5 comments about Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller.

1. Very interesting book and a good read--having heard of Andersen most of my life, it was good to read about him. The book lays to rest the image of Andersen created by Danny Kaye in the (albiet interesting) misleading musical version of Hans Christian's life. The book chronicles the master storyteller's incredible ambition and drive to make something of himself, despite his poverty-stricten background, and thoroughly examines the demons (both physical and psychological) that encompassed his life.



2. I picked up this book looking to get some insight into the mind of Hans Christian Andersen, and to some extent I did, but in an almost disturbing way, I got a stronger sense of the biographer herself. The reader of this book will get to know Andersen's family's origins (although not enough), his life as a child (again, not enough), the places he lived, those he knew and a lot about what they might have thought of him. There is a minor amount of information given about why or when Andersen wrote certain books or stories -- and this is where the book falls tragically short. Instead of delving into the mind of Andersen or the world that created him, the reader of this biography should prepare themselves for page after page of the author's fixation with how clumsy Andersen's behavior was with colleagues and friends and her conclusions about Andersen's sex life. Some of this might even be true, but at times the stories are presented just to titillate instead of lending insight with any genuine caring. To a larger degree, I think the author missed the point of Andersen's dilema entirely. The issue for Andersen might be that he was socially and sexually immature -- for his age and at any age -- whether as a teenager or as an adult. And that he had deeper issues of inferiority that could have stemmed from a number of sources, the least of which his issues with being born into a lower class of society than he might have liked. It seems pretty clear that between the lines, this kept him from having enough self worth to have more conventional friendships. The author draws this conclusion briefly later in the book but you're going to have to sit through a lot of the author's saucy editorialized excerpts of his letters. For me, her point seemed labored, like the author enjoyed it too much. One thing that surprised me and I wasn't fully prepared for was the sophistication of Andersen's writings. In many ways they're written with the precision of an adult, the eye of an artist but with the tears and charm of a child. He was a poet who evolved into writing stories for all age groups. I guess what I'm trying to get at, is I would have prefered the author spent more time making an analysis of his writings and how they altered the writing of the day and how they were written. The sexual speculation and the focus the negative effects of his ego raising behavior -- were not so interesting. As a matter of respect for Andersen's body of work, and more to the point, to be taken seriously as a biographer of a well respected writer, the author might have tried to respect Andersen a lot more than she does.



3. No true artist is really ever content in the age in which they live. Artists naturally resist time, space and matter. Given that, living in Europe during the 1800s must have been tedious for a man of Hans Christian Andersen's (b. 1805, d. 1875), passion and vision. In Andersen's case, writing became his way of transcending matter, of becoming timeless and immortal.
   
   Author Jackie Wullschlager writes a thoroughly researched biography of the quirky genius. While I loved this book, I gave it three stars because I completely disagree with her premise that Andersen was a "victim" of classism and elitism and that his work was inspired in opposition to this.
   
   Andersen pushed gender, sexual, social and artistic boundries so effortlessly that I have to believe it was instinctive not contrived. Isn't it every artists' lament that they are misunderstood? And isn't it every biographer's urge to explain it for them? All artists share the very same yearnings, complications, misunderstandings, restlessness and even nuttiness that Andersen did.
   
   Quite simply there is no answer as to what informs any of their work. It just is. Mortals like us have to accept their magic gracefully. I certainly wish Wullschlager had.



4. A well-researched critical, yet sympathetic biography of the complex brilliance which was Hans Christian Andersen.
   When you reach the pages describing his death, you feel like you have lost a dear friend. HCA was known for his children's fiction, but in fact, many of his works are for adults. This biography is particularly interesting as it gives some insight into his little known adult works, together with his character, and places his work in the cultural context in Europe in which it found itself.



5. Although this is a highly readable, extremely informative biography, the death of my Hollywood-derived impressions of Hans Christian Anderson, as personified by Danny Kaye, was a tortured one.

   As Wullschlager clearly illustrates, Anderson was not a very likeable character. Easily wounded and quick to take offense (even where it was unwarranted), strangely self-assured to the point of embarrassing those around him with his pomposity and silliness (if not himself), he seems to have been almost incapable of giving the same friendship that he demanded of others. Even so, Wullschlager succeeds in making him sympathetic. Rather than try to make excuses for his behavior, she just lays out the facts and presents him as he was. She is particularly effective when she associates events in Anderson's life with the fairy tales and repeating literary themes they inspired.

   That Anderson was able to transform his inner demons into timeless, allegorical tales that are both touching and uplifting is remarkable. That he was able to do so after having overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles in his background and early education marks him for the genius he was-warts and all.

   This is a very good biography of an unusual, but brilliant, story-teller.

No comments about Scandinavia; a Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900.

5 comments about Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (P.S.).

1. This is a wonderful book - rich in historical detail, intellectually stimulating and emotionally engaging. The author has a deep sense of humanity - and a dry sense of humour - which provides wry and insightful commentary on the mores of the time, and the excesses of the incredible Christina. The outcome is a warm and ultimately forgiving portrayal of a woman who would have been controversial in any age. The philosopher Descartes, the great artist Bernini, the composers Scarlatti and Corelli -they are among the many who have surprising walk-on roles in the drama of Christina's life.



2. I have read a number of Christina biographies, and am familiar with seventeeenth century Scandinavia. When I saw this book I was excited that someone, an English-speaker, had something new to say about this extraordinary queen and her times. Perhaps I was expecting too much. If a reader knows nothing about the history of the times, and is an admirer of the works of Carolly Erickson or Jean Plaidy, he will probably enjoy reading this book. Anyone who knows a bit about seventeenth century Europe, and wants some scholarly rigor to heighten and challenge his knowledge base, will probably feel -- as I did -- cheated.
   
   One never gets the sense from this biography that Christina was a real human being. She certainly was notable and eccentric, even considering her position and unusual personality. She was an appalling individual, both by present day standards and the standards of her own time. Even so, it must be asked why she was as she was. And, further, how she was typical of and different from what might have been expected of a royal figure in Europe at that time. Did she also possess traits that might make her easier to understand as a fellow human being? I did not find these questions adequately addressed by this book. She remains a circus freak, a human deformity.
   
   This biography might well serve as an introduction to the subject for someone who has never heard of Christina, and who is not troubled by romance-novel writing. Still, I would rather recommend Georgina Masson's or Sven Stolpe's "Queen Christina" to such a reader.
   
   In any event, it is heartening to see Scandinavian history being brought to an English-reading public. Personally, I am still waiting for a satisfactory biography of this troubling figure.



3. While Buckley has admirably and extensively researched and detailed her portrait of Europe in the 1600's, her characterizations of Christina of Sweden are irritatingly judgemental and peevish. If you are looking for a curmudgeonly psuedoanalysis of the extraordinary Queen, you will be happy. If you are looking for an impartial biography or an exciting story, you won't find it here. Buckley cobbles the flow of her own narrative by nitpicking Christina's motivations at every turn. YAWN!



4. Buckley has done a wonderful job with her first book and I am hoping that others will follow. This is a well-researched and well-documented biography of Christina. The queen is placed within her time period and Buckley wisely refrains from enforcing a modern view on the queen's lifestyle and decisions. Instead the author leaves the reader to make up their own mind.
   
   And excellently written work, Buckley gives those of us with little knowledge of seventeenth century Sweden a context from which to view Christina's life. And the discussion of Karl Gustav, Christina's father, the man who made Sweden a powerful military nation, is an important part of understanding Christina's idea of herself.
   
   For a pleasurable and enlightening look at one of the many high born (I would hesitate to call Christina powerful, except in her own mind) women floating around seventeenth century Europe, this is as great place as any to start.



5. Unfortunately, there was a lot of Swedish history to slog through at first. When I finally got to Christina's misadventures, things picked up. But this was not a really compelling biography--I kept counting how many pages I had left til the end. If you want a biography you can't put down, go read "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey.

No comments about Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark and Memoirs of the Author (Penguin Classics).

4 comments about On the Viking Trail: Travels in Scandinavian America.

1. When I noticed that this book is published by the University of Iowa Press, I was a little apprehensive. Would it be dry and academic? No. The book is a good read, warm, entertaining, charming and witty.
   
   The author's purpose was to retrace his Swedish roots, but beyond that to understand the experience of Scandinavians in America. So, while the book has a strong Swedish motif, he includes Danes, Norwegians and Finns--although he found that the latter consider themselves to be non-Scandinavians.
   
   He uses his imagination and humor to develop themes supplying context and meaning to his searches. The humor is often at the author's expense as real life tramples over his literary constructs. Along the way the reader is enchanted by the many stories of people and places that Lago scatters throughout this fine book. In a gentle and always fascinating style he illustrates the many contributions that Scandinavian immigrants have made to American life. He is a good writer and readers will enjoy his clear, supply prose.
   
   Something that I really like about the book is that although his travels and tales are lighthearted, the author develops some deep and penetrating insights about what it means to be an American, what America is and what it means to the world. In these meditations, Lago gives us his own thoughts, not citations and footnotes. In Swedish style, this is done modestly and in a quiet voice. It is clear that he would like nothing more than to share a good discussion about his themes and conclusions with his readers, who will feel that they are holding a conversation with Don Lago, hopefully over a steaming cup of Gevalia coffee.



2. It is now over 45 years since I left Sweden for USA. Although I quite well follow what is happening in the Swedish-American press I was delighted to learn about so many more places with a Swedish background and history. Buying five books for gifts this Christmas may be an indication how I rate this book.
   Because I live in Phoenix, AZ, I just might drive up to Flagstaff one day in search for a certain little cabin. I just would love to meet Don Lago.
   Stig Magnus



3. When Don Lago went looking for his Swedish roots, it was originally to capture memories that would be lost as Alzheimer's disease ravaged his father's mind. Lago's search began with a recreation of a trip his father had taken years before to Granna, Sweden, the Lago ancestral hometown. That journey convinced Lago that his Swedish roots should matter to him, although he "wasn't sure exactly what they should mean." To find out, he initiated annual trips to Scandinavia and soon extended his study to American Scandinavia: "After I had stayed in Lund, Sweden, I was curious to see Lund, Wisconsin." A former political activist, book reviewer, and kayaking instructor, Lago lives in Arizona, but one could assume from this work that he is rarely home. The account of his peregrinations is the beautiful and thoughtful On the Viking Trail. So much more than a personal account or family tribute, Viking Trail tells of the hardships of immigration, the importance of community, and the roots of American attitudes toward the land.
   
   
   In keeping with his Scandinavian sense of modesty, Lago is surpassingly humble about the book he has written here. On a postcard from a Motel 6 somewhere in Iowa, he wrote me that Viking Trail would be of interest only to those of Scandinavian heritage. Once begun, however, there is no turning back from this travel into Scandinavian America via Lago's volume, there's no putting it down, and there's no forgetting the courage and creativity of these immigrant people and their unique contribution to America. In Viking Trail, not only has Lago found the meaning of his-and his father's-Swedish roots, he's led us to discover our own.
   
   [...]



4. I'm only half way through but I must stop to urge Scandinavian Americans everywhere to read and reread this wise, wonderful and informative exploration of what it means to be a Scandinavian American. Belongs in the library of everyone with a drop of Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish blood, or mixture thereof.

No comments about The Viking Age: the Early History, Manners, and Customs of the Ancestors of the English-Speaking Nations: Illustrated from the Antiquities Discovered in ... from the Ancient Sagas and Eddas. Volume 2.

1 comments about Butter in the Well: A Scandinavian Woman's Tale of Life on the Prairie.

1. One of the best "first settler" accounts I've ever read! Hubalek's story of Swedish immigrant, Kajsa, who settled in Central Kansas was riveting. I couldn't put it down until I had read the whole book. Stories of rattlesnakes coming through the dugout ceiling, prairie fires, the joys of newborn babies and the heartaches of losing loved ones.... Reading Hubalek's book shows that starting life as a homesteader was very tough, and the story was so real that I was working the sod right with her. Be sure to read the whole 4-book series, and her other two series as well.

No comments about Ibsen (A Da Capo paperback).

No comments about Linka's Diary: A Norwegian Immigrant Story.

1 comments about I, Lars Hard.

1. This is one of the best books i've read. Fridegard is the worlds most underrated writer. The book basically tells the story of Fridegard himself, he just added some action so it would be more fun to read. Fridegard had a hard time getting the book published because of it's sincere and harsh language. I would recommend anyone to read it.