The History of Danish Dreams

I think I would need to read some Danish history, let this book simmer a bit in my subconscious, and then read it again, before I could say I really understood all of it. And, I get the impression that part of the point of this novel is that things, especially national dreams, don't make sense so much as they just are. Our world views and fears and past experiences (which we perceive imperfectly and thus may not fully understand) construct our perceptions of the present and build up our expectations and wishes. The resulting dream, one's own personal dream or a nation's dream, is a surreal amalgamation of logic, absurdity and the results of particular circumstances that may or may not seem at all significant to outside observers.

If you show more want an easy read, this book may be a bit annoying, but if you want the sort of book that makes your brain feel like it is working overtime trying to keep up, and that continues to make you think about it afterward, you may like this book. show less

My bookshelves were missing a Danish flavour, so I purchased this volume to fill that rather glaring hole. Rather like Denmark itself, I was left somewhat ambivalent after finishing this...not sure if it was really great magical realism or just too much northern depression.

Hoeg sketches a family representing the Danish transition from medieval times (and charm) to modern society (20th-century conformity). I was completely absorbed in the story of the aristocrat who seals off his estate and makes time stop. Magical yet symbolic of the upper class losing their sway as Denmark became one of the most modern of modern societies. The strange family also includes a domineering old woman who uses the newspapers to control the lives of the show more residents to the point that they only do what the paper tells them to do.

All well and good...but then past history is weaved into the story and the magic disappears at times. Still, it's a keeper as I had dreams about the home and the clocks that stopped ticking. If a book can make me think about it weeks later, it must have something. That something was not enough to get it a higher rating, so to each reader their own.

Book Season = Autumn (when time goes backward) show less

A sometimes compelling but overly long fantasy of Danish history, laced with magical realism, social satire, and actual European events.

Well-written meditation on history, time and the odd twists of life, starting at the end of the medieval age and traveling up to the present. It struck me as Isak Dineson and Hans Christian Anderson meet Garcia Marquez in a cold climate. If I'd had a background in Danish history and perspective, I'm sure it would have resonated more.

This novel has a really intriguing set of stories that all connect in the later half and with those stories come bizarre and wonderful characters. At times it is subtly fantastical and at other times quite realistic. The concepts are quite interesting-a Count who wants to stop time and believes he is living at the center of the Earth, an illiterate newspaper heiress who is able to predict the future, a family of carnival thieves, the daughter of a religious man who can separate herself into several different beings, and more. At the same time, I really thought the ending was a bit of a cop out..though I don't want to say anything more about that for those who haven't read it. I also thought the narrator was too inconsistent with whether show more this was truly a book of dreams or based on reality. I think the novel would have been much stronger if he had chosen one. show less

Non è male, la storia è interessante, ma proseguendo la lettura non mi ha entusiasmato molto, anzi, l’ho trovata pesante e anche un po’ noiosa, tanto da farmi tirare un sospiro di sollievo quando finalmente il libro è finito. Le storie narrate, comunque, erano anche interessanti, ma non mi hanno preso, non sono riuscite ad affascinarmi. I momenti più belli sono stati per quelli in cui le storie dei vari personaggi sono venute a contatto (e infatti nel finale mi è anche piaciuto un po’ di più) e la questione dei sogni che ritornava sempre, ma questo libro nel complesso non m’è piaciuto.

https://www.naufragio.it/iltempodileggere/370

Not as compact and polished as Borderliners, which remains my favourite of his. It has the same fascination with time, though, and he even reused the image of the god unlocking the gates of morning (I guess this is a memory of his own school years).

What I continue to love about Høeg is his casual and matter-of-fact movement from the real to the fantastic, so smooth that in fact there is no division between the two.

What continues to frustrate me, on the other hand, is his bitterness -- very much to the fore in this novel.

I also wasn't quite content with the intrusive voice of the narrator, who justifies some of the decisions of narrative focus with explicit reference to the 'History of Danish Dreams' conceit.

This isn't really a solid show more review, since I finished the book several weeks ago and its effect has faded somewhat. Solid recommendation, though, is to read Borderliners instead of this as a Høeg introduction. show less

Too Danish, meaning that if I were a Dane then it works as I would know its cultural signs. I had similar problems with the American Underworld by Don Delillo