Smilla's Sense of Snow/Cassettes

Rating:
Summary: A subtle book for intelligent people
Review: If you're looking for a mind-numbing, action-packed thriller, this may not be the book for you. The plot is interesting, creative, but not extraordinary; the techno-babble is rather impressive, but nothing that Michael Crichton hasn't done a dozen times already. What's most compelling about this book is Smilla herself: her wit, her bitterness, her strength, and all the thoughts she shares with the reader. The whole story is told in the first person, present tense, which I think suits Smilla's narrative very well. Besides, the English translation is nothing short of brilliant: there's style in the narrative, something very often lost in translations. All in all, I'd say have a go at this book even if you're a bit suspicious. If you find the story tiring, at least you'll have learned something about sailing in the Arctic and life in Greenland.

Rating:
Summary: Ignore detractors and read this book.
Review: Smilla's Sense of Snow is poetic and highly unusual. It is not simply a 'thriller' or 'crime story', but a truly resonant novel. I don't know why people seem to dislike the ending - it fits perfectly well into the framework built up by earlier parts of the book and the passages describing Smilla's time on board the ship are finely wrought - claustrophobic and terrifying

Rating:
Summary: This book is an eye-opener!
Review: The author should be thanked personally for allowing me into a world I didn't know existed-- what better compliment can one give a writer in this jaded world? I never dreamed of the racial and ethnic tensions between the European Danes and the Inuit people. So much for vaunted Scandanavian progress and culture. Also, since the fall of the Soviet empire, I have felt suffocated but the smugness of all us capitalists-- at last, I read about a character who is not the least impressed with our hollow victory. What a relief! This novel is not always easy to follow, and the end is a mess, but what a wonderful read

Rating:
Summary: Overall a good read
Review: I liked this book, even though I found Smilla totally unbelievable as a character, and the early pages rough going. I soon discovered that you did not really have to read every word so very carefully. I wondered if I was reading a bad translation until I read some of the other comments here. But, it IS possible to skim this book and still enjoy it. The Denmark of this book does not remind me of the Denmark I know, and that also bothered me. I read it on the plane to and from Scandinavia. By the time they left for Greenland 3/4s through, I couldn't put it down. The ending is a brief, sharp disappointment, but on balance it's still a good read

Rating:
Summary: unable to finish
Review: I am an avid reader of all genres who prides myself on finishing every book I start. This book, however, has broken my track record. The writing appeared forced and its "poetic" prose is garbled. The sequence of events in this story are difficult to follow and I found myself forgeting characters and their names by the time they were mentioned in another chapter. The decription of the indigenous people of Greenland was interesting but was unable to redeem the overall dullness of this novel

Rating:
Summary: Read it !
Review: I have started reading this book yesterday (until now I have only read 50 pages) and it's really amazing ! When reading you can feel the snow. I am sure that it won't take long to finish this book ! And after that I am going to tell you how I feel about this masterpiece.

I have only one advice : read it and you will enjoy it !!!

Rating:
Summary: One of the most intriguing tales I have read
Review: This is not an easy book to read; it is challenging both to the reader's intellect and his sense of what conventions a "thriller" should observe. This is no Dick Francis romp (which I also enjoy). I appreciated the story for its suspense, but more for the intellectual and emotional pleasures offered up by the fascinating character of Smilla. She had a most engaging knack for detecting and solving subtle problems which I might characterize as a stubborn, intuitive brilliance. Hoeg excelled in presenting psychological observations of his characters, which, at their best, reminded me of passages in Tolstoy. Another interesting facet of the novel is that it offers a rare chance to understand an ethnic minority unknown outside Scandinavia - Greenlandic Eskimos residing in urban Denmark, who are 20th century consequences of Scandinavian hegemony in Greenland which dates 10 centuries back to the Viking age. Yes, the ending was a little disappointing. But I argue that it would be a mistake to judge this book by its tail, and miss the enjoyment of all the rest.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most intriguing tales I have read
Review: This is not an easy book to read; it is challenging both to the reader's intellect and his sense of what conventions a "thriller" should observe. This is no Dick Francis romp (which I also enjoy). I appreciated the story for its suspense, but more for the intellectual and emotional pleasures offered up by the fascinating character of Smilla. She had a most engaging knack for detecting and solving subtle problems which I might characterize as a stubborn, intuitive brilliance. Hoeg excelled in presenting psychological observations of his characters, which, at their best, reminded me of passages in Tolstoy. Another interesting facet of the novel is that it offers a rare chance to understand an ethnic minority unknown outside Scandinavia - Greenlandic Eskimos residing in urban Denmark, who are 20th century consequences of Scandinavian hegemony in Greenland which dates 10 centuries back to the Viking age. Yes, the ending was a little disappointing. But I argue that it would be a mistake to judge this book by its tail, and miss the enjoyment of all the rest.

Rating:
Summary: This will be better after Readers Digest gets done with it.
Review: The book was moderately entertaining but way WAY too wordy. The author has Smilla reminisce about everything from her life with "Mom and Dad" to talking out every thought she has ever had or ever entertained. While the writing is good and even entertaining at times, it is impossible not to get lost in the gestalt and miss the plot entirely. Final thoughts, if you like meandering plots and have a year or so to kill, read this book

Rating:
Summary: One of the most memorable books I've read
Review: I read this book 3 or 4 years ago, and it has been one of my all-time favourites since then. I find it extremely interesting to note the wide range of ratings the book gets from you customers. But this was only to be expected, because Smilla is not an easy book to read. Since the movie people seem to have mistaken the book for an easily read thriller, which it definitely is not. Smilla is a book that makes demands on the reader. One has to read it word by word, sentence by sentence and many times I've backed a page or two in order not to miss anything. Don't focus too much on the plot, it's really not that important. The beauty of the book lies in the author's style and his rather objective approach to the characters of the story. Forget about the movie. Give yourself plenty of time, peace and quiet. Read the words, the sentences, not the story. Let the ominous and mysterious moods develop around you and the characters in the book grow with each sentence. Then I guarantee you'll have a fantastic reading experience