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modknight's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this one. I enjoyed traveling with Clarissa to Finland and learning about the Sami people. I love her writing.
bjr2022's review against another edition
3.0
Like The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty, this is a quest novel about abandoning who you are or have been and eventually free-falling into a new life. It’s tautly written and, in a way, as icy as the Lapland terrain where much of it takes place. It’s a good story. I was never bored. Nor was I emotionally swept away. Nevertheless I enjoyed the book.
suncoyote's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me ache. It had such a bittersweet, sharp poignancy to it that I read it nearly in one sitting. There are books that affect us because the characters are so close to ourselves; and there are books, like this one, that paint characters that are so moving it's not important if they're like us or not. I can't say I understood all the choices the character made, but the character had a different background and life than me. Which is exactly why I liked reading it.
hcowie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Rape
jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
A self-knowledge quest, performed while grieving. It could be ponderous or unsatisfying but isn't.
burialshroud's review against another edition
4.0
Yet another Kindle bargain, I was planning on checking out this author anyway after reading her story "Soleil", a stand-out in the mostly sub-par anthology [b:The Book of Other People|29705|The Book of Other People|Zadie Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1200496981s/29705.jpg|1717453]. I found a couple of the plot points a little dubious but the book was written so well and with such heart and humour that any problems I had with what was actually happening were soon forgotten. I'm not talking schmaltz and hugs here, the main character's not exactly BFF material but I could recognise and sympathise with her stoic frustration. The humour came in with a few sly jokes and observations that fit in beautifully with the overall tone of the book rather than seeming indulgent.
laurafinazzo's review against another edition
5.0
Vendela Vida’s Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name has been on my to-read list for quite some time now. I’m not sure what took me so long to get to it, or what source recommended the novel in the first place. I think part of the reason it stuck with me was the lure of the title – I’ve always been drawn to the aurora borealis and the novel’s title, taken from a poem by Marry Ailoniedia Somby, conjured enticing images of the majestic natural phenomenon that I couldn’t resist. Once I finally delved in this book, I devoted an entire night to reading it, finishing the novel in the space of a few hours. Vida’s story drew me in with ease and effortlessly compelled me to reach the last page in a single sitting.
The northern lights play a large supporting role in this story primarily located in the Arctic Circle. Upon her father’s death, Clarissa Iverton discovers that the man she always called Dad was not, in fact, her biological father. Though her mother left the family when Clarissa was just fourteen years old, the man she believed was her father, Richard, raised her to adulthood as any true parent would have. When she reveals the truth about Richard to her fiance Pankaj, Clarissa grows even more bewildered to learn that Pankaj was privy to, and withheld, this secret for years. Fueled by a sense of betrayal and confusion, Clarissa journeys to Helsinki where the father listed on her birth certificate lives.
On her frigid northern quest, Clarissa comes to terms with the reality that Richard is dead, that her mother deserted the family, that she never knew her real father. Through cities that hold untold secrets of her mother’s past, the parallels between mother and daughter become increasingly apparent. Though she set out to uncover the identity of her father, during the course of her travels Clarissa learns more about her mother than anyone else. And with this newfound knowledge, a semblance of understanding takes hold. Befriending members of the Sami community, lying beneath the magnificent northern lights, living out days entirely devoid of sunlight, spending a night in the famed Ice Hotel, the rather vague personal intentions with which Clarissa originally sets out take more rigid form as she is welcomed to the Arctic Circle and narrows in on her origins.
Amidst an arresting frozen backdrop, Vida instills a refreshing sense of adventure into the somewhat tired story of uncovering tightly bound family secrets. Though this novel deals with some of the most painful discoveries that a daughter could possibly make, it is appropriately touched with levity and as miraculous and stunning as the northern lights from which it takes its name.
The northern lights play a large supporting role in this story primarily located in the Arctic Circle. Upon her father’s death, Clarissa Iverton discovers that the man she always called Dad was not, in fact, her biological father. Though her mother left the family when Clarissa was just fourteen years old, the man she believed was her father, Richard, raised her to adulthood as any true parent would have. When she reveals the truth about Richard to her fiance Pankaj, Clarissa grows even more bewildered to learn that Pankaj was privy to, and withheld, this secret for years. Fueled by a sense of betrayal and confusion, Clarissa journeys to Helsinki where the father listed on her birth certificate lives.
On her frigid northern quest, Clarissa comes to terms with the reality that Richard is dead, that her mother deserted the family, that she never knew her real father. Through cities that hold untold secrets of her mother’s past, the parallels between mother and daughter become increasingly apparent. Though she set out to uncover the identity of her father, during the course of her travels Clarissa learns more about her mother than anyone else. And with this newfound knowledge, a semblance of understanding takes hold. Befriending members of the Sami community, lying beneath the magnificent northern lights, living out days entirely devoid of sunlight, spending a night in the famed Ice Hotel, the rather vague personal intentions with which Clarissa originally sets out take more rigid form as she is welcomed to the Arctic Circle and narrows in on her origins.
Amidst an arresting frozen backdrop, Vida instills a refreshing sense of adventure into the somewhat tired story of uncovering tightly bound family secrets. Though this novel deals with some of the most painful discoveries that a daughter could possibly make, it is appropriately touched with levity and as miraculous and stunning as the northern lights from which it takes its name.
hyzenthlay76's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful story of searching for unfindable things and finding things unsearched for, set in Finnish Lapland.