Through a Glass, Darkly
by Jostein Gaarder
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As Cecilia lies ill in bed, and her family prepares for Christmas, knowing she will not recover, an angel steps through her window to chat about life, death, and the universe.Tags
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Essa é a história de Cecília Skotbu, uma menina que vive intensamente. As coisas que vai aprendendo ela anota num caderninho. Ali ela escreveu, por exemplo: "Nós enxergamos tudo num espelho, obscuramente. Às vezes conseguimos espiar através do espelho e ter uma visão de como são as coisas do outro lado. Se conseguíssemos polir mais esse espelho, veríamos muito mais coisas. Porém não enxergaríamos mais a nós mesmos". Cecília passa quase o tempo todo em seu quarto, deitada na cama. Ela está morrendo. Sua história é uma preparação para a morte e por isso é também um mergulho na vida. Ela morre como quem viaja, prestando atenção em tudo. Através de seu olhar profundo, o outro lado do espelho se torna um pouco mais show more claro para nós. show less
How does one prepare for one's encroaching death? Do we deny what's looming because we fear the unknown of the hereafter? What do we do with the anger we feel against the helplessness of our situation? Are there angels on grief watches who try to bring comfort to those dying, to ease their fears and help them make take that step towards their next journey?
This is a wonderful philosophical take on religion, the difference between angels and humans (or at least the imagined difference), why God made us the way He did, how He gets to experience the earth that He has created, and where we fit in the Universe.
A young girl is bedridden and dying. Her sorrowful family accede to her every request at Christmas and into her final days. She show more starts to receive visits from a bald boy when her family aren't around, and he takes her (and us) on a journey of self-discovery and awareness.
This book leaves a lasting impression and is a book I would urge everyone to read, regardless of your religious leaning. show less
This is a wonderful philosophical take on religion, the difference between angels and humans (or at least the imagined difference), why God made us the way He did, how He gets to experience the earth that He has created, and where we fit in the Universe.
A young girl is bedridden and dying. Her sorrowful family accede to her every request at Christmas and into her final days. She show more starts to receive visits from a bald boy when her family aren't around, and he takes her (and us) on a journey of self-discovery and awareness.
This book leaves a lasting impression and is a book I would urge everyone to read, regardless of your religious leaning. show less
This is a bit like Sophie's World cut brutally short and injected with a generous dose of religion. There were some bits that made me think, but writing this review now, just a week or so after I finished it, I find myself struggling to remember much about its substance. If Sophie's World was a Mars bar, this would probably be a TicTac. How's that for philosophy.
Il teologo Gaarder presenta la sua teoria sugli angeli usando la forma romanzo. L'incontro tra la bambina morente e l'angelo bambino, perché a causa della loro continua e infinita meraviglia gli angeli sono i bambini di dio, è commovente. Certo, occorrerebbe essere credenti, e in questo caso si proverebbe grande consolazione, ma come sempre noi si sceglie la strada più difficile ...
Essa é a história de Cecília Skotbu, uma menina que vive intensamente. As coisas que vai aprendendo ela anota num caderninho. Cecília passa quase o tempo todo em seu quarto, deitada na cama. Ela está morrendo. Sua história é uma preparação para a morte - e por isso é também um mergulho na vida. Ela morre como quem viaja, prestando atenção em tudo. Através de seu olhar profundo, o outro lado do espelho se torna um pouco mais claro para nós.
Well written story full of myth and wishful thinking. A far cry from "Sophie's World". Perhaps it would give solace to someone religious or raised with religious thinking. Not any help with an agnostic/atheist. Still, a cute fictional tale.
After reading this book I thought: "Beautiful". The author uses words in such a clear and simple way to explain something that is complicated enough: God, the creation of the world, Angels, the five senses, etc. It's an easy read but it gives a lot to think about.
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Jostein Gaarder was born in Olso, Norway on August 8, 1952. A former high school philosophy teacher, he now writes numerous novels for children and adults. His best known work is Sophie's World. He has received numerous awards including the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1994 for Sophie's World, the Buxtehude Bulle in 1997, and the show more Willy-Brandt-Award in 2004. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Through a Glass, Darkly
- Original title
- I et speil, i en gåte
- Original publication date
- 1993 (Noors) (Noors); 1996 (Nederlands) (Nederlands)
- Related movies
- I et speil i en gåte (2008 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- Glädjen er en fjäril
Som fladdrer lågt öfver marken
Men sorgen är en fågel
Med stora, starka, svarta vingar
De bära en högt övfer lifvet
Som flyter nere i solljus och grönska.
Sorgens fågel flyger... (show all) högt,
Dit där smärtans änglar hålla vakt
Öfver dödens läger.
Edith Södergran, 16 år
Joy is a butterfly
Fluttering low over the earth,
But sorrow is a bird
With big, strong, black wings.
They lift you high above life
Flowing below in sunlight and growth.
The bird of sorrow flies high
To w... (show all)here the angels of grief keep watch
Over death's lair.
Edith Södergran (1892 - 1923)
(A poem from her notebook written
when she was sixteen years old) - First words
- They had left the bedroom door open.
De havde ladet døren til gangen stå åben. Fra etagen nedenunder mærkede Cecilie duften af jul. Hun prøvede at skille den ene lugt ud fra den anden. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She saw how all the silken threads shone and glittered.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Hun kastede et blik rundt i værelset. En tynd stribe morgensol havde lagt sig over skrivebordet og gulvet. Under Cecilies seng havde nogle ståler fundet vej til den kinesiske notesbog.
Hun så, hvordan det skinnede og glitrede i alle silketrådene. - Original language
- Norwegian
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