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Loading... When I Forgot (original 2005; edition 2009)by Elina Hirvonen
Work InformationWhen I Forgot by Elina Hirvonen (2005)
   Finlandia Prize Nominee (150) No current Talk conversations about this book.  starbox | Jul 10, 2016 |   I liked this book, it was a really good look into the past and how it affects us, the memories which stay with us. I liked the way the story was told, weaving together different stories all from one narrator. Full review on my blog http://www.thebooktower.webs.com (  ) bookish92 | Mar 20, 2014 |  ) Mijk | Jan 22, 2011 |  ) JimElkins | Jul 23, 2009 | Connections to a certain time (911 and other clues) seems stiff at times, although I could see the point in it. Also the "litterature-student-falling-in-love-and-what-problems-it-causes" -theme is just overly-used in Finnish 21st century litterature (by around 30-year-old writers at least) and feels like an easy way to deliver the main message. ( ) Lady_Lazarus | Jun 13, 2009 |
What is most remarkable about this novel, aside from its honest, simple prose and compelling storyline (it's difficult to stop reading), is that Hirvonen maintains a real sense of optimism throughout this meditation on love and war. Potent, fragile and tender, “When I Forgot” is really the story of “When I Remembered,” of a woman summoning the courage to unlock her memories and share them, and feeling the relief of exhaling a breath held too long.
Anna is on her way to the hospital where her brother has been sectioned. But - on route - she falters, and her world splinters into a blazing display of memory and madness fueled by her family's psychological disintegration. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)894.54134Literature Literature of other languages Altaic, Finno-Ugric, Uralic and Dravidian languages Fenno-Ugric languages Fennic languages Finnish Finnish fiction 2000–LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.6)
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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By sally tarbox on 8 April 2012
Format: Paperback
I read this in one sitting; it's the terribly sad story of Elena and her brother, Joona, who is in a Helsinki mental hospital. The accounts of his life are punctuated by happy family recollections - and darker ones. Did their father's brutality cause his son's emotional state?
Elena intersperses her narrative with memories of her own lonely childhood; her partner, American lecturer Ian, has his own demons too as a bullied youth with a father damaged by Vietnam.
A deeply moving book, to which the little flashes of happy memory give added poignancy. (