What: In Smilla's Sense of Snow, the eponymous narrator finds herself drawn into the amateur investigation of a young boy's fatal fall from a roof. Smilla is half Greenlander, half Danish. She lives in Copenhagen, still somewhat torn by the two worlds (post-colonial history alert!). Author Peter Høeg tangles up his compelling main character in deceptions, conspiracies, and intrigues, while imbuing the story with the rich detail of an unusual setting.
Comparable to: It's a literary thriller in the vein of Arturo Perez-Reverte, except it's cold here and hot there.
Representative quote: "People hold their lives together by means of the clock. If you make a slight change, something interesting nearly always happens."
You might not like it if: Too quiet. Too contemplative. Too much snow.
How to get it: Borrow, buy, download. There's also the movie adaptation. Lots of snow in that, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment