Grace by Linn Ullmann

Grace Reviews

• 
  Julia Eriksson

  Enkel men intressant läsning om liv, död och relationer.
• 
  Antonella Imperiali

  Scrittura scarna, semplice, lineare, senza orpelli o particolari coloriture, ma forse proprio per questo assai efficace ed emozionante.
  
  Johan è anziano, malato terminale, ama Mai, la moglie, molto più giovane di lui (è lei la sua grazia), e dopo vari tentativi la convince ad offrirgli l’estremo aiuto quando verrà il momento in cui la sofferenza e il degrado fisico non saranno più sopportabili, quando anche la dignità verrà meno.
  
  Voleva decidere da sé quando era il momento di andarsene. Non intendeva essere un peso per nessuno, meno che mai per sua moglie; non più di quanto già lo fosse.
  
  Una grande prova d’amore? O piuttosto un atto di pietà? Forza? Coraggio? Attaccamento alla vita, nonostante tutto? O il desiderio di provare finalmente sollievo?
  
  Difficilissimo trovare lo spartiacque tra questi sentimenti, acutizzati allo stremo data la situazione.
  
  Tema delicato, quello dell’eutanasia, trattato in questo breve romanzo con altrettanta delicatezza, sensibilità e rispetto, tenendo in considerazione la fragilità, ed insieme la forza, della natura umana e della sua tormentata psicologia.
  
  Difficile, molto difficile, decidere da che parte stare.
  
  3,5
  
  
  📚 Biblioteca
  🔠 RC 2019 - Alphabet Autori = U
  🤔 RC 2019 - Esimio sconosciuto
  🌍 Europa: Norvegia 🇳🇴
• 
  Johanna

  En jättefin, liten bok. Karaktärerna är välarbetade trots knappt 150 sidors utrymme. Och ett ”bra” dilemma att skriva en bok om! Rekommenderar!
• 
  Rasmus Timm

  Rigtig fin lille roman der omhandler døden og det at acceptere den… eller at lade vær?
  Jeg tror det var en sund læsning for mig, selvom det til tider var er valg, at skulle sætte sig med den, velvidne om den er lidt en moodkiller.
• 
  Marian

  Kom igjen, les denne. Jeg gråt som bare det på slutten.
• 
  Nancy Lewis

  For more on the right to die, watch
  The Sea Inside with Javier Bardem.
• 
  Richelle Wilson

  To my understanding, grace is something like the receiving of unmerited blessings. For his part, protagonist Johan Sletten does not seem like a worthy recipient of any grace that might attend him—and this, perhaps, is the point of the novel. Though the first chapter immediately begins with a heartbreaking diagnosis, what we learn about Johan in layers thereafter does not invite a sentimental Lifetime-movie response: he was as cruel and unforgiving to his first wife as she was to him, he treats his son (who possibly has cognitive or social disabilities) with contempt, and his childhood familial relationships don't paint a much brighter picture. He's not a monster, though. In many ways, Johan is classically Norwegian: he embodies the Scandinavian way of life represented by the Swedish word "lagom," meaning that something is not too much, not too little, but just right. Middling, perhaps. Sufficient. Unoffensive. Throughout his life, he tries to skirt fate by being well-behaved yet unremarkable. The result is a character who mismanages his career and his relationships and faces his terminal illness with little more than a wish to die with dignity.
  
  The concept of dying with dignity becomes the central thrust of the novel. Euthanasia is still illegal in Norway. The novel does not seem to take a particular political stance on the issue per se, but it invites us to consider many shades of nuance when it comes to end-of-life care. Though the novel is short, it also touches on aging, familial relationships, disability, marriage, and memory. It's thoughtful, provocative, and the translation reads like a dream. Seriously: way to go, Barbara Haveland!
  
  One of the main things that kept it from being a five-star novel for me is that it made a few bold narrative decisions without much payoff. The biggest example of this is Ullmann's choice in narrator: the story is told in third person with a knowledge and tone that largely suggests an omniscient narrator, but occasionally (especially near the beginning) that authoritative voice is undercut by the narrator reminding us that s/he is Johan's friend and inserting personal commentary, apologies for getting off-topic, etc. That could have turned out to be a really cool and interesting narrative choice but instead it kind of falls flat, as though by the end, Ullmann forgot that she situated the storyteller that way. There were also a few plot ambiguities that, with a little more fleshing out, could have probably strengthened the story and/or the structure. It is clear, however, that Ullmann took great care with other literary choices, such as the very successful juxtaposition of the two passages that describe the novel's ending.
  
  Something I wish I had known while I was reading is that Linn Ullmann is the daughter of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman (!!!). Once I heard that, I felt like my locating various Bergman references throughout the text (the wild strawberries, the wager with Death à la Seventh Seal) was possibly justified. Though the novel is dealing with serious topics, however, it has much more levity than a Bergman film or probably even the average piece of Scandinavian lit. There is some humor and cleverness throughout; the tone never becomes melodramatic or takes itself too seriously, which is to Ullmann's credit.
  
  Grace was well-received in Norway and elsewhere among readers and critics, and I think for good reason. I originally gave it four stars but scaled it back when I realized that was just one star away from the rating I awarded another Norwegian novel I've recently read, Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses, which I think handles some of the same topics (aging, memory, trauma) with much more, shall we say, grace. Grace is short and rewarding, though, for anyone who is already accustomed to "depressing literature" (a phrase the undergrads in my classes use with reckless abandon) or who is interested in end-of-life care issues, which this novel engages compellingly. In the end, it offers a profound (/bleak?) vision of the inscrutability of even our closest relationships.
• 
  Michelle

  Read this book in two hours this morning. Though the subject matter seems a bit dark - Johan is coming to terms with dying, how he lived his life, and how he wants to die - the story is beautifully told and quite frank and honest. It reminded me of a sort of combo between Tinkers by Paul Harding and The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.
• 
  Bachyboy

  An unlikeable character preparing to die. Not exactly uplifting stuff.
• 
  Mina Widding

  Insåg att jag nog läst den här boken förut, men för längesen. Det enda jag kommer ihåg är grejen med Mais meningslösa lögner, den episoden i Göteborg har jag tänkt på då och då under åren. Meningen med att ljuga bara för att man kan, någon slags frihet? Allt annat var som att läsa en ny bok, tonen, det egentliga ämnet för boken, hans sjukdom. Tänker att det är för att JAG är en annan person nu, som läser. Med andra erfarenheter och minnen bakom mig.
  En enkel liten bok, som handlar om att dö, och om relationer. Kort, och kanske lite ofokuserad, ingen riktig skärpa i vad den vill säga. Hann inte riktigt lära känna Johan. Saknar att metaperspektivet inte heller fick något fäste, i första halvan av boken dyker berättarens jag upp på tvåtre ställen och skapade den lite distanserade, lite tragikomiska tonen. Men sen försvinner det helt, tas inte upp igen. Det hade nog kunnat knyta ihop boken mer, om det fullföljts.
• 
  Anna-Sofie

  Beautiful story about Johan Sletten, who's going to die and his wife Mai, who he wants to help her to die with dignity.
  But Johan Sletten's life hasn't been dignified altogether, which is uncovered in flashback to his work, marital, and family life. What is dignified after all?
  Johan Sletten is very focused on himself, and as the story proceeds I got increasingly annoyed by him, constantly reflecting on himself, instead of just being in life. However, Linn Ullmann is a master in describing him to the point where you feel you actually know him...and you feel sorry for both of his wives, both the dead one Alice (whom Johan almost killed himself one day) and the living one Mai, who fortunately seems very cabable of running her own life.
• 
  Keith

  Extremely touching, and even wise. Though not fair to Ullmann, I couldn't help but think of an Ingmar Bergman film; it has that sort of raw, unadorned focus to its story. Though Johan is not particularly likeable, and Mai the enigmatic wife, there was something about the Schumann parallel towards the end that cemented this couple's beauty for me.
• 
  GAMA

  Hasta que amanezca es una novela sobria, tranquila y dura, muy dura. El tratamiento de la muerte desde la perspectiva del que se va es agrio, tremendamente realista.
  Me acerco a Linn Ullmann desde la figura de su padre, Ingmar Bergman, y la admiración por su madre, Liv Ullmann, y he encontrado una novelista interesante con una voz propia teñida de recuerdos de su propia historia. Una maravilla.
• 
  Jen

  Tender and thought provoking.
  
  I know it’s not a very long book, but still, it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book in a single sitting.
  
  First day of my holiday, and I’ve finished my first book by 9:30am.
• 
  Susanne Bengtsson

  För första gången inte fem stjärnor för Linn. Vet inte vad som hände. Oerhört bra och tänkvärt slut dock!!
• 
  Linda Franklin

  Odd. I kept thinking of my own death, but then I kept on reading. oh my. Johann, the main character, is not likeable, but I liked him anyway.
• 
  Ava

  Challenging
• 
  Aurora Sofie

  Ganske enkel, tung og lettlest bok.
  Skjønner ikke helt moralen på slutten.
  Generelt ganske «nøytral», føler det blir mer fokus på å få brukt mange virkemidler enn selve historien.
• 
  Donna

  Awkward people...interesting though.
• 
  Maja Svensson

  Lite underhållande, bra skriven, men tyvärr fastnade den inte hos mig.
• 
  Line BOKely

  Fin bok om døden
• 
  Mie Jonassen

  
  Nåde er en fantastisk lille perle af en bog om livet og døden og overgangen mellem de to. Smukt sprog!
  Min første bog af Linn Ullmann, men bestemt ikke den sidste.
  
• 
  Aneta

  Intresting idea, but very annoying main character.
• 
  #mimmiläser

  Nåd
• 
  Kathrine Bruflot

  En lettlest roman om liv og død. Hva er et verdig liv? Hvem bestemmer hva som er et verdig liv?
  Boka har godt språk og dybde i all sin enkelthet.
• 
  Julie Mestdagh

  Vilken pärla. Otroligt fint skriven berättelse som väcker många tankar. Att läsa om och om igen.