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jeremyanderberg's review against another edition
4.0
“Those of us with the courage to open ourselves to that much love and not fear it - who can give joy to a dying child until the very end without withdrawing to save ourselves - those are our saints. It is not the martyrs. It is never the martyrs.”
Sheldon Horowitz, the 82-year-old star of the show, may or may not be suffering from dementia. He may or may not have been a Marine sniper in the Korean War. What we do know, from the get go, is that he’s been stubbornly transplanted to Oslo to live with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband.
When a terrible crime takes place, Sheldon ends up fleeing with a young boy, and those military instincts of old kick into gear. Can his 80-year-old body do everything his mind wants it to, though?
While the crime plot takes center stage, there are a number of diversions — mostly in the form of Sheldon’s memories of interactions with his wife, friends, son, etc. — that take the reader through musings on war, getting older, what it means to be a parent, the regrets of a long life . . . it’s a rather soulful for a book that’s mostly categorized as a thriller.
As with any good book in that category, the strength lies in the superb combination of heart-pounding plot and excellent character building (the worst of the genre are those that center solely on a plot which relies on too many twists and turns). Sigrid, our sarcastic and gritty-as-hell police officer, is particularly delightful.
My immediate thought, within 50 pages or so, was that this was a really interesting mix of William Kent Kreuger’s Ordinary Grace (for its literary qualities) and A Man Called Ove (for its cantankerous old man qualities). It’s a book that will be equally enjoyed by both literary types and crime/mystery lovers (and everyone in between, frankly).
Norwegian By Night has everything going for it, and nearly nothing going against it. Miller has two other novels under his belt that I’m excited to read, particularly American By Day, which follows Sigrid to America.
Sheldon Horowitz, the 82-year-old star of the show, may or may not be suffering from dementia. He may or may not have been a Marine sniper in the Korean War. What we do know, from the get go, is that he’s been stubbornly transplanted to Oslo to live with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband.
When a terrible crime takes place, Sheldon ends up fleeing with a young boy, and those military instincts of old kick into gear. Can his 80-year-old body do everything his mind wants it to, though?
While the crime plot takes center stage, there are a number of diversions — mostly in the form of Sheldon’s memories of interactions with his wife, friends, son, etc. — that take the reader through musings on war, getting older, what it means to be a parent, the regrets of a long life . . . it’s a rather soulful for a book that’s mostly categorized as a thriller.
As with any good book in that category, the strength lies in the superb combination of heart-pounding plot and excellent character building (the worst of the genre are those that center solely on a plot which relies on too many twists and turns). Sigrid, our sarcastic and gritty-as-hell police officer, is particularly delightful.
My immediate thought, within 50 pages or so, was that this was a really interesting mix of William Kent Kreuger’s Ordinary Grace (for its literary qualities) and A Man Called Ove (for its cantankerous old man qualities). It’s a book that will be equally enjoyed by both literary types and crime/mystery lovers (and everyone in between, frankly).
Norwegian By Night has everything going for it, and nearly nothing going against it. Miller has two other novels under his belt that I’m excited to read, particularly American By Day, which follows Sigrid to America.
smunro's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
audreylee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The characters are great and the atmosphere superb. However, it is unrelentingly dark and without much in the way of a resolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
zhelana's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I would have given this book 5 stars had it bothered to wrap itself up in its ending. What happened to the boy? What happened to the granddaughter and her husband? Did the police detective ever deal with her concussion? What happened to the survivor who had the kid? We don't know, and I want to know. I was really enjoying this book up to the last chapter, but I think it needed an epilogue or something like that. Another two pages in the last chapter? Anyway, I really appreciate reading a book about a guy who is no longer in the prime of his life or a child. The 82 year old protagonist who sometimes remembers what he used to be able to do and contrasts it with what he is able to do is interesting, and I wish people would write more books with older protagonists, or disabled protagonists who remember being able to accomplish something but now they cannot. Anyway, the book was solid.
latetotheparty's review against another edition
3.0
Sheldon makes me laugh. I was a little confused with some of the flashbacks but that could be a literary device.
endomental's review against another edition
4.0
I read this as part of the Read Across Rhode Island book challenge.
Part adventure/buddy tale, part philosophy, Norwegian by Night tells the tale of Sheldon.
Sheldon is 82 and widowed. His daughter and her Norwegian husband have moved him into a room in their apartment in Oslo, because he's begun to say strange things. Like how he was a sniper in Korea. Only since he got back from Korea, he'd told everyone that he was a file clerk.
He talks to an old friend who's been dead for years.
And then he disappears.
When Sheldon lets a woman fleeing from domestic abuse into his apartment with her son, everything changes. Her assailant kicks in the door and kills her. Sheldon and the boy hide, then go on the run, with the police and the woman's murderer both in pursuit.
The book veers back and forth between Sheldon and the boy - who he calls Paul, because Paul doesn't speak English - and Sheldon's past. And occasionally into Sheldon's imaginings of his son's final days in Vietnam.
I liked the way the story switched perspectives, from Sheldon to his granddaughter, her husband, the police detective, the murderer, his friends, without missing a beat. It was never unclear who was thinking.
However, it was often unclear where Sheldon was. His perspective shifted from the present to the Mekong Delta to the landing shores in Korea and his little watch repair shop in New York. It was a bit disorienting, and perhaps gave us a sense of what Sheldon himself was feeling.
The story dragged at times, but was overall solid, and at times poetic.
Part adventure/buddy tale, part philosophy, Norwegian by Night tells the tale of Sheldon.
Sheldon is 82 and widowed. His daughter and her Norwegian husband have moved him into a room in their apartment in Oslo, because he's begun to say strange things. Like how he was a sniper in Korea. Only since he got back from Korea, he'd told everyone that he was a file clerk.
He talks to an old friend who's been dead for years.
And then he disappears.
When Sheldon lets a woman fleeing from domestic abuse into his apartment with her son, everything changes. Her assailant kicks in the door and kills her. Sheldon and the boy hide, then go on the run, with the police and the woman's murderer both in pursuit.
The book veers back and forth between Sheldon and the boy - who he calls Paul, because Paul doesn't speak English - and Sheldon's past. And occasionally into Sheldon's imaginings of his son's final days in Vietnam.
I liked the way the story switched perspectives, from Sheldon to his granddaughter, her husband, the police detective, the murderer, his friends, without missing a beat. It was never unclear who was thinking.
However, it was often unclear where Sheldon was. His perspective shifted from the present to the Mekong Delta to the landing shores in Korea and his little watch repair shop in New York. It was a bit disorienting, and perhaps gave us a sense of what Sheldon himself was feeling.
The story dragged at times, but was overall solid, and at times poetic.
tessaays's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. It becomes a little twee at times (some of Sheldon's internal monologues started to grate on me) but overall, a truly unique and exceptional feat of a novel.
laurie_bridges's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not much of a crime novel reader, but gave this one a whirl. As is my general complaint about books lately — too many flashbacks. I have a difficult time staying engaged with a book when there are too many flashbacks - so in the last half of the book I skipped over all flashbacks and enjoyed it!