❌❌

Revisiting classics is always an interesting experience.
I had read "Doctor Glas" when I was about fifteen, as a school assignment. I liked it then.
So, what did I think this time?
- Söderberg's writing is still marvellous. I found myself rereading certain sentences, just to savour them better. (I was reading the original, not the translation ;-))
- Every Söderberg novel I had read paints Stockholm beautifully. These glimpses of my city are very precious.
- I really liked the sense of time and place, and all those philosophical and not so philosophical conversations between friends.
- The moral dilemmas are going to be interesting to talk about in my book club...
- Doctor Glas is a masterfully created, and very disturbing character.
- It's interesting to see how far ahead of his time Söderberg was, discussing marital rape and euthanasia. Yet, there are things in this book that have not aged well. I wish Helga was more of a "real" character, instead of a symbol/catalyst/object of obsession. Sometimes I put the book down to say STOP.WRITING.ABOUT.WOMEN.THIS.WAY! (I wonder how many classics pass the Bechdel test? This one does not.)

Four stars, because I don't know what else to do. I have to confess that the last point made it more difficult for me to like "Doctor Glas". It doesn't happen with all the books I read, I CAN make allowances. This time, I had trouble doing that...
( )

Pubblicato nel 1905, suona come un romanzo dell'Ottocento debitore di Dostoevskj e Poe, anticipando al tempo stesso lo spirito intimista e psicologico di molto del romanzo novecentesco. La vicenda, ambientata a Stoccolma, tocca temi profondi legati al senso etico e al desiderio. Il dottor Glas è un personaggio immediatamente indimenticabile, che sfugge alle catalogazioni e offre molti spunti di riflessione. Libro che meriterebbe di essere più conosciuto (personalmente l'ho trovato per caso in aeroporto a Stoccolma). ( )

Doktor Glas är en dagboksroman av Hjalmar Söderberg som utkom 1905. Romanen skildrar en ensam läkares liv i Stockholm under några månader – från 12 juni till 7 oktober – i slutet av 1890-talet.

Having trashed Camilla yesterday, I’m going to try to redress the balance...

http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/doktor-glas-by-hjalmar-sod...

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Book read, more to say here:

http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2013/09/18/doktor-glas-by-hjalmar-sod... ( )