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sarahreffstrup's review against another edition
4.0
Det eneste gode ved at være syg er at jeg får hørt lidt lydbog. Og den her var virkelig god om end lidt forudsigelig.
spinstah's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up an advance copy of this at a recent conference, breaking my usual rule do not taking any hard copies home (I always browse and add books to my list). This is the story of a woman whose father is convicted of killing her mother, and how what she saw that night, as a young girl, affects her life. She's a mess - a very young, single mom who spend her childhood bouncing between foster homes, can't keep a job, the whole nine yards. She starts to piece together what actually happened the night her mother was killed, and what her father was doing in the weeks prior. I liked it, though it was hard to read at times.
einstein7931's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
usbsticky's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars = it was ok.
Ella is a young single mother on welfare. Her son was taken away from her as she suffered occasional episodes. She took her young son back and went to hide out at her Grandmother's empty house, and that is the start of the book.
Translated books are a hit or miss and this one was a miss for me. It started off ok but as the book proceeded I felt it lacked focus. The writing didn't really engage me and the plot seemed to meander. I had to concentrate to follow and sometimes had to reread passages so it'd stick and it became a chore. Overall I thought it was an ok book but I didn't really like it.
I got this book as an advance uncopyedited edition.
Ella is a young single mother on welfare. Her son was taken away from her as she suffered occasional episodes. She took her young son back and went to hide out at her Grandmother's empty house, and that is the start of the book.
Translated books are a hit or miss and this one was a miss for me. It started off ok but as the book proceeded I felt it lacked focus. The writing didn't really engage me and the plot seemed to meander. I had to concentrate to follow and sometimes had to reread passages so it'd stick and it became a chore. Overall I thought it was an ok book but I didn't really like it.
I got this book as an advance uncopyedited edition.
meloches's review against another edition
4.0
Ella, a woman with a tainted past, will stop at nothing to protect her son. Struggling to remember incidents of her childhood that leave her with paralyzing panic attacks, her son is taken from her and put into a foster home. After Ella kidnaps him and flees to the small town where she was born, deeply buried family secrets force, Ella, to confront her past and finally uncover what her body has been trying to tell her all this time. What happened the night her mother was murdered? Was her father wrongfully convicted?
What My Body Remembers, a new slow burning suspense by Agnete Friis combines a tightly woven plot and unreliable characters to create a story that will both unnerve and compel its readers. Finally, a Nordic Noir that I can fully become consumed it! I often struggle with some of the Nordic crime stories I try to read as they usually follow a police procedural style narrative; however, What My Body Remembers breaks this mould!
Characters are central to pushing the plot of the story and Friis doesn’t hold back in her development of them. Each character, more complex and unreliable than the last, blend effortlessly into a tense narrative that I read easily in one sitting. Told through multiple perspectives (including Ella’s father, and mother), the majority of the story is told through the eyes of Ella. I really loved this narrative choice. I felt for Ella as she struggled to try and understand what she doesn’t remember about her past and grapples with her role as a mother. I loved her backstory as well; she was by no means a likeable character, but she was a raw and relatable character which I appreciated!
Like a true Nordic novel, this one relied on building atmospheric tension instead of surprising story arcs. Although I didn’t find myself particularly shocked at any of the plot twists in this one, it was so well written, I didn’t mind. Friis had an uncanny ability with her prose to suck me in and make me lose track of time.
Overall, I would absolutely read another story by this author and would recommend this read to anyone who likes something slower paced and poignant.
I gave this one 4/5 stars.
What My Body Remembers, a new slow burning suspense by Agnete Friis combines a tightly woven plot and unreliable characters to create a story that will both unnerve and compel its readers. Finally, a Nordic Noir that I can fully become consumed it! I often struggle with some of the Nordic crime stories I try to read as they usually follow a police procedural style narrative; however, What My Body Remembers breaks this mould!
Characters are central to pushing the plot of the story and Friis doesn’t hold back in her development of them. Each character, more complex and unreliable than the last, blend effortlessly into a tense narrative that I read easily in one sitting. Told through multiple perspectives (including Ella’s father, and mother), the majority of the story is told through the eyes of Ella. I really loved this narrative choice. I felt for Ella as she struggled to try and understand what she doesn’t remember about her past and grapples with her role as a mother. I loved her backstory as well; she was by no means a likeable character, but she was a raw and relatable character which I appreciated!
Like a true Nordic novel, this one relied on building atmospheric tension instead of surprising story arcs. Although I didn’t find myself particularly shocked at any of the plot twists in this one, it was so well written, I didn’t mind. Friis had an uncanny ability with her prose to suck me in and make me lose track of time.
Overall, I would absolutely read another story by this author and would recommend this read to anyone who likes something slower paced and poignant.
I gave this one 4/5 stars.
ladulcinella's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting novel. Not a scandinavian noir, this book solves a crime of long ago and showes the consequences of it on one of the victims. I knew about halfway who did it, but the why and how kept me interested till the end. The consequences this crime had on one of the victims, made this novel also gripping and sad. Above all it raised my awareness that poverty and a sad life can happen to all of us if we are dealt a wrong card.
_ninahannah's review against another edition
4.0
I'd probably have given it 2-3 stars if it were a more popular book but it wasn't bad-- I predicted the ending pretty early on and I hated pretty much all of the characters so there wasn't a lot to latch onto, and a few things were confusing but overall it was well-written and interesting and the plot twists were well placed.
angrygreycatreads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book I noticed on a couple of blogs I follow, so I picked it up from the library. The story is centered on Ella Nygaard, a young woman with severe PTSD and no memory of early childhood as result of her mother’s murder. She has spent her youth in foster care and now has a young son herself. As a result of her symptoms, she is being judged as unable to care for her child and he is being placed in foster care now (repeating the cycle). Ella panics and takes her son back to the place she was from.
This is very different from the usual Nordic Noir police procedural. It is really about Ella rediscovering her past, trying to figure out who she is and in the process protect her son and perhaps move on from the tragic event that has dominated her life. The character of Ella is realistically drawn. She is a fascinating woman with many flaws. but a deep sense of love and a need to protect her son that drives her. This was a captivating read and I finished it in one sitting!
This is very different from the usual Nordic Noir police procedural. It is really about Ella rediscovering her past, trying to figure out who she is and in the process protect her son and perhaps move on from the tragic event that has dominated her life. The character of Ella is realistically drawn. She is a fascinating woman with many flaws. but a deep sense of love and a need to protect her son that drives her. This was a captivating read and I finished it in one sitting!
aribookie's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t really enjoy this book. I don’t know if perhaps the translation did the author a disservice, but I doubt it. The characters felt somehow half-formed and generally weren’t very sympathy-inducing, mostly because they were all so one-dimensional. I felt like the plot twist was totally predictable too, but I guess that’s par for the course with thrillers these days.
bob_dw's review against another edition
An entertaining, and moody dive into the world of the Danish social state. Ella Nygaard has suffered from PSTD since childhood when her mother was murdered and her father sent off to prison. Now at 27, she and her son, age 11, live on government handouts because she suffers from sudden and debilitating panic attacks which leave her unable to function for hours at a time and land her in hospital. Upon release she learns that her son was sent to live with foster parents. In desperation, Ella grabs Alex and runs to her Grandmother’s seaside ramshackle cottage in sparsely populated North Denmark. Once there, Ella begins to recall the actual events of her mother’s death and discover that danger still lurks for her and her son. A dark, nourish thriller that is certain to satisfy fans of Scandinavian mysteries.