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Strega
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
9 posts | 6 read | 9 to read
Powerfully inventive and atmospheric, a modern gothic story of nine young women sent to work at a remote Alpine hotel and what happens when one of them goes missing With toiletries, hairbands, and notebooks in her bag, and at her mother's instruction, a nineteen-year-old girl leaves her parents' home and the seaside town she grew up in. Out the train window, Rafa sees the lit-up mountains and perfect trees--and the Olympic Hotel waiting for her perched above the small village of Strega. There, she and eight other girls receive the stiff black uniforms of seasonal workers and move into their shared dorm. But while they toil constantly to perform their role and prepare the hotel for guests, none arrive. Instead, they contort themselves daily to the expectations of their strict, matronly bosses without clear purpose and, in their spare moments, escape to the herb garden, confide in each other, and quickly find solace together. Finally, the hotel is filled with people for a wild and raucous party, only for one of the girls to disappear. What follows are deeper revelations about the myths we teach young women, what we raise them to expect from the world, and whether a gentler, more beautiful life is possible. In stimulating and uninhibited imagery, Johanne Lykke Holm builds a world laced with the supernatural, filled with the secrecy and potential energy of girls on the cusp of womanhood. An allegory for the societal rites, expectations of women, and violence we too easily allow, Strega builds like a spell that keeps exerting its powers long after reading.
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blurb
PirateJenny
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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New work mail! I've read parts of both of these and now I'm looking so forward to diving in

review
AnnRaz
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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Pickpick

Enjoyed this one. A slow burn. Dark, atmospheric, haunting.

My only issue with it: the word “milk” appeared far too much lol

5 likes1 stack add
quote
AnnRaz
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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“I had always thought that I would make a beautiful corpse. I would take care not to be ugly when it happened, take care not to become an ugly murder victim, lying there with my mouth open in a dress I had inherited, as much a failure in death as in life. I harbored an internal mechanism that bathed everything in a glittering light, the mechanism that binds death with beauty and beauty with death.”

quote
AnnRaz
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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“I had set out fresh flowers on the bedside tables. They smelled strong and alive. I preferred things that were dead to begin with.”

review
Breanne1
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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Mehso-so

I understand that this book is meant to highlight the violence enacted on women as well as society‘s expectations forced upon them. That said I didn‘t really “get” this story and found myself really wondering what was going on; in summary I felt it tried too hard.

quote
AnnRaz
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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“I always give a thought to when I do something for the third time. I‘d advise all people to do the same. It‘s important to be suspicious of that sort of repetition.”

4 likes1 stack add
review
sarahbarnes
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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Pickpick

Finished this strange book tonight. It is beautifully written. An illustration of the ways girls and women are held to societal expectations, told through a story of nine girls sent to work at an eerie hotel in the mountains.

Megabooks I had been curious about this. I‘m going to stack it. 👍🏻 1y
sarahbarnes @Megabooks I‘ll be interested to hear what you think of it! (edited) 1y
25 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
BeeMagical
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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Mehso-so

Book 215📚 2.5⭐️

Written almost like poetry. Just didn‘t wow me. Felt similar to Meduse, minus the shock.

Very well written🌙

Trashcanman Beautiful 1y
36 likes1 comment
blurb
Mitch
Strega | Johanne Lykke Holm
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Blimey - these two don‘t remotely look like they can be the same book! Cover design and how it changes across the world is fascinating!

julesG Wow. That's a huge difference. 1y
AnnR That's really interesting. For once, I like the US cover better. 1y
IndoorDame Wow! This time I actually did double check that they both had the same author. Such different moods! They must be marketed to different customer bases in each country. 1y
See All 12 Comments
Mitch @julesG I know right! So interesting how two designers see so differently. 1y
Mitch @Ann_Reads me too. The U.K. one is depressing! 1y
Mitch @IndoorDame they don‘t feel like the same book AT all so they! 1y
TheEllieMo Do they not want people in the UK to read this?! That cover would put me off 1y
Mitch @TheEllieMo there‘s no way I‘d buy it! 1y
LeahBergen Odd! 🤔 1y
Hooked_on_books I so often prefer the UK covers, but not in this case! 1y
45 likes12 comments