSI Publisher: Twentieth Century Fox Pub. Date: 17 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $9.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.98 |
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Title: Master and Commander (Aubrey-Maturin (Paperback)) by Patrick O'Brian ISBN: 0393307050 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 November, 1990 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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