Wonderfully creative thriller with beautifully written prose

books:


	• Smilla's Sense of Snow Peter Hoeg Farrar Straus & Giroux (T), 1993 - 453 pages average customer review:based on 179 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Not Free SF Reader

Dead boy investigation leads to ship trip polar surprise.

Smilla gets involved with investigating the death of a Greenland boy and neighbour.

This leads her on a long trip and ends up with something rather surprising.

The atmosphere of her investigation is infused with gloomy Scandinavian cold and atmosphere, as people don't at all appreciate her sticking her nose in to something that they would rather is covered up.

4.5 out of 5

Wonderfully creative thriller with beautifully written prose

A thriller that seeks to expand the reader's mind, not just entertain through suspense, Smilla's Sense of Snow is simply put, amazing. The protagonist, Smilla, is one of the most memorable female protagonists from any novel, genre or otherwise. She is deftly characterized by Hoeg, who lets her tell the story with equal parts contrarian wit, scientific analysis, and soul searching depth. The reader walks alongside her, almost feeling the ice under their own feet, seeing the harshness of winter in a new light, and gaining some of Smilla's love for the cold and all things ice in the process.

The plot focuses on the mysterious death of a young boy whom Smilla has unintentionally befriended, and her painstaking pursuit of the secrets surrounding his supposed suicide. Relying on her ruthless intelligence and persistence, she vows to see that his death is acknowledged as a murder, and that his killer is brought to justice. The tenacity and resourcefulness she employs, her careful observations and cutting, acerbic wit, and the endearing quality of her rugged yet fragile individuality, elevate this novel far above a typical thriller. The writing itself is fantastic. Tightly wrapped and lyrical, I can only imagine how good it must be in it's untranslated form.

Hoeg's obvious love for Denmark and Greenland and the ease with which he portrays the streets of Copenhagen, the decks of an ice breaker ship, Inuit and Dane characters, and his familiarity with cold weather allow the `place' in the novel to impress with its uniqueness. The novel draws the reader into what for most is new territory with deft skill, letting the reader experience Danish culture through Smilla's observant eyes.

A hybrid novel, both character and plot driven, Smilla's Sense of Snow delivers a tightly paced suspenseful page turner that excels as both a thriller and a beautifully crafted novel. Not just a journey into the Arctic and ice flows of Greenland, but a journey into an incredibly fascinating mind and heart.

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Smilla's sense of snow - by Peter Hoeg

Smilla is 37, half-Greenlander on her mother's side, and half-Danish on her father's. She is also an ice expert. When Isaiah, a child who lives in her building, dies after falling off the roof, the police rule it an accident. Not Smilla - she has one look at the snow on the roof and knows Isaiah was running away from someone. Of course, nobody believes her, so she decides to take matters into her own hands.
For once, an intelligent heroine who doesn't spend half her time fighting off blind dates set up by an overbearing mother or spends most of her time shopping and mooning at every guy she meets ! This character is well-rounded, full of character and contradiction - and she has a mission : find out why Isaiah died.
Every clue Smilla picks up is but one piece of a huge puzzle that makes sense only in the last chapter - every chapter a different piece. This quest will lead Smilla from Denmark to Greenland, then to a remote island in the middle of a sea of ice.
I loved the well-rounded characters, especially Smilla, and also her evil Nemesis, the man she must defeat. The pace is taut, the tension ratchets up steadily, the puzzle pieces keep coming, and the locale descriptions are extremely interesting.
If you like puzzles, you will like this book.

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snow flurries.....

Thank you Peter Hoeg for the best book I've read in ten years, deeply sensitive and meaningful characters. Transportive to the point one feels a lowering of body temperature while savouring this expressive writing, every chapter a flurry of impressions that settle in snowy layers. Absolute depth perfection....

Very good... until the end

I read this book several years ago, after picking it up at random. I found it to generally be extremely well written. In particular, I enjoyed the great cultural depths it goes into regarding snow, living in a cold environment, and the treatment of the native people.
Relatively speaking, the end was a disappointment, but I still find myself thinking of and referring to this book surprisingly often. I would highly recommend it, particularly to people who are interested in cultures.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

When her six-year-old neighbor falls to his death, and no one is willing to suspect foul play, Smilla Qaavigaaq Jasperson finds her own investigation taking her into the files of a Danish company. 40,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. BOMC.

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