- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Picador (21 Aug 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330447874
- ISBN-13: 978-0330447874
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 195,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A Blessed Child
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Product Description
Review
`In simple prose, Ullmann perfectly captures the childish mix of naivety and cruelty in a tale akin to Lord of the Flies.'
--Observer
`As the powerful tides of the three women's memories drag them back in time, Ullmann eloquently evokes a season of red poppies and Radio Luxembourg, which turns into Lord of the Flies for girls. Only, where the boys of Golding's classic went wild like hot-blooded beasts, the firls play a cooler crueller games. ' --Daily Mail
`In Sarah Death's deft translation, Ullmann's fourth novel has an exhilarating hold on family, period and place. Yes, you do catch glimpses of her father (Ingmar Bergman) but this shows how strong a writer she has become.'
--Independent
--Observer
`As the powerful tides of the three women's memories drag them back in time, Ullmann eloquently evokes a season of red poppies and Radio Luxembourg, which turns into Lord of the Flies for girls. Only, where the boys of Golding's classic went wild like hot-blooded beasts, the firls play a cooler crueller games. ' --Daily Mail
`In Sarah Death's deft translation, Ullmann's fourth novel has an exhilarating hold on family, period and place. Yes, you do catch glimpses of her father (Ingmar Bergman) but this shows how strong a writer she has become.'
--Independent
The Gloss
'Ullmann's excellent fourth novel, is a lyrical and unsettling story of complex family ties and the casual cruelties of childhood.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Summering with father Isak Lovenstad and her two half-sisters, Molly and Laura, on the Baltic isle of Hammarso, Erica forms a friendship with oddball Ragnar. When she reaches her teens and is worried about what her peers may think, she dumps Ragnar with tragic consequences for everyone.
Twenty-five years later, returning to visit their elderly father, the three women confront an old family secret whilst remembering the last summer of their childhood.
The fragility of human relationships is a strong theme running through this novel. The women try to recover some stability back into their lives by facing up to the events that took place during that last visit to Hammarso.
This book holds a wonderful story of childhood memories and unspoken family secrets.
Twenty-five years later, returning to visit their elderly father, the three women confront an old family secret whilst remembering the last summer of their childhood.
The fragility of human relationships is a strong theme running through this novel. The women try to recover some stability back into their lives by facing up to the events that took place during that last visit to Hammarso.
This book holds a wonderful story of childhood memories and unspoken family secrets.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A step backwards
17 Dec 2008
Format:Hardcover
Both GRACE and STELLA DESCENDING, Linn Ullmann's previous novels, were strange and compelling, and I read them at a gallop. This one took longer; I was constantly finding reasons to put it down and come back later. A BLESSED CHILD is more self-indulgent, I believe, drawing on the author's own experiences; more nostalgic; and more episodic and staccato, never really gathering steam and taking off. There are a few puzzles inside for those who care to solve them, part of the novel's appealing ambiguousness, but the characters remain fixed on the page and do not enter the reader's imagination. By all means authors should strive not to repeat themselves, but as an admirer of Ullmann's work I found A BLESSED CHILD to be a step backwards from the original voice of her earlier novels.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
"A Blessed Child" -- Gifted story from a gifted storyteller
11 Oct 2008
Format:Hardcover
"A Blessed Child" is an almost Rashomon kind of story, revolving around the perspectives of three sisters who return to a remote Swedish island to be with their aged father for what they believe may be their last time with him. Each daughter has a different mother, and each daughter experiences her own path to maturity in a different way. Author Ullmann weaves their stories together in a completely believeable way, making each's journey fascinating in itself. There is a seminal event which they all witness in unique ways, and deal with in equally unique ways. A satisfying book, well worth spending time with. The author makes the winter weather and the distant locale into "characters" in the story, giving a real feel for the remoteness and frigidity of a tiny Swedish island as the story builds compellingly to a surprising climax. One word about the translation, by a woman curiously named Death: it's first rate, colloquial and symbolic.
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