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A review by shelfimprovement
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida
4.0
This was a really interesting look into the mind of someone on the verge of a total breakdown. On the day of her father's funeral, Clarissa discovers that he wasn't really her father. Since her mother took off when Clarissa was a teenager, she's left with no one to turn to for answers and travels to Lapland in search of a Sami (Native Laplander) priest whom she believes to be her real father.
I really liked the stark way in which Vida wrote this book. I can't say how it compares to her style in any of her other works, but in this instance I think that it helps to highlight Clarissa's desperation. She is thinking and acting entirely on impulse and so it is unnecessary to clutter her narration with anything other than the thoughts immediately at the forefront of her mind.
The story is somewhat of a strange one. How many novels take their main characters to an Ice Hotel? I didn't mind, though. Once again, I think that it complimented Clarissa's fragile state of mind. Perhaps only a character who is truly on the brink of something could plausibly make her way to an Ice Hotel.
My only complaint about this book is that the ending is somewhat unsatisfying. Clarissa finds out that her mother works at said Ice Hotel and that her true father is the mentally ill second cousin of her traveling companion, who raped Clarissa's mother while they were protesting the construction of a dam together. To add insult to injury, her mother isn't the least bit remorseful for abandoning her family. Upon learning all this, Clarissa decides that she can't really go back to her old life and her fiancee. Even though the mystery had been solved, it didn't feel like there was any real resolution to Clarissa's story. Her journey simply gave her permission to spiral further into her meltdown.
I really liked the stark way in which Vida wrote this book. I can't say how it compares to her style in any of her other works, but in this instance I think that it helps to highlight Clarissa's desperation. She is thinking and acting entirely on impulse and so it is unnecessary to clutter her narration with anything other than the thoughts immediately at the forefront of her mind.
The story is somewhat of a strange one. How many novels take their main characters to an Ice Hotel? I didn't mind, though. Once again, I think that it complimented Clarissa's fragile state of mind. Perhaps only a character who is truly on the brink of something could plausibly make her way to an Ice Hotel.
My only complaint about this book is that the ending is somewhat unsatisfying. Clarissa finds out that her mother works at said Ice Hotel and that her true father is the mentally ill second cousin of her traveling companion, who raped Clarissa's mother while they were protesting the construction of a dam together. To add insult to injury, her mother isn't the least bit remorseful for abandoning her family. Upon learning all this, Clarissa decides that she can't really go back to her old life and her fiancee. Even though the mystery had been solved, it didn't feel like there was any real resolution to Clarissa's story. Her journey simply gave her permission to spiral further into her meltdown.