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penser's review against another edition
4.0
an excellent read, very quick
I was happy to see that this was 3rd place for fiction for the Discover New Writers
I was happy to see that this was 3rd place for fiction for the Discover New Writers
pinkalpaca's review against another edition
3.0
Great sense of place, out in the middle of the frozen nowhere.
wtb_michael's review against another edition
3.0
Short and spare, there are moments of real beauty in this novel about figuring out who you are when the things you thought you knew about yourself turn out to be lies. Still, there was something distancing about the characters which made it hard to really get swept along.
brien_k's review against another edition
4.0
Another good book read on the beach! It was a fast, easy read. A good story about a woman searching for her identity and deciding whether she wants her past to be a part of her present.
juliechristinejohnson's review
4.0
This was more a novella- a finish it in one sitting sort of read. It slim size and spare style belie a great depth, however. I am also estranged from my mother; though our histories are very different, I could relate Clarissa's rage, antipathy, guarding of her heart and her rejection of the central characters in her immediate past. The ending was satisfying- closure followed by opening; an ending greeted with a beginning. Good stuff, this.
thereadingoutlaw's review
3.0
The book focuses on a girl named Clarissa who, shorlty after her father’s death, learns that he wasn’t, in fact, her birth father. This send Clarissa on a trip around the world, back home to her mother’s old hometown in Eastern Europe, Lapland.
Clarissa’s mother left her at a young age, and on this trip to find her birth father, she also comes to some shocking revelations that make Clarissa see that she perhaps had more in common with her mother than she ever would have hoped to have. It’s a book that fills you qith more questions than answers, and I have to give credit to the wirting for creating a story that, while short, carries quite a bit of punch with it. That being said, I will say that one of the best things about the book was that it didn’t take long to get through.
I will say that I did enjoy the book, but it was one of those books that just kind of filled the time gap between the other books I was reading. The story was well plotted, if not a bit forced at timess, and there are probably other common ties I would’ve established between Clarissa and her mother, but those weren’t my choices! All in all I think that it’s one of those books that, while you probably wouldn’t regret readign, it’s also not necessarily the book you should run out immediately to read. There are some adult themes throughout, so if that’s something that bothers you, you may want to steer clear, but all in all, not a bad book if you’re looking for something quick!
Clarissa’s mother left her at a young age, and on this trip to find her birth father, she also comes to some shocking revelations that make Clarissa see that she perhaps had more in common with her mother than she ever would have hoped to have. It’s a book that fills you qith more questions than answers, and I have to give credit to the wirting for creating a story that, while short, carries quite a bit of punch with it. That being said, I will say that one of the best things about the book was that it didn’t take long to get through.
I will say that I did enjoy the book, but it was one of those books that just kind of filled the time gap between the other books I was reading. The story was well plotted, if not a bit forced at timess, and there are probably other common ties I would’ve established between Clarissa and her mother, but those weren’t my choices! All in all I think that it’s one of those books that, while you probably wouldn’t regret readign, it’s also not necessarily the book you should run out immediately to read. There are some adult themes throughout, so if that’s something that bothers you, you may want to steer clear, but all in all, not a bad book if you’re looking for something quick!
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
This short novel(226 pages) grabs your attention early and doesn't let go. When Clarissa's father dies, she finds her birth certificate and learns that he wasn't her biological father. Clarissa's mother disappeared when she was 12, so she doesn't have her to turn to. When her fiance, Pankaj, tells her another secret the same day, she feels betrayed by everything she thought was true. She follows the name on her birth certificate to her birthplace in northern Finland to find her birth father. As she gropes towards the truth she meets a Sami priest, an elderly Sami healer, and a young reindeer herder. When she finally learns the truth, she must decide where and how to live her own life. Portions of this story feel very dream-like and I got a sense that fate was leading her towards the truth rather than her own actions. I found Clarissa a very interesting character and one forced to grow up very quickly.
le13anna's review
4.0
Now on one hand, I have to admit that this book is nothing but a girl wading through sadness. We've all been there. We're running from what was behind and seeing that there is nothing ahead. But this book was lyrical and sweet. The words were true and I could not get up from the chair until I sipped every last word down.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
Clarissa is shocked to learn her father is not her biological father. She travels north of the Arctic Circle to try to find her father, believed to be a Sami, a member of the indigenous population. She is successful in finding the man who was her mother’s first husband, but this man only offers more revelations.
The book has a dreamlike quality that I liked. The end was very satisfying.
The book has a dreamlike quality that I liked. The end was very satisfying.
tippycanoegal's review
3.0
This was a fascinating book, but I was not as taken with it as I was with [b:Divers clothes lie empty|25822463|Divers clothes lie empty|Vendela Vida|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|43193453]. Vida is a wonderful writer to watch, but this main character just never quite felt fleshed out to me.