x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
see page history
Description edit
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Dorrit: The first person narrator, protagonist, and main character.
- Johannes: A novelist and a man in the Unit.
- Majken: An artist and one of Dorrit's first friends in the Unit.
- Elsa: A friend of Dorrit's from elementary school who worked in a shoe store and was an amateur diver prior to coming to the Unit.
- Kjell: The grumpy librarian in the Unit.
- Vivi: A beautiful woman and a new arrival to the Unit.
- Potter: An orderly whose partner is expecting twins and who wears Harry Potter style glasses.
- Alice: A friend of Dorrit's.
- Jock: Dorrit's dog, whom she had to give away before coming to the Unit.
- Siv: Dorrit's older sister, who came to the Unit and died before Dorrit arrives there.
- Erik: An Animator. Shares a studio with Peder.
- Lena: A resident at the unit; friends with Dorrit.
- Arnold Backhaus: A psychiatrist
- Amanda: Add a description of this character.
- Lisa
- Dick
- Henrietta
- Petra
- Nils
- Birthmark: An orderly at the unit who tries to help Dorrit.
- Miranda: An Artist
Quotes edit
-
“Loving and leaving don't go together. They are two irreconcilable concepts, and when they are forced together by outside circumstances they require an explanation.”
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
-
“People who read books,” he went on, “tend to be dispensable. Extremely.”
Highlighted by 48 Kindle customers -
Life and existence have no value in themselves. We mean nothing; not even those who are needed mean anything. The only thing of any real value is what we produce. Or to put it more accurately: the fact that we do produce something—exactly what it is that we produce is actually of lesser importance, as long as it can be sold or archived. Or preferably both.”
Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers -
What’s the point in putting all your energy into being better than other people at just one thing, which is in fact completely irrelevant?
Highlighted by 36 Kindle customers -
“I suppose I used to believe that my life belonged to me,” I rambled. “Something that was entirely at my disposal, something no one else had any claim on, or the right to have an opinion on. But I’ve changed my mind. I don’t own my life at all, it’s other people who own it.”
Highlighted by 28 Kindle customers -
But the relationship with an animal is so much more physical than a relationship with another person. You don’t get to know a dog by asking how he’s feeling or what he’s thinking, but by observing him and getting to know his body language. And all the important things you want to say to him you have to show through actions, attitude, gestures and sounds.
Highlighted by 27 Kindle customers -
those who safeguard growth and democracy and welfare, they’re the ones who own my life. They own everyone’s life. And life is capital. A capital that is to be divided fairly among the people in a way that promotes reproduction and growth, welfare and democracy. I am only a steward, taking care of my vital organs.”
Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers -
And that is thanks to the pancreas from a person who had no one to live for.”
Highlighted by 23 Kindle customers -
I wished I had lived at the time when people still believed in the heart. When people still believed that the heart was the central organ, containing all the memories, emotions, capabilities, defects and other qualities that make us into specific individuals. I longed to go back to an age of ignorance, before the heart lost its status and was reduced to just one of a number of vital but replaceable organs.
Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers -
Loving and leaving don’t go together. They are two irreconcilable concepts, and when they are forced together by outside circumstances they require an explanation.
Highlighted by 15 Kindle customers -
If you live alone in the country you can’t afford to push away your neighbors, or fall out with them. In fact, the way I see it, you can’t afford to fall out with anyone at all if you live alone and no one needs you.
Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers
First Sentence edit
It was more comfortable than I could have imagined.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Ninni Holmqvist (Author)
Awards edit
- Amazon.com's Best Books (November 2009: Editors' Picks, #22)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 839.738
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
See all 50 tags
We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
