Før du sovner

by Linn Ullmann

I boka forteller Karin Blom om seg selv og sin store, merkelige familie. I hennes verden glir fantasi og virkelighet nesten umerkelig over i hverandre og hun forteller, forstyrrer, gjøgler og forfører, mens alle omkring henne beveger seg ubønnhørlig mot ensomheten. Bokas handling spenner fra New York på trettitallet til Oslo på nittitallet. Det er en roman om et kjærlighetsforsøk, ekteskap, utroskap, familiebindinger, forfengelighet og håp. Men også om en ung kvinne som langsomt lærer seg å snakke sant.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Scandinavian Literature, Contemporary, Roman, Family, Literature

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Linn Ullmann is the daughter of actress, author and director Liv Ullmann and director and screenwriter Ingmar Bergman.

She is a graduate of New York University, where she studied English literature. She returned to Norway in 1990 to pursue a career in journalism.
Her first novel Before You Sleep was published in 1998. Her second novel, Stella Descending (2001) received glowing reviews. Her third novel Grace was published in 2002 and won the prominent literary award “The reader’s prize” in Norway and was named one of the ten best novels of that year by the prestigious Danish newspaper Weekendavisen.
In 2007, Grace was longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in the UK. That same year, Ullmann was awarded the prestigeous Norwegian Amalie Skram prize.


Her fourth novel, A Blessed Child, was published in the fall of 2005, and was shortlisted for the Brage Price, one of Norway's most prestigious literary awards. Currently she is working as a journalist and a regular columnist in Norway’s leading newspaper Aftenposten.

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty dull and uneventful book, a disappointment although not painful to read. I should have heeded the warning, "European Best-Seller", because this usually doesn't augur well - memories of "Night Train to Lisbon" - where the author gets so philosophical and complex that the plot doesn't really matter. Here, that wasn't the case but the book never took off for me. Since it was hailed as a "feminist empowerment" novel, or some such, I thought that it was me but my wife didn't much like it either. It covers three generations of strong Scandinavian women, and the men who aren't worthy of these women, and hence the poor record in matrimony. This is not a new topic and no new ground was covered here. (In another note, this reminded me of Carrie Fisher's documentary on her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and her grandmother, three strong women with (at least for the last two) a string of failed relationships, something at the center of the film.) In spite of the rather favorable criticisms it received, many others just didn't get into it so I don't feel alone in this.

[Raisu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this took forever and a day to read, because every time I got going, one of the protagonists (and our occasional narrator), Karin, would do something humiliating to herself to attract the attention of some random dude. And I would be so embarrassed for her that I had to stop reading for a few days or week.

Other than that.. I don't know. Ullmann maybe tries a little too hard, at times? The stone metaphor, for example, maybe it goes on a tad too long? Still, the writing is interesting, and I am a sucker for this type of "families be awful" story, so three stars it is.

[Sigrid J. Otterlei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mistet boka i beruset tilstand et eller annet sted i Bergen, men det var uansett bare sånn 30 sider igjen og jeg var lei.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hon bara ljuger och ljuger och det är en jättefin bok

[Karin Baele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, 4,5* maar die gemiddelde rating moet echt naar omhoog. Geweldig geschreven met de nodige crunch, het verhaal stáát maar draait al eens een pirouette, beetje wacko, beetje flou artistique, beetje geniaal. Zeer graag gelezen en er van genoten.

[Inita · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 zvaigznes. Latviešu valodā tulkojums saucas Karina Bloma. Stāsts ir par viņu, atmiņu uzplaiksnījumi par viņas dzimtas sievietēm - māti, vecmāmiņu, vecmāmiņas māsu, arī Karinas māsu Julie. Karina ir pavedinātāja, bet mīlestību tā arī nesaņem. Pēc izlasīšanas ir tāda diezgan sērīga sajūta.

Mana asociatīvā noskaņa ir šajā citātā:
Es redzu bālas sejas, citu pēc citas, citu pēc citas apkārt balti klātajam galdam, un aizvērtās acis. Es redzu riebumu, tik daudz riebuma ap vienu pusdiengaldu nevar iedomāties pat pašā nelaimīgākajā ģimenē, un mēs pat nebijām īpaši nelaimīga ģimene, bet nelaimīgi bija daudzi no mums. Laimīgi vai nelaimīgi, kurš to var zināt? Gan viens, gan otrs. Bet droši varu teikt, ka mēs bijām daudzi.

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nja den tog sig lite på slutet men saknade handling och kändes mest flytande. Blev besviken efter att ha läst andra från Ullman som var betydligt bättre. Fick aldrig känsla för karaktärerna och ville helst läsa bara ut den. Men litet plus för fina liknelser ibland!

[Hans-Martin Roer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mangler litt fokus og har ikke samme tiltrekningskraft som andre Ullmann-bøker jeg har lest. Men den har absolutt sine kvaliteter, spesielt i Karin, den upålitelige fortelleren.

[osoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я успела соскучиться по скандинавам. Они неизменно приносят в мою жизнь горстку меланхолии и трепетное ощущение родства душ. Лин Ульман я заочно полюбила еще несколько лет назад, не читав ни одной ее книги – поэтому, наверное, так долго откладывала чтение. Чтобы не разочароваться.

Сначала меня отпугнули подробности, иногда настолько отталкивающие в своей интимности, что хотелось перелистнуть страницы. Но ближе к середине я втянулась и поняла, что без этих мелочей мне не удалось бы прочувствовать книгу. Грандиозную в своей камерности историю трех поколений одной семьи рассказывает Карин, выдумщица и врушка. Более-менее верить можно только половине — тому, что она говорит о жизни других. Вторую половину составляют россказни о том, как она ставит себе цель подцепить мужика и впоследствии завоевывает его внимание, пускай даже самыми странными и идиотскими способами. Супермаркет, ресторан, паб, чужая свадьба. Билли, привязанный ко многим местам неприятными воспоминаниями. Карл с волшебными сапогами, без которых он превращается в рыбку. Карин, набирающая горячую ванну в самый жаркий день лета для мужчины, которого задумала соблазнить.

Нельзя сказать, что все персонажи ярки, и поэтому запоминаются. Наоборот, они скучны 90% времени, и только тост, невзначай переросший в речь или ухваченная взглядом сцена на кухне раскрывают в них нечто особенное, то, что делает их Осе и Оге, Рикардом, Юне, Сельмой, Анни, Жюли, Карин, Александром, Арвидом и Торильд, тетей Эдель и дядей Фрицем. Потрясающие люди, каждый в своей скорлупке. За резкую и бескомпромиссную старую кочергу по имени Сельма — отдельное спасибо.

Книга началась с Карин-шлюхи, Карин-алкоголички, Карин-фантазерки, поливающей читателя из шланга образами, спеленутыми легкой ностальгической дымкой, а закончилась такой нежностью, какой хватило бы на весь мир.

annikeh.net

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inte så förtjust i språket, det kändes alldagligt men som om det försökte vara poetiskt. Fast inte på ett bra sätt. Och vissa av upprepningarna hon gjorde var otroligt krystade.
Samt lite svag historia ibland.

Däremot: vissa partier var väldigt fina vilket absolut lyfte betyget! Samt ändå lite spännande?

Lutade mot en fyra tills jag läste slutet

[Elviira · Rating 2 out of 5]

En saanut tästä yhtään kiinni. Ei päätä ei häntää. Ei houkuttele lukemaan lisää samalta kirjailijalta.

[AnthouG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Διάφορες κωμικοτραγικές οικογενειακές καταστάσεις Ν. Υόρκη 1930 - Όσλο 1990

[Gabi_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Muy guay y todo eso pero la manera de ir hacia delante y luego hacia atrás en la historia me ha liado un poco. En sí la historia ha estado muy interesante y el final pues eso. No spoilers.

[Hanna O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bra skriven men för mig var det något som skavde med porträttet av huvudpersonen.

[Edoterlia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generalnie dałabym 2.5, ale ze względu na wartość sentymentalną dam 3. No i była sirkelkomposisjon, także dodatkowe punkty.

[Lina Storsæter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Litt kjedelig.. men ikke dårlig. Artig innimellom. Likte slutten egentlig👍🏻

[Tuva Gram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutt kjekk lesing, men ikkje beste eg har lest av Ullmann. Liker i grunn formatet, men tok litt tid å komme inn i dialogen. 3,5⭐️frå meg.

[Sara Spilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orkar int skriva nåt så här e några quotes från mina favorit Goodreads reviews om boken: 



“Like Ullmann's other novels, Before You Sleep is full of mean and unlikeable characters.”

“Kaunis, absurdi ja välillä hauskakin”

“Nearly impossible to understand, and equally difficult to follow”

“Reminds me of how you remember memories.”

“Special, but I liked it. About a crazy family.”

“The character is embarrasing.”

“Den handlar iaf om en tjej och hennes familj och släkts historia, men har svårt att beskriva vad den handlar om mer specifikt haha... “

“(boyfriend turns into fish when his cowboy boots are taken off) “

“hard..”

“...du kommer på dig själv med att läsa det absolut galnaste och ba "hm, okay, makes sense”

“Hon bara ljuger och ljuger och det är en jättefin bok”

"Mistet boka i beruset tilstand et eller annet sted i Bergen..."

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erzählt wird eine Familiengeschichte aus der Sicht der Norwegerin Karin von den 1930er Jahren bis heute.  Karin ist notorische Lügnerin.
In Ihrer Erzählung übertreibt sie und wiederholt sich, oft mit kleinen oder großen Abweichungen, so dass man als Leser gelegentlich unsicher ist, welche Version die ist, die sich ereignet hat. Es gibt auch Anekdoten, die völlig unrealistisch sind. Aber so ist das nun mal bei Lügnern.
Allen Unkenrufen zum Trotz (das Buch hat eher schlechte Rezensionen) und obwohl das Ende unklar bleibt, fand ich es gar nicht sooo schlecht....wirklich empfehlen würde ich es dennoch nicht.

[Anne Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book that is wonderfully funny and surreal and tackles a lot of bleakness head on without ever becoming bleak. I enjoyed the narrative style, jumping back and forth and moving from the real to the imaginary without warning. The family dynamics were fascinating, though I have to say I liked the part of the book set in Norway better than the part set in New York. Not that the part in New York wasn't good, it was, but the book worked even better when Karin was telling us about herself and people she knew and things she had experienced. Overall I really really liked this book.

[Inga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! A story with "a sting in the tail", as someone used to call this type of plot. Great writer, brilliant idea. Linn gave me a Latvian translation of this book, as this is my (almost) first language, when I was briefly working for her, I would have now loved to read the Norwegian version...

[Mila · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought the book in spanish to practice spanish and thats really all, unfortunately. The character is embarrasing. I understand the idea of picturing an ego based dysfunctional family and how one can be affected by the environment and thus become a horrible person as well but do you really have to romantacize and try this hard? Other than that, clever words and good narrative.

[Kevin Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a slow burn but as it moved to the end I couldn’t stop reading. It’s not even the plot, which is barely there (in a good way). It’s the mood and the feelings it evoked that held me and kept me reading. If you ever pick it up, ignore all the blurbs on it. They badly undersell the beauty of this book.

[Susanne Ahlstrand · Rating 3 out of 5]

En Ullman är en Ullman och en Bergman är en Bergman. Det här är precis den berättelse ett barn av dessa två producerar.
Starkt driv i en berättelse som bitvis är glasklar, bitvis obegriplig men hela tiden läsvärt relationsdrama. Ingen feelgood precis. Den här kräver lite mer av sin läsare.

[Astrid Aune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klarer ikke bestemme meg for om jeg elsket eller hatet denne boken. Veldig spesiell og interressant! Kan ikke huske å ha lest en bok der jeg har vært mer frustrert på hovedpersonen som tar valg jeg får lyst til å rive meg i håret av! Morsom og tykk skildring av familie, slekt og familiedynamikker.

[Cara · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most bizarre books I've ever read. The ending is confusing. I'm glad to be done with it.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ullmann crafts a sometimes fanciful, sometimes gritty tale of the women in a Norwegian family spanning several generations.

[Kismeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different and thus refreshing compared to what I normally read. The exaggeration or fantasy in it was not something I enjoyed however.

[Ida · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very intense, but I liked it. The narrator is puzzling, and that makes the book so much more interesting.

[Crini · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason this book took a century and an extra day to finish. Not sure why the reading dragged so much - could it be just my fault (as in my mood at the time). I was so much looking forward to finally start reading Ullman’s books, and I wanted to start with this one, the first allthough the bookshops are now frenetically promoting her latest book.

I loved the interplay of fantasy with the reality while narating the history of a Norwegian family over several generations. The authors gets us from the 90s in Norway (mainly Oslo but also a bit of Trondheim is mentioned here and there) and back to 30s in New York (where «morfar» Rikard Bloom is making a fortune and falls in love with Selma but married her sister June) and back to nowdays in both America (when the story of Anni and Dr. Peterson takes places) ane Oslo.
There are the fabulous reality-fantasy interplays : the mackrel- lover, the stone between husband and wife (Julie and Aleksander) simbolizing the rupture in their couple as he is cheating her with Val Bryn(her best friend), the rude and hated aunt (Selma) watching her own funeral where nobody has anything good to say about her, the liquid face of Anni when Karin picks her from the airport … and so many others. I liked a lot that these fantastical scenes come with no warning, so by the point you decide she is just using a metaphore or another fantasy is taking place of the real situation, the mackrel is already in a bowl with water. ;-)

And allthough I enjoyed a lot all this, for some reason the reading advanced very slow … maybe because I was always afraid Julie and her introvert and suicidal tendencies might dissapear from the scene?! Not sure! And when Sander (the son of Julie and Aleksander) arrives in the story it doesn’t feel as the future will be brighter.

There are many lines though that stayed with me days after I finished the last page of the book.
For example, Karin (the dishonest narrator heroine of the book) and her father discuss her younger sister's (Julie) troubles:
«What's the point of marriage if he's not making her happy?'
The father answers:
«I don't understand who told you that the point of anything is to be happy.»
For some reason this short conversation seems to me to be like the entire motto of this 4-generations family history.
It is also a conversation between Karin and her father that explaines why the narrator becomes a chronic liar that somehow gives you the flavour of the entire book.