Genre: crime fiction, sort of…aka, philosophical thriller (according to Amazon).
This book takes place in Denmark and was translated from Danish.
The plot is confusing, the characters interesting. The girl of the title remains mysterious. Hard to explain why I kept reading, but I did.
I’ve been told the test of “really good literature” is that you want to go right back to the beginning and read again. I re-read the first few chapters. I found that some intriguing elements of character from early chapters were not ever fully developed (psychokinesis?). Too bad. But lots of other good details emerged. Some reviewers refer to the mystical or metaphysical abilities of the hero.
Two other striking aspects of this book are the framework of a circus, and the science of geology. (Sounds crazy? Don’t blame me! I didn’t write it…)
The protagonist has an unusual (supernatural?) sense of hearing and a multidimensional relationship with classical music. He often refers to classical composers or pieces to explain his reaction to people or situations.
I recommend this book to whoever likes a book that slows you down a little. I returned it to the library, but may give it a second shot.
I believe I read the author’s Smila’s Sense of Snow a little before I started blogging in 2013. It was a blockbuster hit (300 reviews on Amazon, four stars) and was made into a movie. Maybe I should dig out the comments in my old reading journal! If you saw the movie, please fill me in! Thanks.
AMG Reading Journal 