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toniclark's review against another edition
4.0
A can’t-put-this-down kind of read. I didn’t want it to end, but I couldn’t stop reading. A thriller, but not just a thriller. It’s hard to explain how this story works on so many levels. It’s both charming and sophisticated. There’s history, sure, and violence. There are wonderfully drawn characters (touching, gentle, lovable ones and real bad guys) and a riveting plot with police procedural details (though not really a murder “mystery” — we know whodunit, but what will happen after that?). And let me not forget humor. I laughed out loud as often as I held my breath. Probably more often.
We are continually kept guessing by an intriguing conflation of memory and imagination, and of times past and present, so that we are never quite sure what is true vs. untrue, what is factual vs. revisionist history. At one point, Rhea lies awake staring at the ceiling, "her life playing backward and forward." Indeed, the entire novel plays — and plays with us — this way. There are so many tricks and twists of time. (I love the fact that Sheldon made his living as a repairer of watches.) It’s interesting that Sheldon’s memories are questionable, but Sheldon isn’t the narrator. So is the narrator both omniscient and unreliable? Sheldon’s wife certainly thought, and his granddaughter does too, that he’s suffering from dementia. But I don’t know. Is something true only if it’s agreed upon by two or more parties? Sheldon’s version of reality certainly made sense to me. I found myself preferring it to any other possible version. But like Rhea, I wonder: "Rhea . . . wonders when personality lapses into eccentricity. When genius merges into madness. When sanity gives way to — what? Insanity is merely the absence of sanity. It is not a thing in itself It is everything but sane."
The ending wasn't what I expected and i'm not sure I liked it. I can think of others I'd have preferred, but then maybe mine would have been too "Hollywood." If there's a movie, I bet the ending will be different from that of the book. [Later: I backed off from 5 stars as I reconsidered some events late in the book, which I won't disclose here to avoid spoilers.] Even so . . . .
Norwegian by Night is a delicious, delightful, multilayered story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also make you think deeply about humanity, inhumanity, tolerance, intolerance, and life’s inevitable regrets as well as its beauty. Okay, I guess I’m pretty blown away by this one.
Some favorite bits:
[When Rhea was a child living in Manhattan, she dreamed of New England, the Berkshires in New England and imagined a giant doll’s house that she and her grandparents could sit inside. As an adult, living in Norway, Rhea shares her husband's summer house.] “The summer house was her doll’s house now; Hedmark, her Berkshires. And so life unfolds itself, and our dreams come true in ways we never imagined.” [And now . . . ] "Lars is her imagination. He tells her stories in their doll's house. They lie on the grass in summer and under the duvet in winter and fly together in worlds both wonderful and sad." p83
"You have no idea what's behind that door. You can't just pick the options within your field of vision. Reality comes from everywhere. At best, you can narrow down the likelihoods. But in the end, it's not a matter of deduction. It's a matter of fact." p169
“it is all clearer now than it was then. Rhea would say it is the vivid fabrication of an aging mind. More likely, though, it is the clarity that comes from aging — from the natural process of releasing the mind from imagined futures, and allowing the present and past to take their rightful place at the center of our attention." p254
"The past is palpable to Sheldon now, in the way the future is to the young. It is either a brief curse or a gift before oblivion.” p254
“He expresses himself not in a torrent of words and ideas and disruptions, revelations and setbacks, but through an ever-expanding capacity to face what comes next.” p19
We are continually kept guessing by an intriguing conflation of memory and imagination, and of times past and present, so that we are never quite sure what is true vs. untrue, what is factual vs. revisionist history. At one point, Rhea lies awake staring at the ceiling, "her life playing backward and forward." Indeed, the entire novel plays — and plays with us — this way. There are so many tricks and twists of time. (I love the fact that Sheldon made his living as a repairer of watches.) It’s interesting that Sheldon’s memories are questionable, but Sheldon isn’t the narrator. So is the narrator both omniscient and unreliable? Sheldon’s wife certainly thought, and his granddaughter does too, that he’s suffering from dementia. But I don’t know. Is something true only if it’s agreed upon by two or more parties? Sheldon’s version of reality certainly made sense to me. I found myself preferring it to any other possible version. But like Rhea, I wonder: "Rhea . . . wonders when personality lapses into eccentricity. When genius merges into madness. When sanity gives way to — what? Insanity is merely the absence of sanity. It is not a thing in itself It is everything but sane."
The ending wasn't what I expected and i'm not sure I liked it. I can think of others I'd have preferred, but then maybe mine would have been too "Hollywood." If there's a movie, I bet the ending will be different from that of the book. [Later: I backed off from 5 stars as I reconsidered some events late in the book, which I won't disclose here to avoid spoilers.] Even so . . . .
Norwegian by Night is a delicious, delightful, multilayered story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also make you think deeply about humanity, inhumanity, tolerance, intolerance, and life’s inevitable regrets as well as its beauty. Okay, I guess I’m pretty blown away by this one.
Some favorite bits:
[When Rhea was a child living in Manhattan, she dreamed of New England, the Berkshires in New England and imagined a giant doll’s house that she and her grandparents could sit inside. As an adult, living in Norway, Rhea shares her husband's summer house.] “The summer house was her doll’s house now; Hedmark, her Berkshires. And so life unfolds itself, and our dreams come true in ways we never imagined.” [And now . . . ] "Lars is her imagination. He tells her stories in their doll's house. They lie on the grass in summer and under the duvet in winter and fly together in worlds both wonderful and sad." p83
"You have no idea what's behind that door. You can't just pick the options within your field of vision. Reality comes from everywhere. At best, you can narrow down the likelihoods. But in the end, it's not a matter of deduction. It's a matter of fact." p169
“it is all clearer now than it was then. Rhea would say it is the vivid fabrication of an aging mind. More likely, though, it is the clarity that comes from aging — from the natural process of releasing the mind from imagined futures, and allowing the present and past to take their rightful place at the center of our attention." p254
"The past is palpable to Sheldon now, in the way the future is to the young. It is either a brief curse or a gift before oblivion.” p254
“He expresses himself not in a torrent of words and ideas and disruptions, revelations and setbacks, but through an ever-expanding capacity to face what comes next.” p19
jacki_f's review against another edition
2.0
Ok, it's my failing, no doubt, that I didn't get more out of this book. So many people have loved it that you can take my two star rating with a grain of salt. I just didn't get it, from the title - what did that mean? - to the motivations of the central characters to the genre. Yes, even the genre - was it a thriller or a story about a man looking back on his life or a black comedy or...it had elements of all of those things but it didn't really deliver on any of them.
The hero is Sheldon Horowitz, aged 82, who, after losing his wife, has moved from New York to Norway to live with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband. Sheldon fought in Korea in his youth and always kept the details of what happened there a secret from his family, to the extent that when he talks about it now, they assume that he must have dementia. When a neighbour is savagely murdered, Sheldon takes her child and goes on the run, to protect the child. This decision hinges on some assumptions that it seems unlikely anyone would actually make and it weakens what follows. Sheldon and the child evade the police all over Norway while the killer moves in on his family, determined to track the boy down. At the same time, being with the boy causes Sheldon to revisit and re-examine many aspects of his relationship with his own son.
I did really like parts of this book, particularly the loving depictions of Norway and the occasional flashes of humour. However it was let down for me by the fact that none of the characters were fleshed out - and some of them had the potential to be terrific characters. I hope the author revisits Sigrid the police chief and that we get to find out more about her. Sheldon was also a great character - there is a lovely scene when he puts his granddaughter in her place about his dementia - but the way that the story kept chopping and changing between his past and his present and the police and the granddaughter and the villains meant that we kept losing focus on him. Also the ending, when it comes, is really rushed. We never fully understand the villian's motivations and hello? what about Lars please?
The hero is Sheldon Horowitz, aged 82, who, after losing his wife, has moved from New York to Norway to live with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband. Sheldon fought in Korea in his youth and always kept the details of what happened there a secret from his family, to the extent that when he talks about it now, they assume that he must have dementia. When a neighbour is savagely murdered, Sheldon takes her child and goes on the run, to protect the child. This decision hinges on some assumptions that it seems unlikely anyone would actually make and it weakens what follows. Sheldon and the child evade the police all over Norway while the killer moves in on his family, determined to track the boy down. At the same time, being with the boy causes Sheldon to revisit and re-examine many aspects of his relationship with his own son.
I did really like parts of this book, particularly the loving depictions of Norway and the occasional flashes of humour. However it was let down for me by the fact that none of the characters were fleshed out - and some of them had the potential to be terrific characters. I hope the author revisits Sigrid the police chief and that we get to find out more about her. Sheldon was also a great character - there is a lovely scene when he puts his granddaughter in her place about his dementia - but the way that the story kept chopping and changing between his past and his present and the police and the granddaughter and the villains meant that we kept losing focus on him. Also the ending, when it comes, is really rushed. We never fully understand the villian's motivations and hello? what about Lars please?
mmc6661's review against another edition
1.0
This book came highly recommended to me so I'm thinking maybe it was me not the book but me. I just could not get into it. I found myself reading what is a fairly small book for 4 days and still not thrilled about picking it up so I admit I went to the end and finished it. Time to move on to something that catches my attention better.
djlang's review against another edition
4.0
Good story and characters but the ending just sort of... ended. I need more closure. It’s like a last chapter is missing.
j45rpm's review against another edition
3.0
There were moments, even chapters of sheer brilliance, great use of language and contrast, the dialogue between the police officer and her superior about the difference between someone being Jewish and Israeli was funny, but the abrupt ending was a huge disappointment. :(
emckeon1002's review against another edition
4.0
Such a compelling book, in and out of the head of a Korean war vet, who lost his best friend there, his son in Viet Nam and his wife to old age. Sheldon tilts at windmills, but the result is less Cervantean than it is Shakespearean. Being it's the first of the Sigrid Odergard books, we spend precious little time with the hardnosed Norwegian cop, but for whom the follow on, American By Day, has been followed by a Sheldon prequel How to Find Your Way in the Dark.
joweston's review against another edition
3.0
Since this was a "serious" book, as opposed to a fun old jolly, I thought the premise of the 80+ year old man single-handedly escaping the clutches of not only the police, but a gang of murderous thugs rather absurd. However, the themes of loss and regret and the discovery of the strength of the human spirit rang through and were beautifully conveyed.
Several leaps of faith required here in the primary story line, but possibly that is the point - the most unlikely scenario and characters giving our elderly hero a new lease of life in his quest to cast aside his demons.
Worth more than 3, but I am a bit reluctant to deem it a four star read as I wasn't entirely convinced.
Several leaps of faith required here in the primary story line, but possibly that is the point - the most unlikely scenario and characters giving our elderly hero a new lease of life in his quest to cast aside his demons.
Worth more than 3, but I am a bit reluctant to deem it a four star read as I wasn't entirely convinced.
sandin954's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent debut novel. This had memorable characters, a tension filled plot, humor, family drama, and an interesting Norwegian setting. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by Sean Mangan who did a very good job juggling the all the various characters.
tonyriver's review against another edition
4.0
An engrossing book. I became enmeshed in Sheldon's world. There is a dry humor throughout, even when dealing with very difficult images.
Great writing and I had to remind myself at times to slow down and savor the words.
The story is always engaging and the shifts to different laces and times only help build the intrigue and, especially as the story comes to its conclusion, tension builds.
Highly recommended.
Great writing and I had to remind myself at times to slow down and savor the words.
The story is always engaging and the shifts to different laces and times only help build the intrigue and, especially as the story comes to its conclusion, tension builds.
Highly recommended.
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
3.0
Ließ sich gut an, aber Punktabzüge wegen Konstruktionsschwächen, "Da kommt Franz, der, wie du weißt, dein Vater ist"-Dialogen, weil Frauen überwiegend dazu da sind, irgendwas nicht zu verstehen und Männer vom Wesentlichen abzuhalten, weil das Kind eine reine Pappfigur ist, weil ich das Konzept "Männer stellen ihre Wichtigkeit für die Familie unter Beweis, indem sie Frau und Kind zuliebe ganz viele Leute umbringen" nicht mag, und weil die Bösen so böse sind, dass das norwegische Gesetz für sie nicht ausreicht, was ziemlich explizit so gesagt wird.