current reading thread
I finished reading the 2015 novel "Celestine" by Olga Ravn yesterday evening; it was rainy outside and even thundering a bit, which felt appropriate for a ghost story.
I had borrowed the book at the public library and returned it today. I enjoyed it a lot, I read it in a few bursts; whenever I picked it up, I read longer than I had planned. I almost peed myself once because I wanted to read just one more page. Of course, the novel also has a chapter called "Urin" (urine).
The narrative is about a young teacher who moves to a boarding school and gets obsessed with the story of a woman from the like 1500s ("Celestine") who, as a ghost, allegedly restlessly haunts the boarding school's hallways at night. Celestine was "buried" alive by getting "walled into" the castle walls:
(on p. 90, from the perspective of Celestine).
It is also about the narrator's ending relationship with her boyfriend, about said boyfriend's dysfunctional manner of dealing with his depression, about being a child of divorced parents, about forgiveness and revenge. Also about choosing self-hate vs. self-pity when looking back at one's childhood; about sexuality, violence, & shame; loneliness & love(work) & hatred. Found the parts about love & sexuality & loneliness relatable.
It is not a super scary, uncomfortable ghost story in my opinion, but a comfy one. More like a foggy field in autumn and not some dark graveyard with mega zombies. Imagine a boarding school's little library tower in which the teacher sits and reads in solitude. Or "solitude", because it is a ghost story, after all. Sometimes, she is eating cup noodles in her little teacher's room.
I recommend it a lot. In the later chapters, it reminded me a bit of the 2023 film All of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh, which is apparently based on the 1987 Japanese ghost novel Strangers (I kinda want to read it now).
Or, like the feeling I get when it suddenly, for example when bringing out the trash at night, feels like I am the only person who lives in this dormitory where I am staying at right now, and everyone else is a ghost, or I am a ghost because I died but did not even notice. Like this weird feeling of loneliness and solitude that is comforting and tranquillising like fog or alcohol or aimlessly walking through a university's or hospital's long hallways when waiting for someone.
I read the Danish version, but apparently there is an English translation now, which I cannot vouch for, as I have not read it.
It is the second novel of Olga Ravn I read. The first work of hers I finished (two times) was the 2018 novel De ansatte (The Employees), which I picked up at a Danish book store just because the cover looked pretty and the blurb sounded fun (and because it was not intimidatingly big).
I had borrowed the book at the public library and returned it today. I enjoyed it a lot, I read it in a few bursts; whenever I picked it up, I read longer than I had planned. I almost peed myself once because I wanted to read just one more page. Of course, the novel also has a chapter called "Urin" (urine).
The narrative is about a young teacher who moves to a boarding school and gets obsessed with the story of a woman from the like 1500s ("Celestine") who, as a ghost, allegedly restlessly haunts the boarding school's hallways at night. Celestine was "buried" alive by getting "walled into" the castle walls:
(Dear god in heaven, Graceful lord, let me forgive and let me die. Only in forgiveness can I find my grave. Only within the heart can I find my coffin.)Kære Gud i himlen, Nådige Herre, lad mig tilgive og lad mig dø. Kun i tilgivelsen kan jeg finde min grav. Kun i hjertet kan jeg finde min kiste.
(on p. 90, from the perspective of Celestine).
It is also about the narrator's ending relationship with her boyfriend, about said boyfriend's dysfunctional manner of dealing with his depression, about being a child of divorced parents, about forgiveness and revenge. Also about choosing self-hate vs. self-pity when looking back at one's childhood; about sexuality, violence, & shame; loneliness & love(work) & hatred. Found the parts about love & sexuality & loneliness relatable.
It is not a super scary, uncomfortable ghost story in my opinion, but a comfy one. More like a foggy field in autumn and not some dark graveyard with mega zombies. Imagine a boarding school's little library tower in which the teacher sits and reads in solitude. Or "solitude", because it is a ghost story, after all. Sometimes, she is eating cup noodles in her little teacher's room.
I recommend it a lot. In the later chapters, it reminded me a bit of the 2023 film All of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh, which is apparently based on the 1987 Japanese ghost novel Strangers (I kinda want to read it now).
Or, like the feeling I get when it suddenly, for example when bringing out the trash at night, feels like I am the only person who lives in this dormitory where I am staying at right now, and everyone else is a ghost, or I am a ghost because I died but did not even notice. Like this weird feeling of loneliness and solitude that is comforting and tranquillising like fog or alcohol or aimlessly walking through a university's or hospital's long hallways when waiting for someone.
I read the Danish version, but apparently there is an English translation now, which I cannot vouch for, as I have not read it.
It is the second novel of Olga Ravn I read. The first work of hers I finished (two times) was the 2018 novel De ansatte (The Employees), which I picked up at a Danish book store just because the cover looked pretty and the blurb sounded fun (and because it was not intimidatingly big).
