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laila4343's review against another edition
2.0
The setting and plotline were great - it's definitely a page-turner. But the characters are so FRUSTRATING! I know characters don't neccessarily have to be likeable to be interesting, but when they continue to make such bad choices, it's just hard to connect. We're supposed to feel sympathy (I think) because of certain things that happened in the past to the two main characters, but at some point you want to say, Enough. Quit being rude and cruel just because something bad happened to you.
sarahchoi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eleewood's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kathieboucher's review against another edition
5.0
It's hard to identify with the idea of dropping out of your own life, telling no one, and traveling to one of the more harsh and inhospitable places on earth to find yourself and your truth. But I found I deeply liked the heroine of the story and her quest. Hated to let her go at the novel's end but wish her the best.
krisloveskihei's review against another edition
4.0
My friend passed along her copy of this novel. I'd never heard of it and idly picked it up one morning to read the first paragraph. I couldn't stop! The author's style is innovative and the story is fascinating. Loved it!
liketheday's review against another edition
1.0
The best part of this book is that it took me just two hours to read. The worst part? Everything else.
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sducharme's review against another edition
2.0
This won tons of awards, but I must have missed something. The writing sounded forced. I can't say more without ruining the ending, but let's just say some characters were just not plausible!
annevoi's review against another edition
3.0
Twenty-eight-year-old Clarissa lost her father two weeks ago, fourteen years after her mother simply vanished one day. Now she learns that the man she called her father was, in fact, not—and she heads to Lapland, the homeland of the reindeer-herding Sami people (akin to Native Americans), in the middle of winter, to find out the truth. And indeed, she learns more than she bargained for, ultimately emerging from her quest with new resolve about how she wants to spend her life.
I found this book distancing, difficult to penetrate emotionally. Sometimes supercool, sometimes overwrought. Clarissa herself isn't an especially pleasant young woman: she seems remarkably immature for someone her age. I was surprised by the glowing blurbs by the likes of Michael Cunningham ("a taut, intricately layered page-turner that looks deeply and fearlessly into matters of profound human concern") and George Saunders ("What a brilliantly constructed lightning-flash of a novel: compelling, surprising, economical, lush, beautifully written"). It is well written, yes, and there are some lovely descriptions, for example of an ice hotel far above the Arctic Circle. The landscape reflects Clarissa's own sense of isolation and loss. I enjoyed the spare language.
Perhaps what I didn't like was the secrets and lies that undergird the overarching theme of abandonment. There was too little reaching out and communicating. Though of course, there were language barriers as well. How convenient.
That said, the feeling I'm left with upon completion is a haunting one. Clarissa learns enough about her mother's past to be able to put it behind her and invent a new identity in the world. A simpler one. In the whirlwind last few pages, she does figure out how to move on.
I found this book distancing, difficult to penetrate emotionally. Sometimes supercool, sometimes overwrought. Clarissa herself isn't an especially pleasant young woman: she seems remarkably immature for someone her age. I was surprised by the glowing blurbs by the likes of Michael Cunningham ("a taut, intricately layered page-turner that looks deeply and fearlessly into matters of profound human concern") and George Saunders ("What a brilliantly constructed lightning-flash of a novel: compelling, surprising, economical, lush, beautifully written"). It is well written, yes, and there are some lovely descriptions, for example of an ice hotel far above the Arctic Circle. The landscape reflects Clarissa's own sense of isolation and loss. I enjoyed the spare language.
Perhaps what I didn't like was the secrets and lies that undergird the overarching theme of abandonment. There was too little reaching out and communicating. Though of course, there were language barriers as well. How convenient.
That said, the feeling I'm left with upon completion is a haunting one. Clarissa learns enough about her mother's past to be able to put it behind her and invent a new identity in the world. A simpler one. In the whirlwind last few pages, she does figure out how to move on.
cmcarr's review against another edition
1.0
I enjoyed learning about Lapland, but that was about the extent of my enjoyment of this book. There's too much going on in too little space and it felt a bit contrived to me. Also, its not the most uplifting book . . .
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
Almost too spare and bleak, this book features a young woman discovering the truth about her past. The main character remains very flat, though, in the sense that she's distant from her emotions and motivations.