Sub-category: mystery/suspense
The plot: Miss Smilla is
a re-patriated Greenlander living on the edge of the bay
in Copenhagen. When a small boy known to her jumps off a
building and kills himself, she is filled with suspicions
- because this boy was terrified of heights. Unable to let
the issue stay with the police investigators, Smilla sets
out to find out why this child jumped off a bulding herself.
Comment: Although a slow
book to start with, since Hoeg's style involves starting
each section at the end and working backwards to the question
asked, this story is both interesting and rivetting as Smilla
is gradually drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery. Furthermore,
Hoeg has a beautiful and haunting way of describing the
beauty of lands affected by the arctic winter. With wonderful
phraseology, vivid descriptions, superb research and a manner
which will make you feel the arctic chill in your bones
as you read, this book is a must-read!
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