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pixe1's review against another edition
4.0
Weird and wonderful.
I did feel like it just fizzled a bit as a thriller, but overall this was just a highly enjoyable read.
I did feel like it just fizzled a bit as a thriller, but overall this was just a highly enjoyable read.
miikka's review against another edition
3.0
This was my first Sofi Oksanen book. Somehow I've thought that she would write multi-layered literary fiction, but this book turned out to be a relatively straightforward thriller. It's a real page-turner, though!
lexbrunov's review against another edition
3.0
Somehow it's extremely easy to read and extremely hard to follow at the same time. I don't know how that works, but I'm left very confused and hoping her other books are stronger. A generous 3/5 because the concept is very cool.
yawningtiger's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lehine's review
2.0
This book is nuts. A woman with Rapunzel syndrome and magic abilities investigates her mother’s apparent suicide. Explores themes of women’s sexual power as represented by hair, with commentary on surrogacy scams. Well written and intriguing for the first 3/4s.
Anything good about it was absolutely destroyed by the bullshit ending. Norma uncovers a plot of “baby factories” which capture, imprison, and rape women to produce babies before taking the babies away to sell, and not only does she actively STOP a plot to expose the perpetrators, she actually ends up in a shoehorned in relationship with one of them. One of the people directly involved in her mother’s death. What the actual fuck?
Anything good about it was absolutely destroyed by the bullshit ending. Norma uncovers a plot of “baby factories” which capture, imprison, and rape women to produce babies before taking the babies away to sell, and not only does she actively STOP a plot to expose the perpetrators, she actually ends up in a shoehorned in relationship with one of them. One of the people directly involved in her mother’s death. What the actual fuck?
sonjaloviisa's review against another edition
3.0
Norma flowed like butter! Very easy to read, even though the beginning is extremely confusing at times. Oksanen throws random names at you; I even considered having to map out the connections between the characters on a piece of paper... I enjoyed her dabbling in magical realism and felt the story was playful, but suspenseful enough to hold the reader’s attention.
The only thing this book lacked was character development. I didn’t feel any kind of connection to the main character and therefore the blossoming romance at the end didn’t make me feel any kind of way, even though I would have liked it to.
This was my first book by Oksanen and I’ll definitely be reading more by her!
The only thing this book lacked was character development. I didn’t feel any kind of connection to the main character and therefore the blossoming romance at the end didn’t make me feel any kind of way, even though I would have liked it to.
This was my first book by Oksanen and I’ll definitely be reading more by her!
cosmiatrapezina's review against another edition
2.75
Intressant idé, men jag fick ingen riktig bild av karaktärerna, vilket gjorde det svårt att hänga med i handlingen. Jag hade förväntat mig magisk realism med vackert språk, men den var mer som en (förvirrande) thriller.
ratcousin's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I skimmed the reviews before reading this and honestly? I expected it to be weirder, especially based on some of the more negative reviews. Norma is definitely more of a literary thriller with a dash of magical realism than a mystery/thriller. The book's weakest aspect is definitely it's characters, as none of them ever felt quite fully formed, even when there were sections in their perspective. All in all, I found this to be entertaining and suggest you take a chance on it!