Tuesday 17 November 2009

Smilla’s Sense of Snow

by Peter Høeg
translated by Tiina Nunnally

A fascinating reading even though I can’t say I loved this book. It took me more than a month to conquer The City part — some days I cold not manage more than couple of pages. However, I think The City is the best part of the story. It has promise that is never delivered. Nevertheless, I was intrigued. I went through The Sea in three days and finished the last part, The Ice, last night (or rather this morning). There is more and more action towards the end, but it becomes less and less believable. The end is rather silly and lots of loose ends are left untied. Frankly, I expected the brave frøken Smilla taking on secret service and/or military looking for something not less than that American nuclear bomb lost in Greenland. Instead, her adversaries are a mad (and rather creepy) scientist and his (also creepy) accomplices interested in some lousy meteorite and mutant worms.

But forget the plot. Smilla Qaaviqaaq Jaspersen is great. She is a scientist, an anarchist, a detective. She has no supernatural powers and does not trust modern technology but my she kicks ass (and not just figuratively speaking). She swims in icy water and travels in a dumbwaiter. She even can make friends. I would trust her. Smilla rocks.

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