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Is Mother Dead
Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth
5 posts | 4 read | 19 to read
A cat and mouse game of surveillance and psychological torment develops between a middleaged artist and her aging mother, as Vigdis Hjorth returns to the themes of her controverdsial modern classic, Will and Testament 'To mother is to murder, or close enough', thinks Johanna, as she looks at the spelling of the two words in Norwegian. She's recently widowed and back in Oslo after a long absence as she prepares for a retrospective of her art.The subject of her work is motherhood and some of her more controversial paintings have brought aboiut a dramatic rift between parent and child. This new proximity, after decades of acrimonius absence, set both women on edge, and before too long Johanna finds her mother stalking her thoughts, and Johanna starts stalking her mother's house.
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review
BookwormM
Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth
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Pickpick

#BookerInternationalLonglist2023

Sad that this didn‘t make the shortlist as I really enjoyed it.

Complicated family relationships, estrangement, grief, art and love.

This is a book I feel a lot of people will be able to relate to and just as many will feel no relation to it at all.

batsy I was sad it didn't make it, too. Thought it was really good. 10mo
sarahbarnes I agree - I really thought this was good and wanted it to make the shortlist. 10mo
36 likes2 comments
review
sarahbarnes
Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth
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Pickpick

This book brilliantly documents the painful journey of a woman coming to terms with her relationship to her mother, as a child and now as an adult. Along the way, more and more of her mother is illuminated. It all comes to a boiling point at the end. It is infuriating and heartbreaking and also a story of peace and redemption. I wish it had made the Booker shortlist.

BarbaraBB Fantastic review. Stacked of course! 11mo
sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I think you‘ll like it! 11mo
batsy Lovely review! So glad you liked it. I still think about it... Kind of haunts me, in a way. 11mo
sarahbarnes @batsy I'm still thinking about it, and your comment about it haunting you really resonates with me. Parts of reading it felt so visceral to me and it's going to stay with me for a long time, too, I think. 11mo
41 likes2 stack adds4 comments
blurb
sarahbarnes
Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth
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One of my favorite breweries has the perfect combination of a bookish vibe and great beer. I came here to do some work but I brought this book so….

jlhammar That looks wonderful! 11mo
LeahBergen That‘s a great beer glass! 🍻 11mo
BarbaraBB That bar and glass look 🥰🥰 11mo
See All 12 Comments
Cathythoughts That‘s a nice situation you find yourself in ❤️ I have this booked stacked already 👍🏻 11mo
batsy Nice! I hope you enjoy. 11mo
youneverarrived Perfect! 11mo
sarahbarnes @LeahBergen @BarbaraBB I know, I love their glasses! 😍 11mo
sarahbarnes @jlhammar @batsy @youneverarrived it was pretty fantastic. 😁 11mo
sarahbarnes @Cathythoughts it was nice! And I‘ll be interested to hear your thoughts on the book when you get to it. I‘m really enjoying it. 11mo
LoverOfLearning This place sounds incredible! 11mo
Reggie That looks pretty awesome. 11mo
sarahbarnes @Reggie @LoverOfLearning it‘s a pretty great spot indeed! 11mo
38 likes12 comments
review
batsy
Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth
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Pickpick

"Marguerite Duras writes somewhere that every mother in every childhood represents madness. That your mother is and always will be the strangest person you will ever meet, I think she's right." I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. It feels so personal and is filled with disconcerting insights about the protagonist's estranged, disturbed "relationship" with her mother. Another person's mind is always the most chilling mystery.

batsy This is a novel of interiors that holds up a mirror to a troubled psyche. Johanna is an artist who for some reason has long since lost contact with her family, & who is now back at her home town. Her father is dead & her mother refuses to speak to her; her sister sends her terse messages that revolve around telling her to stay away. It is filled with beautiful descriptions of nature & chilling revelations that feel emotionally true. So good. 12mo
Cathythoughts Great review 👏🏻 I usually shy away from the International Booker books , but I‘m stacking this one. Love that quote about the mother being the strangest person you‘ll ever meet. ❤️ 12mo
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batsy @Cathythoughts Thanks, Cathy! It is such an interesting book and yes, that quote really struck me. Her style is very different but the story reminds me of Dostoevsky a bit, in that the "thriller" aspect is related to the psyche and is wholly psychological. 12mo
sarahbarnes Great review! I‘m looking forward to reading this one! 12mo
erzascarletbookgasm I‘m intrigued, and stacking. Great review! 12mo
Suet624 Sounds so interesting! 12mo
batsy @sarahbarnes Thank you! I hope you like it. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this going in but it was so unexpected. I initially found the style (excessive comma splices) a bit weird, but then you sort of get into the rhythm of the narrator's thoughts. 12mo
batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thanks, Jessie! 12mo
batsy @Suet624 A book that made me sit up and think hard, lol. I'm keen to read her other books. 12mo
sarahbarnes Thank you! The topic is definitely something I‘m drawn to. And appreciate the heads up on the style. 12mo
batsy @sarahbarnes I'm glad I said something of use there because I just realised I typed, "I didn't know what I was expecting but it was unexpected" which isn't helpful at all, sorry ? 12mo
sarahbarnes I sort of talk like that most of the time so it made perfect sense to me. 😂 12mo
91 likes12 stack adds13 comments
review
Coueriamb
Is Mother Dead | Vigdis Hjorth
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Mehso-so

I‘m not sure what to make of this one. It has/had the same issue as Luda for me. Very purple prose and a strange layout- maybe the fault of the ebook. It‘s easy to follow but meandering.

I figure that‘s the point, and the story is good, but it‘s just not my thing.