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The Details
The Details: The intoxicating international bestseller | Ia Genberg
17 posts | 12 read | 4 to read
WINNER OF THE AUGUST PRIZE 2022 (BEST FICTION) WINNER OF THE AFTONBLADET LITERARY PRIZE 2022 A famous broadcaster writes a forgotten love letter; a friend abruptly disappears; a lover leaves something unexpected behind; a traumatised woman is consumed by her own anxiety. In the throes of a high fever, a woman lies bedridden. Suddenly, she is struck with an urge to revisit a particular novel from her past. Inside the book is an inscription: a message from an ex-girlfriend. Pages from her past begin to flip, full of things she cannot forget and people who cannot be forgotten. Johanna, that same ex-girlfriend, now a famous TV host. Niki, the friend who disappeared all those years ago. Alejandro, who appears like a storm in precisely the right moment. And Birgitte, whose elusive qualities shield a painful secret. Who is the real subject of a portrait, the person being painted or the one holding the brush? The Details is a novel built around four such portraits, unveiling the fragments of memory and experience that make up a life. In exhilarating, provocative prose, Ia Genberg reveals an intimate and powerful celebration of what it means to be human.
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review
Gleefulreader
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Pickpick

I very much enjoyed this book, tearing through it in a single night. The narrator has a fever, during which she plumbs her memories of a handful of people from her life. This is very much a character book, with no driving narrative except for how relationships form, change and fall apart. I found the choice of the final chapter somewhat jarring, but I think it worked in terms of perspective on the narrator‘s other relationships. Thoughtful!

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Kazzie
Pickpick

This was so subtle and beautiful. A look back at significant relationships in the narrators life

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KMCRamsek
Pickpick

Is she ok? Am I ok after reading it?

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Daily
Pickpick

This book delves deep into the roles of identity, deception, and what is real versus perceived. Each of the characters in the book is created intelligently with both their actions and what motivates them being swathed in ambiguity and intrigue....
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6615927792

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Tamra
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The sun is out! (Momentarily) Back to the happy place. 🌞

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😍 6mo
57 likes1 comment
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charl08
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Pickpick

Two word review? Very Swedish.
Young people have undiagnosed mental health problems whilst not having to worry too much about £. Or rather, kroner. Lovely turn of phrase though, and a definite fit for the books about books trend too.

BarbaraBB Very Swedish indeed 7mo
46 likes1 comment
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charl08
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Everyone I know remembers the time right before the turn of the millennium with a certain embarrassment since the excitement seemed so disproportionate after the fact, so headless; silly, in a way. It was a collective impulse, like a global popular movement, but nobody could give it a more profound explanation than 'the passing of time'. The numbers felt magical, and they were magical, but only in the way that numbers are.

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charl08
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#InternationalBooker Shortlist 2024

WildAlaskaBibliophile Beautiful flowers! What are they? 7mo
charl08 @WildAlaskaBibliophile foxgloves (from a mixed bunch of "dalmation" plugs). Hoping they will self seed for next year. 7mo
WildAlaskaBibliophile @charl08 🌸Thank you! 7mo
37 likes3 comments
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Night_Reader
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Pickpick

3.5/5 🌟

This book looks into the intricate dynamics of relationships, exploring how the people we encounter shape our lives. While well-written, it may lack the excitement to sustain interest throughout. However, the final chapter offers a captivating conclusion that left me liking the book better.

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sarahbarnes
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Pickpick

I‘m not sure about the fever premise (maybe I‘ve just never suffered through a long fever) but otherwise I liked this story of a woman told through her memories of consequential relationships in her life. It felt familiar as I often find myself doing a similar thing these days - reflecting on life through people who have come and gone.

@BarbaraBB

BarbaraBB Wow that seems the right book at the right time for you. I liked the way the book was built up along those characters of her past. 8mo
sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I do think that was the case! And I agree. 8mo
38 likes2 comments
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Graywacke
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Pickpick

Offbeat 1990‘s Stockholm. This reads a lot like Rachel Cusk, but it‘s a study of relationships, lovers, friendships and mom. It has a lovely tolerance of personal oddities and failures, and a warmth in appreciating the whole person. I enjoyed it. (And it‘s short. Took this slow reader 3.5 hours to read these 137 pages) #Booker2024

BarbaraBB Glad you liked it so much. I did not get that much out of it. 9mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB i saw your review. I admit it has grown on me. I like her relationships. I‘m charmed by Niki‘s contradictions. Just curious, any chance you made it to Stockholm in the 1990‘s? Or any other time? I spent a day there in 1997 (far from home). It was gorgeous and super unfriendly. 🙂 9mo
BarbaraBB I was there in 2007 and I liked it a lot too. Real Scandinavian: clean and easy-going. I loved the references to the city but didn‘t recognize them 9mo
See All 7 Comments
BarbaraBB Wait! Yo say UNfriendly! Really? That wasn‘t my experience but people do keep to themselves I think, especially compared to the US. Or were you treated badly? 9mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB yes, UNfriendly. 🙂 I was mostly ignored as i was with a girlfriend and some other people. So no one was rude, it was just the feeling we all got. 9mo
BarbaraBB That is strange. I wouldn‘t know if it‘s typical for Sweden, I just was there that once and it was for work so I met some people who had to behave correctly 😀. Some years later I was in a Swedish village in winter and there everyone was really nice but I thinks that incomparable to Stockholm. 9mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB i was in Sweden a week, all vacation but unstructured. I stayed in Gothenburg. Stockholm was distinct. Every where else was, to me, normal. 9mo
44 likes1 stack add7 comments
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Graywacke
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Started this, a library loan. Getting Rachel Cusk vibes. #booker2024

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BarbaraBB
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Mehso-so

We learn about the narrator‘s life in Sweden by the details she shares of her relationship with four different people who have disappeared from her life. This could have been interesting and the raving reviews in the media do certainly think so but I didn‘t unfortunately 🤷🏻‍♀️

#ATY24 - Senior citizen #52BookClub24 - Character Driven #Pop24 - About a writer

Librarybelle At least it fits a few prompts! 10mo
See All 12 Comments
youneverarrived I‘m stacking as it sounds intriguing although I‘ll borrow not buy 👍 10mo
Hooked_on_books Well that‘s too bad. I already had this stacked, not sure why (the raving media reviews, maybe?). I may have to rethink that. 10mo
lil1inblue It's so disappointing when a book doesn't live up to the hype. Such an interesting premise, though! 10mo
BarbaraBB @youneverarrived @Hooked_on_books @lil1inblue let my review not discourage you, the reviews are really good so it‘s probably me! 10mo
Centique What a beautiful photo! Is it a historic building in the background? 10mo
batsy Love the photo! 10mo
BarbaraBB @Centique @batsy It is an open air museum where we shot a commercial for an exhibition I‘ve been working on for the past few months. 10mo
sarahbarnes I see this made the shortlist - I may give it a try and hopefully won‘t regret not heeding your review. 8mo
BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes My best friend loved it and we always love the same books too, so I think chances are high that you‘ll love it as well! 8mo
87 likes1 stack add12 comments
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AnneCecilie
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Bailedbailed

My first DNF this year. To be fair to the book, I put myself on the hold list at the library after seeing rave reviews without knowing anything about it. I made it 16 p into this 140 p novel, but when I start wanting to do anything but reading, it‘s time to take the hint. So not for me.

Tamra Listen to your intuition. 👍🏾 11mo
BarbaraBB I felt the same and read the book for the same reason! 10mo
58 likes2 comments
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BarbaraBB
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#WeeklyForecast 08/24

I am reading both Pet as well as The Stationery Shop and will finish them soon. Pet is great, The Stationery Shop not so. Next will be the tagged which I bought based on a review in I think the NYT but not sure about that. It‘s short so I should be able to make a start with another #LitsyToB24 book, one of which I have high expectations!

squirrelbrain Have a great week! 11mo
sarahbarnes This looks like a great week! Pet and Biography of X! 😍 11mo
72 likes2 comments