A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Människohamn
Post Reply
User avatar
drakkar
Posts: 3833
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:26 am
Location: Trondheim, Norway

Re: A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

Post by drakkar » Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:08 am

Well it couldn't have, literally. How long did it take him to write Harbour? 60 days (played it 11 times a day, ~ 1.5 hours)? 90 days (played it 7.5 times a day ~ a good hour)?
Anyway, it's 100 hours of "Lifelines" :)
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

editrice
Posts: 63
Joined: Wed May 05, 2010 11:27 am
Contact:

Re: A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

Post by editrice » Mon Mar 07, 2011 11:02 am

drakkar wrote:Dont remember the book saying anything about it. Anyway the entity was losing it's power, so I get it they were OK. The important thing was they weren't at Domarö at that time!

Btw, JAL told in Oslo a week ago about a song he had on repeat while writing Människohamn - Lifelines by A-ha (played 666 times).
God, the snow doesn't melt until like three minutes in.

User avatar
drakkar
Posts: 3833
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:26 am
Location: Trondheim, Norway

Re: A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

Post by drakkar » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:54 am

editrice wrote:God, the snow doesn't melt until like three minutes in.
And they didn't even film during mid winter because the artic night. The place is Børfjord
The red dot on the map linked below.

http://kart.gulesider.no/m/IyyVj

Check out the original film from 1991, with music by Jan Garbarek, linked here!
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

User avatar
danielma
Posts: 1057
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia
Contact:

Re: A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

Post by danielma » Mon Mar 28, 2011 12:11 am

Don't drink the water! The people being held in the realm down the stairs could return to the human world using sea water as a medium and then possessing the bodies of living people. This all seems to be part of the sea "entity" losing its grip on its prisoners. Henrik and Bjorn take this idea one step further: they return as incorporated sea water at least as near as I can tell.
That was actually something I both kind of wanted to be explained, and on the other hand don't.

I understand that Maja (and others) were returning through the Sea Water, using it as a Medium to Enter the Human Vessels, but what exactly were Henrik and Bjorn and how did they manage to return in a (somewhat) physical form?

That was really one of my big questions of Henrik and Bjorn that I can't remember whether it was fully answered.

I understood how the Possessions were working, and how they were using the Sea Water to enter the 'Human Vessels'...but Henrik and Bjorn were somewhat of a mystery I thought.
My Blog: Toxic Culture
Neon Maniacs: Link

User avatar
Wolfchild
Posts: 2938
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:26 pm
Contact:

Re: A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

Post by Wolfchild » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:16 am

danielma wrote:I understand that Maja (and others) were returning through the Sea Water, using it as a Medium to Enter the Human Vessels, but what exactly were Henrik and Bjorn and how did they manage to return in a (somewhat) physical form?

That was really one of my big questions of Henrik and Bjorn that I can't remember whether it was fully answered.

I understood how the Possessions were working, and how they were using the Sea Water to enter the 'Human Vessels'...but Henrik and Bjorn were somewhat of a mystery I thought.
I had this question also. I didn't see how Hubba and Bubba sprang logically from the machinery of the plot. I understand that functionally they served as the antagonists. However, they were the one thing that went on that seemed to be without precedent in the history of Domarö (at least until Anders started his trip down the steps). Yes, the sea was resentful about losing the land, and it had fallen into this bargain with the people of Domarö and it was now wearying of it or otherwise being weakened in it ability or resolve. Yes, there was a history of people coming back into the living through the drinking water. But nowhere was there any talk of ghosts made of water in Domarö's history, nor did I notice anything to explain why there should be anything so new happening. Maybe I should go back and give it a closer reading.
...the story derives a lot of its appeal from its sense of despair and a darkness in which the love of Eli and Oskar seems to shine with a strange and disturbing light.
-Lacenaire

Visit My LTROI fan page.

User avatar
lombano
Posts: 2993
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 9:56 pm
Location: Xalapa, Mexico
Contact:

Re: A Mini-Review of Människohamn/Harbour

Post by lombano » Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:48 pm

Not exactly an 'expalantion,' but I did sense that they had willingly submitted to the sea to act as its agents, and that in this they were different from all the others the sea had taken.
Bli mig lite.

Post Reply

Return to “Harbour”