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Gesichter

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Von der gefeierten Autorin der Kopenhagener-Trilogie – ein eindringlicher Roman über eine Frau am Abgrund, geschrieben mit der Lebendigkeit und Direktheit gelebter Erfahrung.

Kopenhagen, 1968: Lise Mundus, Autorin und Mutter dreier Kinder, entgleitet ihr Alltag. Sie meint, Stimmen zu hören und Gesichter zu sehen. Sie ist überzeugt, dass ihr Mann, der extravagant untreu ist, sie betrügt und verlassen wird. Vor allem aber hat sie Angst, dass sie nie wieder schreiben wird. Als sie in die Klinik geht und sich behandeln lässt, fragt sie sich, ob der Wahnsinn wirklich etwas ist, wovor sie sich fürchten muss – oder ob er nicht auch eine Form von Freiheit für sie bereithält. In »Gesichter« macht Tove Ditlevsen die Verschiebungen in der Wahrnehmung einer Frau, die seelisch erkrankt, mit literarischen Mitteln meisterhaft erfahrbar.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

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About the author

Tove Ditlevsen

111 books859 followers
Tove Ditlevsen var en dansk forfatter, som hentede inspiration i sit eget liv som kvinde. I sin digtning og som yndet brevkasseredaktør i Familie Journalen udfoldede hun en dyb psykologisk indsigt i moderne kvinders splittede liv. Hendes evne til at udtrykke sammensatte følelser i et enkelt og smukt sprog fik betydning for flere generationer af læsere.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 579 reviews
Profile Image for emma.
2,318 reviews77.7k followers
June 13, 2023
i am on a lifelong quest to find the coolest looking book at the bookstore. and not only did i do it, but...

i have NEVER READ A BOOK LIKE THIS!

literally every sentence contains a simile that is so jarring and specific it encapsulates a feeling you, without being aware of it, were pretty sure only you had.

the writing was spectacular, and on top of it, this was so thematically rich and consuming. its thesis — that going insane, even if it means institutionalization, constitutes more freedom than being a woman who adheres to societal expectations — was as dissonant and rich as the language.

i had a goddamn blast.

bottom line: first tove ditlevsen, best tove ditlevsen.

4.5
Profile Image for Meike.
1,829 reviews4,230 followers
April 30, 2022
German: Gesichter
In this novella, an alter ego of Ditlevsen lives through a psychosis: The second marriage of children's book author Lise Mundus (Ditlevsen's mother was called Kirstine Alfrida Mundus) is in severe crisis, she struggles to create new writing and slowly looses grip on reality, hearing voices and seeing faces. After a suicide attempt with pills, Lise is admitted to a psych ward, where she is treated by Dr. Jørgensen (the real Einar Geert-Jørgensen conducted LSD experiments with psychiatric patients, sometimes without their consent). For the reader, it becomes impossible to determine what happens during Lise's stay in the hospital.

Tove Ditlevsen herself was admitted to psychiatric hospitals several times and finally ended her life with pills. The themes of her autofictional work The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood / Youth / Dependency generally play a significant role in the text, but she undercuts the plot with surrealistic elements and uses references to books like The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge and Lolita to reflect, process or foreshadow.

"The Faces" contemplates mental illness, the author's personal life and the meaning of art: Personal, artistic and health crisis coincide, and in order to create new fiction, Lise needs to gain control over reality. Being able to write becomes a sign of sanity - and who doesn't like that thesis?

Still, I have to admit that I enjoyed this novella more on a theoretical level, I admired its ambition and cause, but I couldn't love it. The detailed descriptions of the psychosis are rather exhausting to read, they feel like someone tried to describe an abstract painting (which is probably a compliment considering the subject matter, but enthralling it is not, at least not for me).

I'm glad I finally read some Ditlevsen, although I will probably not join the fan club any time soon - but who cares, it's already substantial enough. :-)
Profile Image for Patricija || book.duo.
783 reviews544 followers
February 13, 2024
„Kai kuriems, ypač mergaitėms, tekdavo gyventi mamų vaikystę, o jų pačių gulėdavo nukišta slaptame stalčiuje.“

5/5

Nors galima būtų sakyti, kad pirmiausia „Veidai“ yra apie psichinę sveikatą ir lėtą, bet užtikrintą ėjimą iš proto, man šioji knyga pasirodė esanti apie kaltę. Motinos kaltę – ar kada nors iš tiesų esi pakankamai gera, dėmesinga, mylinti, padedanti? Žmonos kaltę – kodėl jis eina pas kitas, o kodėl tu leidi, o kodėl tau neberūpi, kad eina ir beveik tikiesi, kad su kuria nors ir pasiliks? Autorės kaltę – nes gal pati nežinodama pasiskolinai žodį ar sakinį, o gal net ištisą pastraipą. Nes visada galima rašyti geriau, o rašant vaikams solidžiau būtų rašyti suaugusiems, o rašant suaugusiems atrodo, kad didžiausio talento reikia rašant vaikams. Ir kur dar tas apsimetėlio sindromas, šnabždantis į ausį iš po pagalvių ir iš vamzdžių, kalbantis kitų balsais – kartais išorėje, o kartais tik tavo pačios galvoje. Ir kaip tuos balsus atskirti? Kaip atskirti veidus?

O tada jau ir psichinė sveikata, nepagražintas, skaudus, aštrus ėjimo iš proto vaizdinys, iš lėto skaitytoją panardinantis į psichinės ligos keliamą stresą ir parodantis, kaip ryškiai ir tikroviškai galima jausti. Net kai nežinai, kas tikra. Pati moteris iš savęs yra tarsi sutrikimas, nepakankamai jautri pasauliui (ypač savo vyro ir vaikų, bet ir globaliai), o tuo pat metu ir pernelyg jausminga, o kurianti moteris – „kažkoks neįgalumas“. Liga neromantizuojama ir neaukštinama, tačiau literatūriška kalba tokia paveiki, kad ir pats imi abejoti viskuo. Net savimi. Ypač savimi. Man nereikia jums pasakyti, kad Ditlevsen yra geniali, bet čia ir puikus Bivainytės vertimas, ir tiesiog neįtikėtino įspūdingumo ir tikroviškumo žvilgsnis į sergančio žmogaus vidų. Gąsdinančiai realistiškas.
Profile Image for Paula Mota.
1,329 reviews454 followers
August 1, 2024
4,5*

Porque havia, pensava ela, algo em cada rosto que ofendia e desafiava o mundo da mesma forma que a caligrafia ilegível de um médico ofende a autoestima do farmacêutico. Permitiu que um pensamento sereno e triste lhe deslizasse por entre as folhas do livro.

Creio que a leitura de “Os Rostos” será mais enriquecedora para quem puder contextualizá-la através de“A Trilogia de Copenhaga”, mas mesmo não me apercebendo de todos os pontos de contacto entre as duas obras, consigo avaliar esta que agora terminei de forma autónoma sobretudo pela escrita excepcional, apesar de um ligeiro abuso de metáforas e comparações.

Todos os dias cheirava os livros como um cão fareja nas árvores e nas pedras os odores que o instigarão a levantar a perna e urinar. (…) Provava-os com minúcia, deixava-os deslizarem-lhe pela língua como uma conhecedora de vinhos experiente, arrancava-os do contexto e polvilhava-os com as suas conclusões e ideias desavergonhadas. Esguia e curvada com um ponto de interrogação, tirou um livro de uma das prateleiras mais baixas.

São, por exemplo, soberbas as inúmeras passagens sobre o tema que dá nome à obra e que, tal como as vozes que ouve, são sintomáticas da desagregação mental da protagonista.

Durante o dia, os rostos estavam sempre a alterar-se, como se ela os visse refletidos em águas agitadas. Olhos, nariz, boca, um triângulo tão simples que, no entanto, continha um número infinito de variações. Como era possível? Há muito que evitava sair de casa, porque a imensidão de rostos que povoavam as ruas a assustava. (…) O novo rosto não era nem demasiado grande nem demasiado pequeno, e conservava vestígios de uma vida que não era a do seu novo dono. No entanto, quando uma pessoa se lhe habituava, surgiam nele traços do rosto original, tal como uma papel de parede antigo que se rasga e expõe fragmentos da camada escondida abaixo dele, ainda fresca e bem preservada e repleta de recordações dos anteriores ocupantes da casa.

Lise, uma celebrada autora de livros infantis, é uma narradora questionável cujo relato dos acontecimentos nunca é claro na sua proveniência, porque se trata de uma mulher em crise, ou melhor, numa convergência de crises identitárias…

Nunca quis outra coisa. Não quero saber do mundo para nada. Só quero escrever e ler, só quero ser eu própria.

…como escritora, como mãe, como mulher…

Gert encarava a sua fama como uma afronta pessoal. Afirmava que não podia ir para a cama com uma obra literária e traía-a com grande empenho, mantendo-a meticulosamente informada sobre as suas conquistas amorosas.

…e como ser racional.

- A realidade – disse ele – existe apenas na sua mente. A vida correr-lhe-ia muito melhor se metesse isso na cabeça de uma vez por todas. A realidade não tem existência objetiva.
- Então onde é que eu existo? – perguntou ela.
- No consciente de outras pessoas – disse ele com paciência.


Depois de uma tentativa de suicídio, Lise é internada numa instituição psiquiátrica onde assistimos aos seus surtos psicóticos. Tendo em conta que estamos num país nórdico, não há as habituais descrições de más condições e maus tratos, mas as imagens usadas por Tove Ditlevsen transmitem um desassossego que nem o lirismo consegue mitigar.

Tateavam com uma mão ao longo da parede, que se inclinava um pouco sobre o corredor, e sabiam que um dia, no seu cansaço amarelo de abandono, a dita parede cairia sobre elas e as esmagaria. (…) Depois, esqueciam-se daquilo que lhes atraíra a atenção e retomavam o seu trabalho árduo de separar as horas umas das outras, para que a noite não gotejasse sobre elas a meio da tarde.

Filtradas pela mente perturbada de Lise, há situações da vida familiar extremamente incomodativas que, no final, nos levam a duvidar do que lemos: seriam a realidade ou fruto de um transtorno?
Profile Image for Cule.Jule.
91 reviews82 followers
January 13, 2023
Das Buch habe ich in einem Rutsch durchgelesen. Tove Ditlevsen greift anhand ihrer Protagonistin Lise Mundus das Thema Wahn in Form einer psychotischen Störung auf.

Lise Mundus (wer die Kopenhagen-Trilogie gelesen hat, wird bei dem Namen aufhorchen) ist Autorin und Mutter und hört Stimmen. Der Leser taucht auf knapp 154 Seiten in ihre Gedankenwelt ein. Teilweise wird es immer schwieriger Realität und Wahrnehmung zu trennen, aber genau hier liegt ja auch das tückische am Krankheitsbild. Aufgrund ihrer Erkrankung wird sie in eine Klinik eingeliefert, um sich behandeln zu lassen. Ist überhaupt der Wahnsinn vorhanden oder ist sie nur Teil eines großen Komplott?!

Ich persönlich fand es faszinierend, wie Tove Ditlevsen ihre Protagonistin ausgearbeitet und das Setting gestaltet hat. Der Bezug zu "Gesichtern" hat mir ebenfalls sehr gefallen.

Die Autorin konnte mich erneut überzeugen und ich freue mich auf weitere Bücher.
Profile Image for Stephen Curran.
Author 1 book24 followers
June 26, 2021
I read this straight off the back of the author's remarkable memoirs (Childhood, Youth and Dependency) and I'm glad I did it that way. Although ostensibly a work of fiction, it sticks so closely to her real life experiences that it can be read as a forth book in the sequence: it's written in third person, yes, and the author's name has been changed, but otherwise it picks up a decade or two on from where Dependency left off. Various incidents from the memoirs are recalled as being from Lise Mundus's past; people we met in the first books come back onto the stage. Perhaps this disconnect is meaningful: The Faces is a depiction of psychosis, witnessed from the inside.

Given the level of mental disarray described, it is remarkable that Ditlevsen writes with such clarity and precision. Her deployment of metaphor is confident and illuminating. The many tricks played on Lise by her own mind are described with unfaltering control.

It was only when I finished reading the Copenhagen Trilogy that I learned that Ditlevsen died by her own hand, and it's impossible to read The Faces without that tragic fact at the forefront of one's mind. I hope more of her extensive body of work is translated into English. She was, I think, a genius.
Profile Image for S̶e̶a̶n̶.
952 reviews507 followers
November 1, 2023
Note: This review technically contains spoilers, but it’s doubtful they’d ruin the reading experience if you plan to read the book.

The Faces is a novel that relates the harrowing experiences of children’s book author Lise Mundus. Lise’s husband Gert resents her newfound literary success and quite openly and regularly cheats on her, including, she believes, with their young live-in housekeeper Gitte. Lise thinks that Gert and Gitte are conspiring against her, in part based on a conversation between them that she thinks she overhears through the pipes in the bathroom. In desperation to escape her persecutors, she takes an overdose of sleeping pills and calls her psychiatrist, who arranges for her to be taken to the state hospital. Here, the various staff members in the hospital adopt the faces and voices of Gert and Gitte, which terrifies Lise. Then, Gert and Gitte begin speaking directly to her from behind the heating grates in her room. Her children also appear behind the grates, where they suffer maltreatment at the hands of Gitte. While Lise’s stay in the hospital is relatively short, the description of it comprises the bulk of the book and makes for a horrifying read. Eventually, however, without any apparent significant treatment in the hospital, Lise’s symptoms disappear, concluding what seems to be a textbook example of gaslighting. But we can’t really know for sure, based on the information we’re given. Lise certainly seems to experience paranoia, and yet Gert is surely also a slippery character, who seems to be perpetually hiding something and refuses at times to provide straight answers, which are an overall rarity in this novel that raises more questions than it answers. Interestingly, the book also shares some similarities with the final volume, Dependency, of Ditlevsen’s memoir trilogy, to the point where it seems clear that she has used her real-life experience as raw material for the novel, which was written during the same period as the memoirs. Reading the two in parallel might offer further insights.
But what was real in this world, and what was not real? Wasn’t it a kind of sickness that people could walk around holding onto their own ego? – that whole chaos of voices, faces, and memories that they only dared to let slip from themselves drop by drop, and never could be certain of retrieving again.
Profile Image for Maxwell.
1,319 reviews10.8k followers
September 5, 2022
A female writer losing her mind and grappling with her husband’s infidelity. Very Ferrante-esque in its nature and sort of like a Bergman film in how she slowly drifts from reality into insanity and back again. I liked it well enough but did feel like a story I’ve seen told quite a few times now on screen and page, so lacked some of that freshness. I still think her memoir trilogy is her best work.
Profile Image for Ugnė.
609 reviews133 followers
June 10, 2024
Prarijau per pusdienį. Knygos apimtis (150 psl) prie to irgi prisidėjo, tačiau labiausiai įtraukė tai, kaip papasakota visa ribos tarp realybės ir fantazijų nusitrynimo istorija: paprastai, vaizdiškai, per minties ir kūno išgyvenimą. Norisi prirašyti daug ir tuo pačiu neprirašyti nieko, kad skaitantiems būtų atradimas, kaip buvo man. Žinau, kad raginsiu skaityti visus, ypač su psichikos ligomis ir sveikata dažniau susiduriančius.
Profile Image for JimZ.
1,193 reviews644 followers
Read
May 7, 2022
I very much liked Tove Ditlevsen’s 3-volume memoir ‘Childhood, Youth, Dependency’...I read it last year and gave it 4.5 stars. The last volume was about her addiction to painkillers and that made for very uncomfortable reading, and her being married to a low life as part of that period in her life. So, I guess I should have been warned about this novel and its dark subject matter — a woman having a psychotic breakdown and thinking the most godawful thoughts and thinking they were reality. At least for me, I didn’t much appreciate it. Maybe if I had been prepared for a Debbie-Downer book I would have appreciated it, while acknowledging the sad and sorry and troubling subject matter. That said, I am not going to rate it...I think it is probably a good book and I just came into it not wanting to read such a book/not being prepared for it. All the reviews below had positive things to say about the novel while recognizing its dark subject matter.

Note:
• I read a short story of hers in the New Yorker last year (The Umbrella, October 25, 2021), and that is included in a collection of her short stories that has come out this year —“The Trouble with Happiness,” translated, from the Danish, by Michael Favala Goldman. — published by Penguin.

• From Wikipedia: Throughout her adult life, Ditlevsen struggled with alcohol and drug abuse, and she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital several times, a recurring theme in her later novels. In 1976, she died by suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills.

Reviews:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
https://tonysreadinglist.wordpress.co...
https://anokatony.wordpress.com/2021/...

Profile Image for John Hatley.
1,328 reviews224 followers
August 19, 2022
This is another chilling story of the descent into madness. Tove Ditlevsen succeeds in giving the reader a very good idea of what it must be like to see faces and hear voices that aren't there. Perhaps those faces and voices are always there — in all of us.
Profile Image for Marta Silva.
189 reviews65 followers
November 9, 2024
“Um médico entrou na enfermaria e dirigiu-se à cama de Lise em passo determinado e com cara de quem tomara uma decisão importante.
- Então já acordou - disse ele, sentando-se numa cadeira ao pé da cama. - Tem a mente completamente límpida?
- Sim - disse ela.
- Pode dizer-me porque é que fez isto?
Ela olhou-o nos olhos, cujas pupilas, como ovos estrelados, estavam rodeadas de branco por todo o lado.
- Estava a precisar desesperadamente de ver caras novas - disse ela com toda a franqueza.”

Um livro perturbador. Uma leitura que me transmitiu algum desconforto, onde a inércia, a solidão, indiferença e a frustração podem levar à insanidade e revelar que, por vezes, há na loucura um prazer ou um temor que só os loucos conhecem…
Profile Image for Karenina.
1,727 reviews615 followers
July 9, 2024
”Ögon, näsa, mun, denna enkla trekant, men hur kunde den rymma så oändligt många variationsmöjligheter? Hon hade länge undvikit att gå ut i staden därför att mängden ansikten skrämde henne.”

Ansiktena (från 1968, i svensk översättning 2024) sägs vara en av Tove Ditlevsens (1917-1976) mörkaste romaner. Jag håller med, men tycker inte att någon ska låta sig avskräckas för den skull. Den handlar om författaren Lise Mundus som definitivt har ett och annat gemensamt med sin upphovsperson (Ditlevsens mor hette Kirstine Mundus). De har exempelvis båda varit gifta flera gånger och så här skriver Ditlevsen om det:

”När hon blev intervjuad var det Gerts eller Asgers åsikter hon uttryckte, som om hon aldrig hade ägt en självständig tanke. När Asger gick ifrån henne för tio år sedan, hade han lämnat en arsenal av ord och tänkesätt i henne likt ett kvarglömt bagage i ett förvaringsskåp på en järnvägsstation. När hon hade tömt den, öste hon ur Gerts åsikter, som växlade med hans sinnesstämning. Det var bara när hon skrev som hon uttryckte sig själv, och någon annan talang hade hon inte.”

Lise är alltså nu gift med Gert, men när han närmar sig tänker hon att ”..det var för mycket, […] att vara gift med en hel människa på en gång.” När hon motvilligt ser på hans ansikte blir hon varse att ”det var något fel på det. Alla hans drag såg ut att ta avstånd från varandra, som möbler från två äktenskap som förts samman.”

Det första som slår mig när jag åter träder in i Ditlevsens fascinerande värld är hur oerhört manskritisk hon är, kanske mest av alla författare jag vet. Eller nej nu ljög jag, det första som slår mig är hur bra hon skriver. Hennes prosa är mästerlig, tät och lätt på samma gång och liksom matnyttig ut i minsta stavelse. Jag vill citera halva boken. Det tredje jag inser är hur rädd jag är när jag läser om den psykos som får Lise att hallucinera, ta en överdos tabletter, bli inlagd och bältad. Ditlevsen skriver fram den psykiska rötan så att jag känner hur den hotar mitt eget förstånd. Jag börjar för säkerhets skull parallelläsa en bok av Pia Callesen om ångesthantering.

Lise är väldigt mycket protagonist, (självfokuset är ohemult) men berättarperspektivet är i tredje person vilket bidrar till en liten välbehövlig distans till läsaren. Jag brukar föredra jag-berättare men att vara i Lises huvud skulle vara för påfrestande och rörigt, tror jag, på grund av alla skrattande rör, ansikten bakom ventiler och övertygande röster.

”- Du har två ansikten, sa hon förvånat. Det är förbjudet. Man får bara bära ett ansikte åt gången.”

Ansiktena är en djupt omskakande läsupplevelse och om man inte redan efter att ha läst Gift är övertygad om Tove Ditlevsens skriande talang, vågar jag lova att man är det efter den här. Tyvärr, kände hon kanske själv? Här citerar hon Graham Green: ”Framgången är en lemlästning av den naturliga människan” och skriver också att ”frid var att inte existera i andras medvetande”, varför det ligger nära till hand att tolka hennes lidande som delvis utlöst av författarframgångarna. Att skriva öppet och visa sig sårbar som hon gör måste kunna få väldigt jobbiga följder. Dessutom levde hon i en tid av dumheter med tro på ”fri kärlek” (=otrogna män) och LSD-experiment på psykiska sjuka.

Det skakar mig att läsa om hur Lise mest av allt längtar efter att lågmält få prata med en kvinna, om män och barn och kärlek. Jag hoppas innerligt att Ditlevsen fick göra det i verkligheten innan hon tog livet av sig.

Det unga hembiträdet Gitte som åtminstone i Lises huvud är föremål för Gerts kärlek och åtrå slipper utstå invektiv i Ditlevsens skildring. Tvärtom är Gitte en intelligent karaktär, väl medveten om Gerts infantilitet och behov av maktövertag. Gitte hänvisar till en artikel av Simone de Beauvoir som heter Lolitasyndromet. Men här kommer vi också fram till Lises stora problem; hon vill vara en helt igenom felfri och god människa. Hon anser sig vara egoistisk som inte vill dela Gert med andra kvinnor. Hon vill bry sig lika mycket om spanska gruvarbetare, arresterade ryska författare och politiska fångar som sina egna barn och när hon inte gör det tror hon att hon är kall.

”Eftersom kärleken inte syns måste man tro på den”, skriver Sara Stridsberg i Kärlekens Antarktis och det sammanfaller väl med vad Pia Callesen lär mig: vi kan inte välja vad vi tänker men vi kan välja vad vi tror om det vi tänker. Ditlevsen får mig att inse vidden av detta grundläggande beteende och jag har sällan känt mig så frisk och levande som på andra sidan Ansiktena.
Profile Image for cypt.
614 reviews742 followers
August 5, 2022
Šita iš tų, kur nuo pirmo puslapio pasakai: PUIKI, ir ji visus 128 puslapius tokia nenustoja būti. Geriausia perskaityt vienu prisėdimu, bet visaip tinka, išties ji labai intensyvi ir gal nebūtinai reikia visą tą intensyvumą bandyti vienu kartu apžioti.

Ditlevsen iki šiol skaičiau tik, o gal net autobiografinę trilogiją, ir gal ta trilogija nuspalvina viską, ką tik jos beskaitytum. Šita trumpa knygelė - panašiai atšiauriu, kiek vaizdingesniu stiliumi parašyta beprotybės istorija. Vietomis (ypač pradžioj, kol pagrindinė veikėja dar tik pradeda atsisiet nuo tikrovės) jausmas kaip skaitant Virginią Woolf, vietomis - kaip Carrington memuarus. Ir vis dėlto daug gyviau, ta beprotybė ir kliedesiai yra daug arčiau nei Woolf ar tiek Carrington tekstuose.

Visa trumpa apysakaitė - apie tai, kaip vaikų literatūros rašytoja, trijų vaikų mama, įsitikinusi, kad vyras ir kartu gyvenanti nepilnametė vaikų auklė mezga romaną ir nori ją nužudyti, prigeria migdomųjų tablečių ir išsikviečia greitąją, tipo pagaliau nuo jų pabėgs ligoninėj, ir guli ligoninėj. Tada jai pradeda girdėtis balsai, ji pradeda matyti keistus dalykus (ar - žinoti tuos dalykus, būti įsitikinus). Tu skaitai ir kaip ir supranti, kad tas, tas ir anas yra jos kliedesiai, tačiau jie tokie gyvi ir tokie aštrūs, kad vis tiek, kaip ir jai, skaitant darosi labai skausminga. Va šitaip galima rašyti apie ligą, psichikos ligą, ir jos nesuegzotizuoti (beveik).

Tas "beveik" gal vis dėlto reikalingas, juk skaitom ne dienoraštį, o meno tekstą. Man jis visas buvo pradžioje, kai Lise, dar negulėdama ligoninėj, pasakoja, kaip ji mato žmonių veidus:
Preoccupied with other things, she hadn't taken care of the face, and at the very last moment it was replaced by a new one, stolen from a dead or sleeping person, who then had to make do as best he could. It was either too big or too small, and it bore traces of a life that didn't belong to the new owner. And yet, when you got used to it, glimpses of the original face would appear, just the way old wallpaper will crack and reveal patches of the hidden layer underneath, still fresh and well-preserved and filled with memories of the former tenants of the house.
[...]
But it was most apparent in children who were still growing. You couldn't fix them with your gaze; it would reflect off them, as empty as a mirror that you've stared at for a long time. Children wore their faces like something they had to grow into, which wouldn't fit them for many years. The face was almost always put on too high, and they had to stand on tiptoe and make a tremendous effort just to see the images on the inside of the eyelids. (p. 4-5)

Iš pradžių viskas dar atrodo poezija ir metaforos, kol paskui, ligoninėj, žmonės nepradeda iš tikrųjų mainytis vienas su kitu veidais, kol nesupranti, kad Lisei prieš akis tas ir vyksta, be jokių fantazijų ar metaforų.

Man čia turbūt stipriausias šios knygos bruožas: ji tokia nesušukuota, neišdirbta, čia ne kokia nors meniška ir apgalvota Lispector, o į beveik jokį fikcinį rūbą neįvilkta, tik kičiniais dažais padažyta liga. Ir tuo ji labai liūdna, nepadaryta "draugiška" skaitytojams. Štai pačioje pabaigoje, kai Lise, jau grįžusi iš ligoninės, mąsto, kaip keista - žmonės sau vaikšto visame balsų, veidų chaose, bet kažkaip laikosi už saviškių, beveik nepameta. Atrodytų, (pa)prasta metafora, bet po viso šuolio į beprotybę ji nei pigi, nei paprasta, tik liūdna.
Profile Image for Larissa.
Author 9 books284 followers
May 7, 2008
Faces is the type of book that you really need to be in the mood to read. I say this not because there aren’t ample things to enjoy about this book (there really are), just because I’m feeling a bit guilty about not being more enthusiastic about it. The author, Tove Ditlevsen, was a much beloved, chronically depressed Danish poet, memoirist, novelist, and advice columnist, and apparently, her death in 1976—by suicide—provoked quite an outpouring all over the country. (I’m trying to remember the last time that an author’s suicide in the US gleaned as much of a reaction as those of actors or rock stars. Feel free to remind me if I’m overlooking someone, but it seems to me that we tend to focus our literary attentions on rising stars and major contributors dying of natural causes. Perhaps we’re really, truly past the moment when American authors lead highly visible, highly fraught and dramatic lives? No more tragic author superstars in the 21st century? But I digress…)

Faces starts off plot-heavy, if only to quickly adjust us to a reality that will promptly come unhinged. Its protagonist, Lise Mundus, is a successful author whose artistic success has alienated her from her family. Her children have adopted their LSD-experimenting, pop-philosopher, dilettante housekeeper, Gitte, as a mother. Her husband, declaring that he ‘cannot go to bed with a piece of literature,’ begins having serial affairs which he keeps Lise well apprised of. And while Lise keeps to her room (never leaving the house) and writes, Gitte begins to fill in for her: she sleeps with Lise’s husband (claiming it’s for Lise’s own good). She sleeps with one of Lise’s sons. She preaches about the problems of the world (it’s set in the 60s, often referencing escalations in Vietnam), and lectures Lise for her inability to feel the same love for suffering strangers as she does for her own children. She is the embodiment of Lise’s shortcomings, both perceived and realistic, and continues to haunt our protagonist in one form or another throughout the novel.

The story actually opens when one of Lise’s husband’s mistresses kills herself. This sets off a chain of events that drives the already psychologically tenuous Lise to believe that her husband and Gitte are trying to subconsciously drive her to kill herself. Thinking she’ll escape them, Lise swallows a bottle of sleeping pills, calls her doctor to come get her, and spends the next three weeks in a mental institution.

What makes this novel truly interesting is the way in which Lise’s perceptions are written into the text as fact. Lise is obsessed with faces, with the idea that everyone is wearing a mask that can be swapped out and manipulated in order to disguise the wearer’s true intentions. When a person is unable to maintain a façade, Lise sees their face shift and melt, or even mutate into grotesque caricatures. It’s a well-recognized metaphor on human interactions made horrifyingly tangible. But even knowing this, the reader finds herself struggling along with Lise to determine what is real—who is wearing a mask and who is not. The close third narration that Ditlevsen employs allows the reader to view Lise’s predicament from a distance, but also be inside of her own thinking. This blurs the line between reality and delusion, madness and sanity. Perhaps Lise’s paranoias were justifiable after all.

In a poignant twist, Lise declares herself ‘finally gone insane’ just as the doctors inform her that she’s actually recovering. It’s a moving juxtaposition, and one that calls up the reader’s own biases and perceptions about what kind of negotiations and compromises each of us need to make in order to function in the world, in order to be perceived as ‘sane.’
Profile Image for Elena.
917 reviews349 followers
March 2, 2022
"Sie schliefen und ihre Gesichter waren friedlich und fern und würden erst morgen wieder gebraucht. Vielleicht hatten sie ihre Gesichter sogar sorgfältig auf ihrer Kleidung abgelegt, denn Gesichter mussten sich ausruhen und waren beim Schlafen auch nicht dringend notwendig. Tagsüber veränderten sie sich unablässig wie Spiegelungen in aufgepeitschtem Wasser." - Tove Ditlevsen, "Gesichter"

Kopenhagen, 1968: Lise Mundus ist eine gefeierte Kinderbuchautorin. Ihr Erfolg kam nach Jahren des Mittelmaßes ganz plötzlich durch eine Auszeichnung mit einem Kinderbuchpreis. Doch nun hat sie seit zwei Jahren kein Wort mehr geschrieben und auch psychisch geht es ihr nicht gut. Sie hört Stimmen und die Gesichter um sie herum verändern sich ständig, außerdem scheinen ihr Mann und ihr Hausmädchen sie aus dem Weg räumen zu wollen. Nach einer Überdosis Schlaftabletten landet sie schließlich in der Psychiatrie - doch auch dort lassen sie die Stimmen nicht los...

Letztes Jahr gehörte die Kopenhagen-Trilogie von Tove Ditlevsen zu meinen absoluten Lieblingsbüchern, dieses Jahr hat der Aufbau-Verlag nun ein weiteres Werk der Autorin wiederentdeckt. "Gesichter", in der Neuübersetzung von Ursel Allenstein, ist - anders als die Kopenhagen-Trilogie - ein fiktiver Roman, der aber sehr eng mit der realen Biografie der Autorin verknüpft ist. Lise Mundus Leben und die Realität von Tove Ditlevsen gleichen sich an unz��hligen Punkten, die wohl vor allem Leser*innen der Kopenhagen-Trilogie auffallen dürften.

Auch wenn die Autorin ihrem Stil in "Gesichter" treu bleibt (was bestimmt auch daran liegt, dass "Kindheit" und "Jugend" zeitlich sehr nahe an "Gesichter" erschienen), konnte sie mich mit diesem Roman nicht ganz überzeugen. So sehr mich ihr schnörkelloses, teilweise fast abgehacktes und unumwundenes Schreiben mit vielen Vergleichen in der Kopenhagen-Trilogie fasziniert hat, hier hat das für mich einfach nicht so gut funktioniert. Ich habe schwer in die Geschichte reingefunden und konnte mit keiner der Figuren eine wirkliche Bindung aufbauen. So habe ich dieses schmale Buch doch sehr häufig zur Seite gelegt und konnte gedanklich nicht immer dabei bleiben.

Trotz meiner Schwierigkeiten mit den stilistischen Aspekten möchte ich für "Gesichter" werben, denn die von Tove Ditlevsen angesprochenen Themen sind durchaus sehr relevant. Sie spricht mit einer entwaffnenden Offenheit über psychische Erkrankungen und das Untergebracht-Sein in einer Psychiatrie sowie die Angst davor, in der Bedeutungslosigkeit zu versinken und wertlos, geltungslos zu sein. Ein schwieriger, aber trotzdem besonderer autofiktionaler Roman, der mich noch neugieriger auf die weiteren Werke Tove Ditlevsens gemacht hat. Ich hoffe, der Aufbau-Verlag bleibt noch lange bei der Wiederentdeckung dieser faszinierenden wie besonderen Autorin!
Profile Image for Milda.
108 reviews19 followers
April 12, 2024
Stipriai emociškai koncentruotas romanas ir taip pat itin gilus niurktelėjimas į protą praradusios moters sąmonę. Romanas apie sunkią depresiją, nepavydėtiną psichologiškai aplinką, kaltę ir motinystę. Apie tai, kaip galima prisirišti prie žmogaus, bet iškart tuo pat metu ir trokšti iš to išsilaisvinti, nes jeigu nemyli, tai ir neskauda. Man asmeniškai Ditlevsen kūriniai dar ir tuo patrauklūs, nes jie labi autobiografiški ir šiuolaikiški savo vertybėmis ir problemomis. Be galo įdomi autorė.
Profile Image for Ellinor.
647 reviews320 followers
February 14, 2022
Letztes Jahr war die Kopenhagen-Trilogie von Tove Ditlevsen eins meiner Highlights. Nun erscheint im Aufbau-Verlag ein weiteres Werk der Autorin. Gesichter ist ebenfalls autobiographisch geprägt, hier ist ein Großteil aber Fiktion.
Lise Mundus ist Autorin, ihr letzter großer Erfolg liegt jedoch bereits einige Zeit zurück. Sie lebt mit ihrem Mann und ihren Kindern in Kopenhagen. Eines Tages beginnt sie Stimmen zu hören: Diese erzählen ihr, dass ihr Mann sie betrügt und gemeinsam mit der Haushaltshilfe versucht, sie aus dem Weg zu räumen. Lise nimmt daraufhin eine Überdosis Schlaftabletten und wird ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert. Auch dort schweigen die Stimmen nicht und sie landet in der Psychiatrie.
Gesichter ist sehr eindringlich geschrieben. Die psychische Erkrankung Lises ist hervorragend herausgearbeitet und gibt einen Einblick, wie es in den Köpfen mancher Patienten in der Psychiatrie aussehen könnte.
Dennoch hat es mir nicht so gut gefallen wie die Kopenhagentrilogie. Ich fand hier die Personen (mit Ausnahme von Lise) nicht so ausgereift und musste immer wieder nachdenken, wer denn nun eigentlich wer war. Dies hat mich während dem Lesen oft ein wenig gestört. Dennoch gibt es von mir eine klare Leseempfehlung.
Profile Image for Liz • りず.
85 reviews35 followers
January 9, 2023
“Reality disappeared behind her like someone on a railway platform as the train pulls away.”

Haunting and tragically alluring, The Faces is a representation of insanity as seen from within.
Given the amount of mental anguish portrayed, Ditlevsen writes with surprising lucidity and precision. Ditlevsen's prose is extremely empathetic and understanding, despite the horror it conveys.
Her use of metaphor is confident and insightful, creating a clastrophobic, frantic mood. The many mental games perpetrated on Lise by her own mind are depicted with unwavering control.
Ditlevsen herself died by suicide, and it's impossible to read The Faces without carrying that awful reality in mind.
A true testament that a tortured life can be alchemized into art.
Profile Image for Igne.
332 reviews14 followers
March 21, 2024
„Gertas visuomet neslėpdamas naivaus pasididžiavimo sakydavo, kad sūnus ne pagal metus suaugęs, nė nesusimąstydamas, kokia baisi perspektyva glūdi tame sakinyje.“

Norisi pasidžiaugti dviem dalykais. Kad Ditlevsen verčiama į lietuvių kalbą. Ir kad šita knyga nesiekia nė 150 puslapių, nes išbūti kartu su pagrindine veikėja tokioje klampioje, paranojiškoje būsenoje nėra lengva. Neatsistebiu, kaip paveikiai autorė rašo, kokia vaizdinga jos kalba, kokie ypatingi palyginimai. Visą laiką skaitant ėjo šiurpas.
Tiesa, į pabaigą poveikis lyg išblėso, o gal aš pati kalta, kad nesuskaičiau knygos per vieną vakarą. Gal kaip vienos dozės užtaisas ji paveikiausia. 4,25*
Profile Image for Lahierbaroja.
631 reviews175 followers
April 8, 2023
Copenhague. 1968. Nuestra protagonista es una escritora de éxito de libros infantiles. Casada y con tres hijos, comienza a desconfiar de su marido, de las intenciones de su hija, de cómo la juzga Gitte, la mujer a la que tiene contratada en casa. Sus caras no son lo que eran y cree que su marido y Gitte están confabulados para volverla loca. Dentro de sí sabe que su intención es matarla. O peor, provocar su suicidio.

Las caras ofrece un relato directo y duro sobre la enfermedad mental, sobre la contraposición entre lo que creemos ver o pensar y el mundo que nos rodea. Con un estilo claro y directo y sin florituras, Ditlevsen nos acerca a lo que pudo haberla llevado al suicidio.

Ojos, nariz, boca, un triángulo tan sencillo, ¿cómo podía dar pie a infinitas variaciones?
PÁGINA 8


https://lahierbaroja.com/2023/03/28/l...
Profile Image for Pablo Ruiz.
203 reviews67 followers
June 23, 2024
“Gert se acercó más aún y ella pensó aterrada que era excesivo estar casada con una persona entera de una sola vez”
Profile Image for Alan.
Author 14 books181 followers
December 18, 2021
Although I felt it was a bit overcooked to start with (two or three metaphors/similes a page), it did settle down into a searing account of one woman's descent into 'madness', including a stay in a psychiatric ward, voices coming from heating pipes and concealed speakers in her pillow. Touching, scary.
Profile Image for Bart Van Overmeire.
286 reviews58 followers
May 19, 2021
I don't remember whether any other book ever gave me such a headache, but it might just as well be that the headache was first and the book followed, I don't know. Anyway, I can't say I liked this book, maybe, just maybe I was into the right mood too much for this book about madness. So my advice: don't read it when you're going crazy from some pandemic/lockdown, leave this book on your stack for better times.
Profile Image for iva°.
685 reviews107 followers
July 8, 2024
tove ditlevsen: lica
s danskoga preveo: mišo grundler
lector, 2023., 143 str.

svoj tragičan život tove ditlevsen pretače u svaki svoj objavljeni tekst. u dobro poznatoj trilogiji (kopenhaška trilogija: "djetinjstvo", "mladost", "ovisnost") prolazi iskreno i neumoljivo kroz svoj napaćeni život, a u "licima" se bazira na epizodu psihičke nestabilnosti i boravak u mentalnoj instituciji. od samog početka knjige ona koketira s idejom samoubojstva, ali njen pokušaj nije "zaozbiljno"; količina tableta koje konzumira nisu dovoljne da ju usmrti, već samo da ju se smjesti u instituciju gdje tove kroz razgovore -ili, bolje rečeno, kroz svađe i prepucavanja- s glasovima likova iz njenoga stvarnoga života (kći, sinovi, muž, kućna pomoćnica) vodi svoje mentalne bitke. na koncu izlazi iz ustanove i vraća se svojoj najvećoj ljubavi: pisanju.
tako je u romanu. u stvarnosti, osam godina nakon pisanja "lica", tove ditlevsen, iscrpljena neuspjelim ljubavnim vezama i brakovima, alkoholom i drogama, uzet će tablete, ali ovaj put dovoljnu količinu da se usmrti. bilo joj je 58 godina.
Profile Image for Isabel.
60 reviews
Read
January 27, 2022
‘Je schrijft in een taal die maar door vijf miljoen mensen wordt gesproken. Het is zo belangrijk voor je om zinnen te construeren in die taal dat al het andere zich moet voegen naar jouw perverse passie. Is het je niet opgevallen dat mensen uit jouw leven vluchten alsof het een brandend huis is?’
Profile Image for Ana Simona.
25 reviews4 followers
February 5, 2024
odlična. kao i kopenhaška, ne znam je l pre da analiziram sa strane psihološke, ili da zapisujem predobre opise i metafore, il da samo podvlačim šta me radi na nivou motiva.
zna kad stane, zna s humorom. ma <3
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