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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Loved this book! I can't believe that I felt sympathetic for a hit man. Olav was complicated and a sad character. I won't give away any of the story
Jo Nesbo is one of my favorite authors. Can't wait to read the 2nd book in this series
Jo Nesbo is one of my favorite authors. Can't wait to read the 2nd book in this series
a quick read that i enjoyed. Loved the conflicted main character
I really liked this, and would have rated it 5 stars if it had been longer. As the description says, "darky lyrical". A Christmas story. A love story. A tangle of lives that will never be happy, though they are full and passionate.
It seems to me that Olav knew he was marked for an early death, and he recognized its nearness as soon as the job was given. He couldn't stop the trajectory, but his hope was intense.
A beautiful story.
It seems to me that Olav knew he was marked for an early death, and he recognized its nearness as soon as the job was given. He couldn't stop the trajectory, but his hope was intense.
A beautiful story.
Compassion for a serial murderer? I would not have thought it possible, but Nesbo gives a human heart to a dyslexic contract killer in Oslo's illegal drug trade. A different perspective from his Harry Hole mysteries, but the same kind of damaged protaganist. I wonder what Harry Hole would think of Olav?
I downloaded this ebook because I've read several Harry Hole novels written by Nesbo. I knew nothing about this book and was surprised by how taut, fast-moving, and short the story was. The voice of the character is very strong in this story, and somehow this unique, paid hit-man came across as sympathetic. He was complex and simple at the same time. I liked that way the story was really about the stories we have heard, believe, and made up. Poignant. I read it in one afternoon. I also had downloaded the audio version and started to listen to it but I found the narrator's style very flat and unappealing. I read the print version first and felt the character's voice came through much more strongly there.
A quite interesting story with a quite good ending, to be honest, but it has a hell lot of things which are not logical at all, such as the assassin blindly killed Hoffmann's son without thinking of cheking who is he (He got 5 days to do that!), or Corina, the boss wife, was convinced to come to live with Olav (and even fuck him) while he just suddenly showed up and said "Hi, I was hired to killed you but don't worry about that, we need to hide now because the boss is going to kill us both due to my stupid mistake". The characters, except for Olav, is not really memorable either. We hardly know anything about them, Daniel Hoffmann is the boss and also an ass, Corina Hoffmann is hot and what =.=! However, this is acceptable as the story is being told from Olav's view only. Being a Jo Nesbo's, I think it should be better than this. Anyway, I probably should just stick to Harry Hole series.
Moving away from the Harry Hole series, Nesbø offers up this novella whose protagonist sits on the other side of the law. Meet Olav Johansen, a criminal with a sordid past, who has come to learn that he is good at only one thing, being a 'fixer'. He's employed by Oslo's drug kingpin, Daniel Hoffmann. When Olav is sent to dispose of Hoffmann's wife, Corina, a purported adulteress, he thinks it will be as easy as his other 'jobs', but things turn problematic. Olav does his own reconnaissance, which leads him to fall for Corina and the plan changes. An abusive lover seems more worthy of killing, so Olav does what he feels is best. It is only then that Olav realises how problematic his decision has become. As he hides Corina, Olav approaches Hoffmann's drug rival, willing to help create a monopoly in the drug market, should 'The Fisherman' want a fix of his own. As Olav sets his plan in motion, he begins to reflect on his life and choices he's made, as well as what brought him to a life of crime. As events spiral out of control, Olav learns the importance of love, though he's spent a lifetime dodging it and keeping at arm's length from anyone who might offer it to him. A shift in Nesbø style from the Hole work, but just as interesting, in this novella format.
"This ain't no Harry Hole novel," is how I might preface my recommendation of this book to anyone who is curious. I thought I would expand my Nesbø reading and look at some of these other works. While Olav Johansen is no crime fighter, he does have a deeper and somewhat darker side that might interest readers. As he parallels his life struggles to Hugo's protagonist in Les Misérables, Olav finds himself on a journey of self-reflection, all based on the one fix he cannot complete. As Nesbø takes readers down some of the seedier streets of Oslo, the narrative still moves effectively, though this first person point of view differs greatly from that of the Hole novels. Still, it is well worth the short time it will take to read. I am eager to see how the sequel (and third in the collection) match up, which appear to be as brief as this.
Kudos Mr. Nesbø for a refreshing look at Oslo's underbelly. Great ideas create highly entertaining pieces of fiction.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
"This ain't no Harry Hole novel," is how I might preface my recommendation of this book to anyone who is curious. I thought I would expand my Nesbø reading and look at some of these other works. While Olav Johansen is no crime fighter, he does have a deeper and somewhat darker side that might interest readers. As he parallels his life struggles to Hugo's protagonist in Les Misérables, Olav finds himself on a journey of self-reflection, all based on the one fix he cannot complete. As Nesbø takes readers down some of the seedier streets of Oslo, the narrative still moves effectively, though this first person point of view differs greatly from that of the Hole novels. Still, it is well worth the short time it will take to read. I am eager to see how the sequel (and third in the collection) match up, which appear to be as brief as this.
Kudos Mr. Nesbø for a refreshing look at Oslo's underbelly. Great ideas create highly entertaining pieces of fiction.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Corto, rápido y que, sin embargo, no me ha entusiasmado.
This was my first novel by Jo Nesbo, and all I can say is: When will this be a movie?
It practically read like a screenplay, and I could only picture the different leading men that would play Olav's part. Liam Neeson's growling voice practically begs itself off the page. I'm sure Nesbo wrote the novel with that idea.
Poor Olav doesn't see the true culprit even though she's less than a mile away. And I didn't just give anything away either, dear Reader, since you'll be bashing your head against the front of his small novel too. I think it's supposed to be like that, but the plot line was flimsy enough (gratuitous violence and a thin mystery) that it frustratingly became a distraction. With a deeper mystery and more fleshed out characters (which would've added at least 120 pages to the novel if not more) than I might not have cared I knew how Olav would go down right from the beginning. But why do I want to look under the surface if the top layer is clear?
Let's sit back and let this one be a blockbuster.
It practically read like a screenplay, and I could only picture the different leading men that would play Olav's part. Liam Neeson's growling voice practically begs itself off the page. I'm sure Nesbo wrote the novel with that idea.
Poor Olav doesn't see the true culprit even though she's less than a mile away. And I didn't just give anything away either, dear Reader, since you'll be bashing your head against the front of his small novel too. I think it's supposed to be like that, but the plot line was flimsy enough (gratuitous violence and a thin mystery) that it frustratingly became a distraction. With a deeper mystery and more fleshed out characters (which would've added at least 120 pages to the novel if not more) than I might not have cared I knew how Olav would go down right from the beginning. But why do I want to look under the surface if the top layer is clear?
Let's sit back and let this one be a blockbuster.