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Loading... Babette's Feast and Other Anecdotes of Destiny (1958)by Isak Dinesen
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. paperback A very mixed collection. I loved "The Immortal Story", a sinuous, self-reflexive exploration of the power of narrative, the role of stories in constructing identity, that Borges would have given his eye-teeth to concoct. Like Borges, Blixen writes in that detached, fabulistic, once-upon-a-time style where the characters are more or less just concepts, certainly not real people. So how much you enjoy it depends on how deeply the themes resonate with you. I can see why the title story is so popular: it's about all kinds of stuff, devotion rewarded, the power of art, the goodness of plain folk, and much more. But it's too sweet for my taste. I marginally preferred "Tempests", hated "The Diver", a glurgy religious allegory that ought to go down well with the Paulo Coelho crowd. And the last piece, "The Ring", is just an unobjectionable bagatelle. no reviews | add a review
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These five rich, witty and magical stories from the author of Out of Africainclude one of her most well-known tales, 'Babette's Feast', which was made into the classic film. It tells the story of a French cook working in a puritanical Norwegian community, who treats her employers to the decadent feast of a lifetime. There is also a real-life Prospero and his Ariel in 'Tempests', a mysterious pearl-fisher in 'The Diver' and a brief, tragic encounter in 'The Ring'. All the stories have a mystic, fairy-tale quality, linked by themes of angels, the sea, dreams and fate. They were among the last to be written by Isak Dinesen, and show her a master of short fiction. 'Acutely perceptive, often mysterious stories' Sunday Telegraph No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)839.81372Literature German literature and literatures of related languages Other Germanic literatures Danish and Norwegian literatures Danish Danish fiction 1900–2000 Early 20th century 1900–1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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