Linn Ullmann

Die Bloms sind eine Familie, die eines Woody- Allen-Films würdig wäre, jeder einzelne liebenswert und verrückt, leicht schräg und auf besondere Art unglücklich. Vor allem die Frauen aus drei Generationen geben den Ton an: June und Selma, die alten Kämpferinnen, dann Annie, die Unwiderstehliche, und schließlich ihre Töchter, hier Julie, stets am Rand der Verzweiflung, da Karin, die gern Geschichten erzählt, Männer verführt und lügt. Julies Hochzeit bildet den Auftakt zu einem show more Familienporträt, das mit Witz und Scharfsinn Lebenslügen demontiert und erzählt, was so alles zwischen Menschen passieren kann, die sich nahestehen. show less

This story of family and relationships revolves around the disappearance of a family's nanny on the night of the matriarch's 75th birthday celebration. Told from several points of view, the novel moves back and forth in time in unpredictable ways, and therefore seems somewhat disjointed at times. The characters are complex, both sympathetic and flawed, which is the book's strength, along with the suspense of the murder mystery. Themes of secrets, grief, betrayal, and temptation continue from show more start to finish. show less

I came to this book through a New Yorker excerpt, and was wary because I liked the excerpt so much (and had listened to the author reading it with her beautiful accent). The book was as beautiful as the story. It is a fictionalized memoir of her relationship with her father, Ingmar Bergman, and mother, Liv Ullmann. Though the relationships are difficult and full of ego and sadness, the book is fond and funny, captured by the through line of her working with her mercurial father, trying to show more help him write his autobiography. show less

Linn Ullmann, daughter of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann, has written a book worthy of a Bergman film: a psychological portrait of a family affected by the brutal murder of Milla, a young woman who had been working as an au pair for the summer. The novel moves back and forth in time and shifts perspectives from one character to another with elegant ease.

Jon, a well known novelist unable to complete his next book; Siri, his wife, a busy restaurateur; and their two daughters, Alma and Liv, show more spend their summers at Mailund, a large country home owned by Siri's mother Jenny. Each of the family members has a different relationship with Milla and perhaps plays a part in her death, wittingly or unwittingly.

I needed to take a break from reading the book between each of its six sections because of its intensity. While not a murder mystery -- the murderer is revealed at the beginning of the book -- the psychological thrill of discovery drives the book.

I found this a highly satisfying read. show less