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karisommers's review against another edition
4.0
Unlike anything else I have ever read.
The first half is a murder mystery. The second half is a police procedural. There are shades of Kurt Vonnegut throughout the entire thing. It does not fit neatly into any one genre.
The main character is a Jewish veteran of the Korean War who fought as a sniper but told everyone he was a file clerk. We are told much of the story from his perspective, which is probably unreliable. He may or may not have dementia. He has just moved to Norway with his granddaughter and her husband, following the death of his wife. He is haunted by the events of World War II, which he was too young to enlist in, and he still cannot comprehend how decent people allowed the holocaust to happen. He speaks to people from his past who have long since died.
When his upstairs neighbor (a complete stranger to him) is murdered, he goes on the run with the woman's young son, evading the killers as well as the police, not knowing whom he can trust in a foreign land. And somehow stays one step ahead of everyone...
The first half is a murder mystery. The second half is a police procedural. There are shades of Kurt Vonnegut throughout the entire thing. It does not fit neatly into any one genre.
The main character is a Jewish veteran of the Korean War who fought as a sniper but told everyone he was a file clerk. We are told much of the story from his perspective, which is probably unreliable. He may or may not have dementia. He has just moved to Norway with his granddaughter and her husband, following the death of his wife. He is haunted by the events of World War II, which he was too young to enlist in, and he still cannot comprehend how decent people allowed the holocaust to happen. He speaks to people from his past who have long since died.
When his upstairs neighbor (a complete stranger to him) is murdered, he goes on the run with the woman's young son, evading the killers as well as the police, not knowing whom he can trust in a foreign land. And somehow stays one step ahead of everyone...
rebekahcraft's review against another edition
1.0
I’m in the minority here but this book did not do it for me at all. The suspension of disbelief required and the number of passages about peeing and the random flashbacks scattered throughout were too much.
kdferrin's review against another edition
4.0
This story is a little bit weightier and darker than my go to genres but I found it gripping. The New York Times said it better than me, "Has the brains of a literary novel and the body of a thriller".
I think it would be interesting to discuss this book alongside of [b:Elizabeth Is Missing|18635113|Elizabeth Is Missing|Emma Healey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388883559l/18635113._SY75_.jpg|24946905]
I think it would be interesting to discuss this book alongside of [b:Elizabeth Is Missing|18635113|Elizabeth Is Missing|Emma Healey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388883559l/18635113._SY75_.jpg|24946905]
pls210's review against another edition
3.0
If you can suspend your disbelief for a time you might find this book entertaining. A Jewish octogenarian who may or may not be an ex-sniper from the Korean War and may be falling into dementia, witnesses the killing of a young boy's mother. He assumes, based on war-guilt, responsibility for the boy and takes him on a cross country adventure to supposed safety. No money, phone, knowledge of the language, or land.
This got a 3 star rating from me only because I laughed out loud at some of Sheldon's dialogue and the Police Inspector conversations with her father. The book definitely needed a map to make it at all possible to understand where Sheldon was traveling to (but that might have made it even more implausible that he could have done it). The ending felt rushed and ambiguous (and not in a good way).
This got a 3 star rating from me only because I laughed out loud at some of Sheldon's dialogue and the Police Inspector conversations with her father. The book definitely needed a map to make it at all possible to understand where Sheldon was traveling to (but that might have made it even more implausible that he could have done it). The ending felt rushed and ambiguous (and not in a good way).
sssnoo's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging story that took me through much of Norway. I am globetrotting this year with my reading and this book brought me to Norway through the eyes of an aging Jewish American Korean Veteran. All of these adjectives are important to his identity. In a way it is a coming of age story, or a making peace with the past story but also a vivid adventure with a bit of fun and wry humor. It is also a war story. About what war does to people. Worthy of a read. I listened to the audible version. I would give it 4.5 stars if that were an option.
anjreading's review against another edition
4.0
Eighty-two-year old Sheldon, a Korean War veteran and recent widower, has moved to Norway with his beloved granddaughter and her husband. Sheldon, who was a Marine sniper in the war, spends his days talking to and reflecting on the ghosts in his past, including his son who died in the Vietnam War. When Sheldon steps in to help during a violent domestic dispute in his apartment building, he ends up on the run with a six-year-old boy, trying to keep him alive. This book was beautiful and deep and thought-provoking, and I did not expect it to go where it did. It’s an odd mix of an exciting thriller and a meditation on aging and regret.
p3rian's review against another edition
3.0
Delighted by the characters. Loved the humor. Entertaining unfolding of the story.
pdonnellan's review against another edition
4.0
I was most impressed with Miller's ability to build his novel on a solid foundation of psychological and cultural insights. I lived in Oslo so when I read the following sentence, I knew that I was in good hands: "Norwegians, true to their nature, prefer to spawn in their native waters. Consequently, Oslo is peopled by Norwegians married to a shadow population of displaced souls who all carry the look of tourists being led like children through the House of Wax."
lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition
2.0
This was a tough book for me. The author clearly wanted to write a book about the atrocities of war and the ways men dealt with them when they returned to civilian life. But he used a really interesting character to get that perspective across, which muddied the waters and made this book jumbled, slow, and frustrating.
First, the author called the Marines in his book “soldiers.” Her should have done his research and learned that a serviceman of the Marine Corps is called a Marine. Soldiers are members of the Army. It made me cringe every time I read it.
Secondly, the story was weighed down by so many wars. The first half of the book is mainly reflections on various characters’ experiences during their individual wars. Because Saul’s experiences are told via Donny, I often had a hard time keeping straight which war we were talking about, Vietnam or Korea. And he threw in tidbits of WWII as well. And of course we had the Yugoslav Wars. Just too much focus on death and acts of war.
We sunk our teeth into the story of this boy running from danger with an old Marine in a foreign country, and I just wanted to get back to that plot line. There was far too little of their unlikely adventure, which was the heart of the story.
I was really angered by many of the events at the end of book, and found the wrap up to be really dissatisfying. Especially for such a slow build. I decided to ignore what happened and rewrite the ending in my head.
First, the author called the Marines in his book “soldiers.” Her should have done his research and learned that a serviceman of the Marine Corps is called a Marine. Soldiers are members of the Army. It made me cringe every time I read it.
Secondly, the story was weighed down by so many wars. The first half of the book is mainly reflections on various characters’ experiences during their individual wars. Because Saul’s experiences are told via Donny, I often had a hard time keeping straight which war we were talking about, Vietnam or Korea. And he threw in tidbits of WWII as well. And of course we had the Yugoslav Wars. Just too much focus on death and acts of war.
We sunk our teeth into the story of this boy running from danger with an old Marine in a foreign country, and I just wanted to get back to that plot line. There was far too little of their unlikely adventure, which was the heart of the story.
I was really angered by many of the events at the end of book, and found the wrap up to be really dissatisfying. Especially for such a slow build. I decided to ignore what happened and rewrite the ending in my head.