Reviews

Universets engle by Einar Már Guðmundsson

naavatski's review against another edition

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5.0

I have a very strong relationship to this book. I always read it when I got sick. It made me feel better. The books brings me to the place of blue and gray. A melancholy that's always there guiding me.

kirstinelaursen's review against another edition

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3.0

Universets engle handler om psykisk sygdom på barsk vis, indlæggelser på psykiatrisk afdeling der viser de ekstreme tilfælde og hverdagen. Om end den dog er noget anderledes.

Sproget er skrevet meget flyvsk og hopper lidt rundt, hvilket giver en god ide om, hvordan det er i hovedet på Paul, men det er også noget svært at læse. Nogle af hændelserne i bogen havde jeg svært ved at se, hvad skulle bidrage med.

Når det så er sagt, er det en vigtig bog, godt med litteratur der tør sætte fokus på psykisk sygdom og vise, hvordan det håndteres i Island. En utrolig flot slutning har bogen også.

Ganske solid oplevelse

hirsch99's review against another edition

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4.0

A man's descent into madness and his experiences in a mental hospital. Terribly sad, but with enough humor to keep it from the sadness becoming overwhelming.

danadalloway's review against another edition

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4.0

This Icelandic novel is told from the point of the view of the the author's late, schizophrenic brother. It is lyrically written, or lyrically translated at least, though the Icelandic woman who gave it to me said the prose is even more beautiful in the original. It is also funny, with the mad characters in the psychiatric hospital limned with humor and compassion rather than the more common cliched, condescending quirks.
Yet the narrator does not shy away from what he calls his "darkness" and his "night," and calmly relates his acts of violence and nightmarish fugue states in an almost detached voice. There is no plot per se. Mostly, the book outlines all the people and incidents that have shaped the narrator, the memories of which sustain him in his isolation. Written with a light touch, it is nonetheless one of the most penetrating and moving books about mania I've ever read.

mamahest's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

inesgarherr's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

2.0

sjames10's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

zsoltbeke's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

_litmosphere_'s review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No

4.0

berlin78's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25