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dahoambliebn's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
sushanth2506's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
reickel's review against another edition
2.0
The best phrasing I can think of for this is that I'd recommend it to people that don't necessarily like books. There are funny moments, and it's an interesting, brusque style of writing, but overall the story and the characters don't really deliver.
adamrshields's review against another edition
2.0
Short Review: I probably won't write a full review of this on my blog. It was funny, the writing wasn't bad. But it was a depressing kind of funny. And I was just not interested in reading depressing funny on vacation. So I read about half and gave up.
emmleo's review against another edition
Interessant og artig konsept. Det var underholdende i starten, men tapte seg etter hvert og mistet interessen for handlingen. Pluss at jeg ble lei av hovedkarakterens sexisme, rasisme, og vulgære personlighet.
emheld's review against another edition
3.0
I want to start off by saying two things: I love the narrator's voice, and I thought this was going to be a little different. An Icelandic "Whole Nine Yards."
It's not an "American" mobster story in any real fashion, no linked series of shootouts with a thin membrane of story holding it all together. It aspires to be something deeper, more concerned with redemption and understanding than money shot-firefights.
That said, the story was great in parts,but dragged itselt around aimlessly elsewhere.
On the balance, it's bright spots outweigh the meh, and so I can recommend it, but with a warning to not expect much gunplay.
It's not an "American" mobster story in any real fashion, no linked series of shootouts with a thin membrane of story holding it all together. It aspires to be something deeper, more concerned with redemption and understanding than money shot-firefights.
That said, the story was great in parts,but dragged itselt around aimlessly elsewhere.
On the balance, it's bright spots outweigh the meh, and so I can recommend it, but with a warning to not expect much gunplay.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
2.0
I was really enjoying this novel. It was told from the point-of-view of an interesting lead character, had a dark sense of humor, and some really cool moments -- of violence, of contemplative and humorous narration, and of fish-out-of-water interactions with the local Icelanders -- but all that was washed away by one of the worst endings to any novel I have read in recent memory. First, , and then . What an unbelievably awful way to end what would have been an interesting novel otherwise.
Spoiler
a second love interest is introduced on the second to last page of the book, who -- surprise -- is also carrying Tomas's childSpoiler
the book ends with an ambiguity as to whether or not Tomas even livesfwlichstein's review against another edition
3.0
I suppose reading about a hitman in Iceland is exactly what one needs for a very sleepless night. 3.5 rounded down.