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Gabrielle's Reviews > The Danish Girl
The Danish Girl
by
by
Gabrielle's review
bookshelves: movie-fodder, roaring-20s, reviewed, read-in-2016, used-bookstore-finds
Jan 11, 2016
bookshelves: movie-fodder, roaring-20s, reviewed, read-in-2016, used-bookstore-finds
3 ½ stars.
I want to say, first and foremost, that I really enjoyed this novel. The prose is elegant and gorgeously sensual. The story of Einar/Lili and his/her wife is touching, poignant and heartbreaking. Once I turned a blind eye to the crapload of historical and factual inaccuracies that pepper the book, I found myself fascinated with the story and characters. But please bear in mind that while it is often marketed as a “true love story”, that’s just not what it is.
My knowledge of what being transgender is like is very limited. All I know of it, I got from second or third hand accounts and mass media: I’m cis-gendered and straight(ish) and I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live in a body that feels alien to you. It’s already so damn difficult to be oneself in this world; this book is about what wanting to be your true self can really mean, and how far the love of a spouse can take you on that journey. But it’s also about the heartbreaking potential consequences, how far you can stretch love and a marriage when something this drastic changes. Unconditional love, wanting to let someone be exactly who they are no matter what, supporting them no matter what crazy decisions they make… That’s the role of a true partner/spouse. Greta’s tenderness, loyalty and sacrifice made my heart swell up as she helps Einar get familiar with Lili, and when he takes the life-changing decision of becoming Lili permanently.
The writing is very atmospheric and the descriptions are lush: you feel everything Ebershoff writes. The idea of Lili being a part of Einar that surfaces occasionally and then retreats before he accepts her as who he really is, is described with great sensitivity and finesse: I’m sure this can’t be an easy subject-matter to tackle for a writer who hasn’t experienced that transformation first-hand, and I think it was handled in a very open-minded and positive way.
The complexity of the relationship between Einar/Lili and Greta is fascinating. Their mutual love is obvious, and their struggle to be there for each other despite their now conflicting needs is very touching: they are a completely devoted couple with strong personalities and their journey is not smooth sailing, but you know how much they care for each other every step of the way.
The movie adaptation is visually stunning, and it is pretty faithful to the book: a few of my annoyances have actually been corrected in the silver screen version! Not to mention that the acting performances are stellar: it’s an absolute must-see.
(My historical accuracy nitpicking, which you should feel free to ignore: I am not sure I get the point of turning “Gerda” into Greta and making her American when she was actually Danish. The characters of Hans and Henrik being fictitious bothered me a lot less because it was the perfect way to bring some of Einar’s memories, backstory and exploration of his “Lili-self” into the narrative. But changing the wife’s name and nationality seemed strained. Maybe it was to illustrate her “otherness” or to flesh out her character more because not that much is known about the real Gerda Gottlieb? Either way, it didn’t feel natural. The book also ignores the fact that Einar’s transition led to the annulment of his marriage to Gerda. OK, I’m done bitching: the book is still great!)
I want to say, first and foremost, that I really enjoyed this novel. The prose is elegant and gorgeously sensual. The story of Einar/Lili and his/her wife is touching, poignant and heartbreaking. Once I turned a blind eye to the crapload of historical and factual inaccuracies that pepper the book, I found myself fascinated with the story and characters. But please bear in mind that while it is often marketed as a “true love story”, that’s just not what it is.
My knowledge of what being transgender is like is very limited. All I know of it, I got from second or third hand accounts and mass media: I’m cis-gendered and straight(ish) and I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live in a body that feels alien to you. It’s already so damn difficult to be oneself in this world; this book is about what wanting to be your true self can really mean, and how far the love of a spouse can take you on that journey. But it’s also about the heartbreaking potential consequences, how far you can stretch love and a marriage when something this drastic changes. Unconditional love, wanting to let someone be exactly who they are no matter what, supporting them no matter what crazy decisions they make… That’s the role of a true partner/spouse. Greta’s tenderness, loyalty and sacrifice made my heart swell up as she helps Einar get familiar with Lili, and when he takes the life-changing decision of becoming Lili permanently.
The writing is very atmospheric and the descriptions are lush: you feel everything Ebershoff writes. The idea of Lili being a part of Einar that surfaces occasionally and then retreats before he accepts her as who he really is, is described with great sensitivity and finesse: I’m sure this can’t be an easy subject-matter to tackle for a writer who hasn’t experienced that transformation first-hand, and I think it was handled in a very open-minded and positive way.
The complexity of the relationship between Einar/Lili and Greta is fascinating. Their mutual love is obvious, and their struggle to be there for each other despite their now conflicting needs is very touching: they are a completely devoted couple with strong personalities and their journey is not smooth sailing, but you know how much they care for each other every step of the way.
The movie adaptation is visually stunning, and it is pretty faithful to the book: a few of my annoyances have actually been corrected in the silver screen version! Not to mention that the acting performances are stellar: it’s an absolute must-see.
(My historical accuracy nitpicking, which you should feel free to ignore: I am not sure I get the point of turning “Gerda” into Greta and making her American when she was actually Danish. The characters of Hans and Henrik being fictitious bothered me a lot less because it was the perfect way to bring some of Einar’s memories, backstory and exploration of his “Lili-self” into the narrative. But changing the wife’s name and nationality seemed strained. Maybe it was to illustrate her “otherness” or to flesh out her character more because not that much is known about the real Gerda Gottlieb? Either way, it didn’t feel natural. The book also ignores the fact that Einar’s transition led to the annulment of his marriage to Gerda. OK, I’m done bitching: the book is still great!)
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Reading Progress
January 11, 2016
– Shelved
January 11, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 11, 2016
– Shelved as:
movie-fodder
August 8, 2016
–
Started Reading
August 8, 2016
– Shelved as:
roaring-20s
August 13, 2016
–
Finished Reading
August 15, 2016
– Shelved as:
reviewed
August 21, 2016
– Shelved as:
read-in-2016
December 12, 2016
– Shelved as:
used-bookstore-finds
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It did occur to me that it was simply "Americanized" for American audiences, which always strikes me as intellectual and cultural laziness. My husband is American, he has travelled a lot and he is just as annoyed as me by this weird need to make everything American. In my experience, the ones who need to Americanize everything have never left their country and think it's the centre of the world... The ones who have studied or worked abroad don't have the same perspective at all.
An amazing tale.
And certainly worth the telling when it encourages acceptance and understanding...there can never be enough of THAT in Our World !
I think the point of turning "Gerda" into "Greta" is a very common thing ie. the Americanization of the story and it's characters. This happens to many foreign stories/films, whether European, or Australian or Asian. It's almost as if a story can't be digested by Americans unless it is fully dressed up as an American Story. The Original can also have bits added and/or cut out to make it more palatable, 'correct' , or whatever. It loses whatever it is that might teach or broaden the attitudes of Americans about Other Peoples. I recall famous Australian films having to have Subtitles placed to be read when shown in America, because Americans are unable (or unwilling) to understand the Australian accent. One gets the impression that here are a very insular people, tied up in their own myths of Greatness and very Ignorant of the rest of Humankind. If an American character is not at the Heart of every Story , it is not worth seeing. For example, the film "The Great Escape", the true story of a large escape from a German Prisoner of War Camp towards the end of the Second World War, which ended up with most of the escapees being murdered, was turned into an "American" story when no Americans were actually in the True Story at all. James Garner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, James Coburn and David McCallum all escaped...and guess what, NONE of them were murdered by the Nazis as Hitler had ordered...after all, the Americans won the war, another Myth to avoid Reality at ALL costs. And another Big Steal of another Nation's Story. I wonder how many Americans realise just how many of their Political Allies see them as living in a Dream World when their Great Democracy is riven by racism, a Health System that exploits its people, a Gun Culture that is unique in its Madness and a Democracy that supports and exports Imperialism and Dictatorships.
When will they ever wake up ???