| Product: |
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow - Peter Hoeg |
| Date: |
31/03/03 (204 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Fascinating characters, good plot
Disadvantages: None
To us snow may just be a type of weather precipitation but to Smilla, born and raised in Greenland, it is a part of life. She has grown up with snow and ice; she knows how it forms, how to live with it, how to treat it with respect and that it can tell a story, for Smilla has a feeling for snow.
THE STORY
The snow has told Smilla a tale and that tale is different from the one she hears from the police. Isaiah, a young boy with whom Smilla has formed a close friendship, has thrown himself from the snow-covered roof of a building and died instantly from the fall. However, Isaiah had a terrible phobia of heights and Smilla finds it hard to believe that he would have gone to the roof of his own volition. The boy?s tracks in the snow also tell her that there is more to his death than meets the eye.
Smilla sets out on a quest to find the facts behind his death and slowly finds herself involved in something bigger than she could have imagined, where curiosity could certain lead to the killing of the cat.
SMILLA
One of the things which makes this book so intriguing and gripping is the fascinating character of the heroine. She was born in Greenland but was later brought to live in Denmark after the death of her mother. An upbringing in Greenland?s cold, hostile and naturally harsh environment has resulted in her developing a tough shell (both physically and emotionally) but also a healthy respect for the power of nature. As a child she would hunt with her mother and as we hear tales of childhood involving hunting animals in extremes of temperature and learning from a mother who chews tobacco and holds virtues such as truth in high regard, it is easy to see how Smilla has developed into the adult that she is.
She is capable, she is tough and she has a persistence born of the fight for survival in a harsh landscape. Smilla would like to think that she also reflects the nature of her snowy beginnings in her emotions.
She believes herself to be self sufficient and firmly in control of her emotions. However, the manner in which she plunges herself into danger in the quest for the truth of Isaiah?s death and later her thoughtless risk taking for the sake of her lover, shows that more love and loyalty lie beneath her frosty exterior than she is willing to admit to herself.
It is extremely easy to admire our heroine. Her tenacity, selflessness and ability to deal with fear and pain are admirable and one can excuse oneself for wishing that one had even a quarter of her strength of mind. As the main character is so fascinating it is inevitable that the book itself will become gripping. The reader is interested in the story, concerned for the welfare of the characters and intrigued to learn more about he nature of the heroine.
OTHER CHARACTERS
The book is filled with other characters, some only playing minor roles, but all of whom have backgrounds, secrets and personalities which will engage the interest of the reader.
The book begins after Isaiah has already died but we slowly learn about him through Smilla?s memories and the regard that others had for him. Isaiah is also a Greenlander by birth and thus he and Smilla shared a background and understanding of the world. In Denmark Greenlanders are looked down upon and discriminated against. Borth Isaiah and Smilla had undergone this treatment and probably felt like kindred spirits or at the very least they recognised the same tough, enduring characteristics in each other, developed from years of harsh living and abuse from fellow human beings.
Smilla later gains the help of a mechanic named Peter in her quest for the truth. He too is a character whom we are keen to learn more about. He has a stutter and seems to be a loner. He is strong and capable and yet probably not as mentally capable as Smilla herself, who naturally takes the lad in the investigations. He had deep scars enc
ircling his wrists and ankles and it becomes apparent that he has secrets in his past, which Smilla respectfully does not probe. The reader can allow the mind to work overtime trying to fathom more about this character and looking for clues as the book progresses.
READABILITY
The book is enthralling. The characters are all very well drawn and, if not entirely likeable, at the very least so interesting as to make the reader crave further information.
The plot is fairly complex and extremely well paced and explained. The style of writing complements the plot well; it is not patronisingly simplistically penned but is a sophisticated read without resulting in a pretentiousness or needless complexity or verbosity.
The reader soon finds that their eyes skim over the pages as swiftly and easily as snow falling from a white Greenland sky.
Summary:
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