i'm in love with the danish poet.
i expect (and hope) that many have seen this delight before (i know dearest thelma has), but it's worth another viewing.
it is especially on my mind and deserves my first post because just two days ago i finally finished the novel kristen lavransdatter mentioned in the short film, which i have grown up hearing was the best novel ever written by my incredibly intelligent mother, who reads it again every few years. the novel was gorgeous and sweeping, i have rarely (if ever) read something which so completely and subtly captures what it means to be human with all its imperfections. you can feel the presence of the characters, you know them and can recognize them as actual human beings, not shallow caricatures or stock stereotypes. from a female point of view, the novel doesn't skip over domestic and daily realities, like what it is like to feel a newborn baby's head pressed against your neck. i love how much of such seeming "banality" of daily living is embedded in the novel, since fiction often likes to aggrandize itself by overlooking or idealizing the very stuff that makes up the majority of our experiences as humans.
it is rare for me to sit down and read fiction, unless it has a heavy dose of ideas embedded within (hello, kundera) - but i was transfixed by sigrid undset's prose. on my edition in the back one critic states "undset's trilogy embodies more of life, seen understandingly and seriously, than any other novel since the brothers karamazov." i've rarely agreed with a critic more.
and of course i'm also transfixed by this charming film, who wouldn't fall in love with kasper?
i expect (and hope) that many have seen this delight before (i know dearest thelma has), but it's worth another viewing.
it is especially on my mind and deserves my first post because just two days ago i finally finished the novel kristen lavransdatter mentioned in the short film, which i have grown up hearing was the best novel ever written by my incredibly intelligent mother, who reads it again every few years. the novel was gorgeous and sweeping, i have rarely (if ever) read something which so completely and subtly captures what it means to be human with all its imperfections. you can feel the presence of the characters, you know them and can recognize them as actual human beings, not shallow caricatures or stock stereotypes. from a female point of view, the novel doesn't skip over domestic and daily realities, like what it is like to feel a newborn baby's head pressed against your neck. i love how much of such seeming "banality" of daily living is embedded in the novel, since fiction often likes to aggrandize itself by overlooking or idealizing the very stuff that makes up the majority of our experiences as humans.
it is rare for me to sit down and read fiction, unless it has a heavy dose of ideas embedded within (hello, kundera) - but i was transfixed by sigrid undset's prose. on my edition in the back one critic states "undset's trilogy embodies more of life, seen understandingly and seriously, than any other novel since the brothers karamazov." i've rarely agreed with a critic more.
and of course i'm also transfixed by this charming film, who wouldn't fall in love with kasper?
3 comments:
oooooh what a treat! this is such a lovely, lovely little film. and now i must add that novel to my ever growing reading list. well done, jooj.
Reminds me of our discussion tonight on coincidences in connection with people....
Thank you for reminding me about this amazing film. you're fantastic, Jooj!
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