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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I watched the movie adaptation of this book first. It was pretty good, not great, and the ending left a little to be desired. I'm in love with the main actress (Julia Ormond) which is why I watched it, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Bhaer (from Little Women) as the Mechanic. The book in comparison does still feel unsatisfying at the end. The buildup of the story points the reader to something greater; and it feels like the writer didn't really work it out on his own, and simply ended the book, hoping the ending words would make it feel deep or poetic.
While I do have those complaints about the book, I did still love it. I couldn't put it down, and I loved reading it. Smilla is this brooding, crotchety character, who likes science and mathematics, who likes ice and snow. She doesn't connect with or care for many people. She's done a lot of things in her life, and yet is still living in shadows, by her own choice. She doesn't make smart decisions half the time, guided by her own curiosity, pain and cynicism.
Smilla makes friends (I suppose it's a type of friendship, although that word feels wrong) with Isaiah, a child whose mother is an alcoholic and whose father is dead. Isaiah dies by falling from a rooftop, and Smilla suspects it was not of his own doing, as he was terrified of heights. With the Mechanic's help (who is more deeply involved in the story than you originally think, but for selfish reasons) she tries to find the truth. I don't want to go into the story line because, like I said, it does end in questions, but it is gripping and interesting. The writing is both technical and beautiful.
I don't even really understand why I liked the book so much, I just did. I liked the writing, and I liked the story. I liked Smilla, especially. I did enjoy that the book was set in such a different world than what I am used to. Copenhagen, Greenland, icebergs and snow; all of that is foreign to me. Even Smilla feels unknown for the most part, as if she's pushing back from even the reader knowing her.
As for the "love story" aspect, the movie did (unsurprisingly) focus a little more on that. They let you feel the assumption that Smilla and the Mechanic would be together after they returned from the iceberg. But in the book that is hardly the feeling I got. She liked parts of the Mechanic (pun intended haha) but I don't believe she felt anything very real. She hated his selfishness and greed that she found was a part of him on the boat. There is no resolution at the end concerning them, and that feels like a resolution in itself.
While I do have those complaints about the book, I did still love it. I couldn't put it down, and I loved reading it. Smilla is this brooding, crotchety character, who likes science and mathematics, who likes ice and snow. She doesn't connect with or care for many people. She's done a lot of things in her life, and yet is still living in shadows, by her own choice. She doesn't make smart decisions half the time, guided by her own curiosity, pain and cynicism.
Smilla makes friends (I suppose it's a type of friendship, although that word feels wrong) with Isaiah, a child whose mother is an alcoholic and whose father is dead. Isaiah dies by falling from a rooftop, and Smilla suspects it was not of his own doing, as he was terrified of heights. With the Mechanic's help (who is more deeply involved in the story than you originally think, but for selfish reasons) she tries to find the truth. I don't want to go into the story line because, like I said, it does end in questions, but it is gripping and interesting. The writing is both technical and beautiful.
I don't even really understand why I liked the book so much, I just did. I liked the writing, and I liked the story. I liked Smilla, especially. I did enjoy that the book was set in such a different world than what I am used to. Copenhagen, Greenland, icebergs and snow; all of that is foreign to me. Even Smilla feels unknown for the most part, as if she's pushing back from even the reader knowing her.
As for the "love story" aspect, the movie did (unsurprisingly) focus a little more on that. They let you feel the assumption that Smilla and the Mechanic would be together after they returned from the iceberg. But in the book that is hardly the feeling I got. She liked parts of the Mechanic (pun intended haha) but I don't believe she felt anything very real. She hated his selfishness and greed that she found was a part of him on the boat. There is no resolution at the end concerning them, and that feels like a resolution in itself.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably the best book I've read this year. So unusual you start off not really liking it then it takes hold and you read on and on. The descriptions of ice and snow and Greenlandic lives is fascinating. The translation is perfect, and skilled.
Popsugar 2021: A bestseller from the 1990s
The story itself was 1.5-2 stars but some of the writing/exploration of themes bumps it up a star in spite of myself.
So, yeah, this book was just … completely unhinged in so many ways. For the first 10% or so I was like “wow where has this book been all my life?” because it felt reminiscent of the mysteries of Tana French. You had an inexplicable mystery tied up in the emotional landscape of the troubled lead character! There were broad statements about society itself! It was all very much my kind of thing.
Then it takes a hard turn into airport novel thriller theory with the main character running to and fro into increasingly dramatic situations. And also having increasingly implausible sex. There was one passage in particular that was so bizarre I had to Google it and see if anyone had talked about it. And oh boy had they ever.
Smilla starts out very interesting and darkly funny but the way every other scene ends with her getting the final word… well it gets old. People are also prone to spilling their guts to her, often seemingly without justification. The character often has no cards to play. The prose also seems enamored of Smilla at the expense of all other female characters other than her mother and maybe one of the women she interrogates.
I was so annoyed by all of these things that it somehow looped around and became funny and enjoyable. The last section on the boat had me cackling at how dramatic things got. I think this might have been a better book if it had either stuck with the intimate feeling mystery vibe or if it had been a gothic horror novel on a boat the whole time. The pieces of this book just don’t fit well together at all.
All that being said I can sort of see why it was such a sensation back in the day. Again it goes some truly bonkers places, and the exploration of Greenland is often fascinating. And the prose can be quite beautiful. I do really want to seek out Greenlander perspectives on this book though. There were times it felt like it was probably portraying tropes rather than accurately depicting Greenland but I can’t know for sure at this point in time.
Also I read this specifically because it was a best seller in the 90s, right? And I have distinct memories of seeing trailers for this on tv all the time. I don’t know how though because surely they weren’t airing on Nickelodeon. Must have been on Lifetime lol. All that to say this book is very linked to the 90s for me. I almost read the Virgin Suicides for this but that feels more 2000s to me despite the publication date. And reading a book set in the 90s was very amusing in a way because there were so many situations that just wouldn’t have played out the same way with cell phones. It also took some mental adjusting to realize that 30 years ago was the 60s for the characters.
The story itself was 1.5-2 stars but some of the writing/exploration of themes bumps it up a star in spite of myself.
So, yeah, this book was just … completely unhinged in so many ways. For the first 10% or so I was like “wow where has this book been all my life?” because it felt reminiscent of the mysteries of Tana French. You had an inexplicable mystery tied up in the emotional landscape of the troubled lead character! There were broad statements about society itself! It was all very much my kind of thing.
Then it takes a hard turn into airport novel thriller theory with the main character running to and fro into increasingly dramatic situations. And also having increasingly implausible sex. There was one passage in particular that was so bizarre I had to Google it and see if anyone had talked about it. And oh boy had they ever.
Smilla starts out very interesting and darkly funny but the way every other scene ends with her getting the final word… well it gets old. People are also prone to spilling their guts to her, often seemingly without justification. The character often has no cards to play. The prose also seems enamored of Smilla at the expense of all other female characters other than her mother and maybe one of the women she interrogates.
I was so annoyed by all of these things that it somehow looped around and became funny and enjoyable. The last section on the boat had me cackling at how dramatic things got. I think this might have been a better book if it had either stuck with the intimate feeling mystery vibe or if it had been a gothic horror novel on a boat the whole time. The pieces of this book just don’t fit well together at all.
All that being said I can sort of see why it was such a sensation back in the day. Again it goes some truly bonkers places, and the exploration of Greenland is often fascinating. And the prose can be quite beautiful. I do really want to seek out Greenlander perspectives on this book though. There were times it felt like it was probably portraying tropes rather than accurately depicting Greenland but I can’t know for sure at this point in time.
Also I read this specifically because it was a best seller in the 90s, right? And I have distinct memories of seeing trailers for this on tv all the time. I don’t know how though because surely they weren’t airing on Nickelodeon. Must have been on Lifetime lol. All that to say this book is very linked to the 90s for me. I almost read the Virgin Suicides for this but that feels more 2000s to me despite the publication date. And reading a book set in the 90s was very amusing in a way because there were so many situations that just wouldn’t have played out the same way with cell phones. It also took some mental adjusting to realize that 30 years ago was the 60s for the characters.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
bon c'est bavard, ça se sent qu'on a une femme écrite par un homme, encore une fois c'est bavard et disons quand même tout ça pour ça ? en vrai j'ai lu ça vite, mais je pense que j'ai dû sauter beaaaaucoup de mots oups
bref c'est un peu dommage pcq le point de départ me plaisait bien, les réflexions sur les relations danemark-groenland étaient intéressantes et le mystère tenait en haleine mais bon, c'est trop long quoi
ah oui et puis l'histoire "d'amour" là on souffle fort
(+pourquoi cette mention à DEUX (2) reprises de l'érection d'un gamin de 6 ans quand il dort avec la personnage principale ????)
bref c'est un peu dommage pcq le point de départ me plaisait bien, les réflexions sur les relations danemark-groenland étaient intéressantes et le mystère tenait en haleine mais bon, c'est trop long quoi
ah oui et puis l'histoire "d'amour" là on souffle fort
(+pourquoi cette mention à DEUX (2) reprises de l'érection d'un gamin de 6 ans quand il dort avec la personnage principale ????)
Well I now know more about ice than I ever thought I would.
Good but hard going. Heavy and difficult and sad and confusing. But very deliberate and cleverly written.
I don't want to ever be on a boat in the middle of nowhere in the ice thnx
Good but hard going. Heavy and difficult and sad and confusing. But very deliberate and cleverly written.
I don't want to ever be on a boat in the middle of nowhere in the ice thnx
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character