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mitaluimmekerran's review against another edition
4.0
Hieno pieni perhedraama suruineen ja pintaan purskahtelevine katkeruuksineen. Hieno ja lämmin kuvaus nelikymppisyydestä, yksinjäämisen pelosta, perheistä ja sisaruudesta. Toimi erityisen hyvin äänikirjana, Pirjo Heikkilän tyyli kruunasi pienoisromaanin lakonisen, mutta silti lempeän ymmärtävän tunnelman.
nannipannilukee's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
danitrev's review against another edition
1.0
I picked up "Grown Ups" because I wanted to read a book by a Norwegian author set in Norway, and the premise intrigued me. Described as "a story for anyone who has ever felt overtaken by a sibling, almost—but not quite—grown up, or struggled to navigate a new future for themselves," I expected a short, compelling tale of family drama. Unfortunately, this book fell far short of my expectations, and I gave it 1 star.
The protagonist, Ida, is 40 and considering freezing her eggs, although her history of affairs with married men complicates her plans for motherhood. Meanwhile, her younger sister, who has faced years of fertility struggles, has just become pregnant. The two meet at a seaside cabin, and over a few days, their lifetime of jealousy and resentment unravels. While the setting is scenic, it cannot compensate for the deeply unlikable characters. The book revolves around selfish people behaving selfishly, and I found it challenging to connect with or care about any of them.
The book was mercifully short at 160 pages, but it still struggled to hold my attention. Perhaps some of the story's nuance was lost in translation from the original Norwegian, but overall, it was disappointing. I suggest skipping this one if you're looking for engaging family drama.
The protagonist, Ida, is 40 and considering freezing her eggs, although her history of affairs with married men complicates her plans for motherhood. Meanwhile, her younger sister, who has faced years of fertility struggles, has just become pregnant. The two meet at a seaside cabin, and over a few days, their lifetime of jealousy and resentment unravels. While the setting is scenic, it cannot compensate for the deeply unlikable characters. The book revolves around selfish people behaving selfishly, and I found it challenging to connect with or care about any of them.
The book was mercifully short at 160 pages, but it still struggled to hold my attention. Perhaps some of the story's nuance was lost in translation from the original Norwegian, but overall, it was disappointing. I suggest skipping this one if you're looking for engaging family drama.
nanudavid's review against another edition
4.0
Un rejunte de personas detestables en una novela corta, entretenida y súper descriptiva. Recomendable.
jennjenna's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
brownflopsy's review against another edition
5.0
Grown Ups is told from the point of view of forty-year-old architect Ida, who we meet just as she is off to the lakeside family cabin in Norway to celebrate her mother's sixty-fifth birthday.
Right from the word go, we are aware of the deep feelings of panic that have taken over Ida's every waking moment, as she dwells on her life as a single, childless, career woman painfully aware of the ticking of her body clock, and her plans to freeze some of her eggs as soon as this little family trip is over. Not surprisingly, she feels rather uncomfortable at the thought of sharing the next few days with her younger sister Marthe, her partner Kristoffer and his daughter Olea, especially since they have been trying for a baby of their own.
Almost as soon as Ida is through the door of the cabin our perception that this is going to be far from a cosy little family reunion is confirmed. You can almost cut the atmosphere with a knife when Marthe shares some unexpected news with her sister that brings all the old tension and rivalry to the surface - and seems to elicit the worst in them all.
Jealous of what Marthe has apparently come by so easily, Ida can't help herself from taking pot-shots at every opportunity, doing her best to come between her sister and her partner, and her sister and Olea, in order to prove that she is far more deserving of such domestic bliss, and Marthe responds to every jibe with petulant ripostes of her own. Matters only seem to get worse when their mother and her partner Stein turn up to complete the family party, and as the fur begins to fly, the edginess builds to a massive bust-up that has consequences for everyone in the firing line.
This is such a potent little gem of a novel that paints a sharply observed picture of the perfect dysfunctional family, with a twist of Norwegian intensity, impressively translated by Rosie Hedger. Almost everyone here feels the weight of expectation placed upon them by family, friends and notions of how they should be living grown up lives, and Aubert weaves the resulting tension beautifully into a tightly constructed framework shaped around the age old rivalry between siblings. I think anyone with brothers or sisters reading this book will recognise much of the pattern of events at the heart of this story, but my goodness, the savagery between Ida and Marthe is way off the scale of normal sibling dynamics.
The beauty of this novel lies in the way Aubert sprinkles observations of grown up behaviour throughout, with some wonderfully emotive reflections on pivotal coming of age moments, and how she provides insight into exactly how the relationships between her characters have been allowed to deteriorate to the point of, potentially, no return. Ida's flashbacks into the past reveal a childhood filled with unresolved issues around her parents' divorce, that have influenced not only the relationships between the two daughters and their mother, but also their relationships with men in general. Ida in particular seems doomed to swing constantly between desperate neediness and distant coolness with unavailable men, while Marthe is used to being pandered to in her whims and expects everyone to go along with her demands. There is no doubt that this is a family desperately in need of some therapy, as a group and individually - except perhaps for the intriguing Stein, who sees all and treats us to the occasional sage comment on the proceedings.
For a short novel, at just over 150 pages, Grown Ups has the delicious atmosphere of a dramatic stage production that packs a powerful punch, and it takes you through a whole gamut of emotions all the way to the unsettling knife edge of an ending. It's outstanding!
Right from the word go, we are aware of the deep feelings of panic that have taken over Ida's every waking moment, as she dwells on her life as a single, childless, career woman painfully aware of the ticking of her body clock, and her plans to freeze some of her eggs as soon as this little family trip is over. Not surprisingly, she feels rather uncomfortable at the thought of sharing the next few days with her younger sister Marthe, her partner Kristoffer and his daughter Olea, especially since they have been trying for a baby of their own.
Almost as soon as Ida is through the door of the cabin our perception that this is going to be far from a cosy little family reunion is confirmed. You can almost cut the atmosphere with a knife when Marthe shares some unexpected news with her sister that brings all the old tension and rivalry to the surface - and seems to elicit the worst in them all.
Jealous of what Marthe has apparently come by so easily, Ida can't help herself from taking pot-shots at every opportunity, doing her best to come between her sister and her partner, and her sister and Olea, in order to prove that she is far more deserving of such domestic bliss, and Marthe responds to every jibe with petulant ripostes of her own. Matters only seem to get worse when their mother and her partner Stein turn up to complete the family party, and as the fur begins to fly, the edginess builds to a massive bust-up that has consequences for everyone in the firing line.
This is such a potent little gem of a novel that paints a sharply observed picture of the perfect dysfunctional family, with a twist of Norwegian intensity, impressively translated by Rosie Hedger. Almost everyone here feels the weight of expectation placed upon them by family, friends and notions of how they should be living grown up lives, and Aubert weaves the resulting tension beautifully into a tightly constructed framework shaped around the age old rivalry between siblings. I think anyone with brothers or sisters reading this book will recognise much of the pattern of events at the heart of this story, but my goodness, the savagery between Ida and Marthe is way off the scale of normal sibling dynamics.
The beauty of this novel lies in the way Aubert sprinkles observations of grown up behaviour throughout, with some wonderfully emotive reflections on pivotal coming of age moments, and how she provides insight into exactly how the relationships between her characters have been allowed to deteriorate to the point of, potentially, no return. Ida's flashbacks into the past reveal a childhood filled with unresolved issues around her parents' divorce, that have influenced not only the relationships between the two daughters and their mother, but also their relationships with men in general. Ida in particular seems doomed to swing constantly between desperate neediness and distant coolness with unavailable men, while Marthe is used to being pandered to in her whims and expects everyone to go along with her demands. There is no doubt that this is a family desperately in need of some therapy, as a group and individually - except perhaps for the intriguing Stein, who sees all and treats us to the occasional sage comment on the proceedings.
For a short novel, at just over 150 pages, Grown Ups has the delicious atmosphere of a dramatic stage production that packs a powerful punch, and it takes you through a whole gamut of emotions all the way to the unsettling knife edge of an ending. It's outstanding!
kinea's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stjerne fordi jeg likte godt hovedkarakteren og skrivestilen, til tross for at jeg er litt mettet når det kommer til frivillig/ufrivillig barnløshet om dagen.
Gjenkjennelig og tidvis tett på det relasjonelle i en familie som ofte er vanskelig å sette ord på.
Hva er egentlig voksne mennesker? Later vi bare som alle sammen? Hvem av oss er den voksne i relasjonen? Må man egentlig få barn?
En konklusjon er også at de fleste som er frivillig barnløse har tanker om hvordan livet med barn kunne ha blitt - det betyr dog ikke at de heller hadde ønsket seg et liv med barn. Det er en tidsbegrenset mulighet og ingen menneskerett(?), men igjen bevises det at det fint går an å leve et verdig og godt liv uten avkom.
Gjenkjennelig og tidvis tett på det relasjonelle i en familie som ofte er vanskelig å sette ord på.
Hva er egentlig voksne mennesker? Later vi bare som alle sammen? Hvem av oss er den voksne i relasjonen? Må man egentlig få barn?
En konklusjon er også at de fleste som er frivillig barnløse har tanker om hvordan livet med barn kunne ha blitt - det betyr dog ikke at de heller hadde ønsket seg et liv med barn. Det er en tidsbegrenset mulighet og ingen menneskerett(?), men igjen bevises det at det fint går an å leve et verdig og godt liv uten avkom.