Malina

'An intense, courageous novel, equal to the best of Virginia Woolf and Samuel Beckett' The New York Times Part detective novel, part love story, part psychoanalytic case study, Malina is a staggering portrait of a writer trying to tell her own story in a world dominated by men. 'I was subordinate to him from the beginning, and I must have known early on that he was destined to be my doom' A woman in postwar Vienna walks a tightrope between the two men in her life. There is her lover Ivan, beautiful and unavailable, who obsesses her. And there is Malina, the civil servant with whom she shares an apartment: reserved, fastidious, exacting, chillingly calm. As the balance of power between them starts to shift, she feels her fragile identity unravelling, gradually revealing the dark, bruised heart of her past.

'An intense, courageous novel, equal to the best of Virginia Woolf and Samuel Beckett' The New York Times Part detective novel, part love story, part psychoanalytic case study, Malina is a staggering portrait of a writer trying to tell her own story in a world dominated by men. 'I was subordinate to him from the beginning, and I must have known early on that he was destined to be my doom' A woman in postwar Vienna walks a tightrope between the two men in her life. There is her lover Ivan, beautiful and unavailable, who obsesses her. And there is Malina, the civil servant with whom she shares an apartment: reserved, fastidious, exacting, chillingly calm. As the balance of power between them starts to shift, she feels her fragile identity unravelling, gradually revealing the dark, bruised heart of her past.

In Malina, originally published in German in 1971, Ingeborg Bachmann invites the reader into a world stretched to the very limits of language. An unnamed narrator, a writer in Vienna, is torn between two men: viewed, through the tilting prism of obsession, she travels further into her own madness, anxiety, and genius. Malina explores love, "deathstyles," the roots of fascism, and passion.

In Malina, originally published in German in 1971, Ingeborg Bachmann invites the reader into a world stretched to the very limits of language. An unnamed narrator, a writer in Vienna, is torn between two men: viewed, through the tilting prism of obsession, she travels further into her own madness, anxiety, and genius. Malina explores love, "deathstyles," the roots of fascism, and passion.

Kærlighedsroman, trekantsdrama, psykologisk thriller, historie om en forbrydelse – Malina er det hele. En imaginær selvbiografi, kaldte Ingeborg Bachmann selv romanen. Men først og fremmest er den en svimlende og fuldstændig omvæltende læseoplevelse for den, der giver sig tid til at finde ind i den. Den navnløse jegfortæller lever sammen med militærmanden Malina i Wien. Men det er en anden mand, Ivan, hun elsker. ”Lykkelig med Ivan” hedder første del, hvor den forelskede hovedperson dog mest tilbringer tiden med at længes efter den fortravlede Ivan og ryge smøger. Anden del, ”Den tredje mand”, skildrer i drømmens surreelle form den vold og lidelse, udgående fra faderen som figur, der har ført til en nedbrydning af det kvindelige jeg. I sidste del finder en afsked med kærligheden sted, hovedpersonen er alene tilbage med Malina, og i romanens berømte slutscene forsvinder hun ind i væggen. "Uafrystelig roman. (...) Nu er Malina endelig også kommet på dansk, med 50 års forsinkelse, men det har været værd at vente på, også fordi jeg sjældent har læst så god en oversættelse som den, Judyta Preis og Jørgen Herman Monrad har præsteret her." Politiken, 6 hjerter "Det er mesterligt gjort. Læs Malina og giv dig selv en oplevelse, du aldrig glemmer." Berlingske, seks stjerner "Vigtig og dybt original roman." - Kristeligt Dagblad, seks stjerner "En fantastisk og utrolig vigtig bog." - Information "Et mesterværk." - Weekendavisen