Review: The Copenhagen Trilogy, by Tove Ditlevsen
Tove Ditlevsen’s The Copenhagen trilogy is definitely a masterpiece and worth spending time with. I listened to it through Libby, the library app from Overdrive, and it was compelling, horrifying, saddening, and wonderful — all at the same time.
Ms. Ditlevsen is an excellent writer. She tackles her memoir without glossing over the rough parts or glorifying her accomplishments, and we know that such balance is not always easy to achieve. Further, her story is compelling because it is a very common one in my generation. the young Tove is easy to identify with — how many of us were outsiders at some level? And, once that has happened, it’s all too easy to understand why she makes the decisions she does. But the most attractive thing about the book is the unflinching way she looks at her decisions and their consequences.
According to Wikipedia, by the time she committed suicide in 1976 she had written 29 books and was one of Denmark’s best-known authors. I shall certainly add any of these that were translated into English to the never-ending reading queue.
So, while this is not a happy story, let me count among those who want Tove Ditlevsen to be one of the most-read authors in the US.
Not Just Another Grouchy Grammarian 