Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg is an early example of Nordic noir. Published in 1995 in the States, this book tells us the story of Smilla Jaspersen, part-Dane, part-Inuit from Greenland. She's an expert in ocean ice who lives alone in Copenhagen with her quirky, moody, lonely, and depressive life. She's also cynical, resourceful, and dependable. Her background growing up in Greenland in an Inuit community, never being indoors, and then suddenly thrust into the "civilized" world of Denmark as a tween has created a bit of an identity crisis for her.  She's mostly estranged from her only living relative, her father, and she doesn't really know where she fits in. I love Smilla.

Her six-year-old neighbor, Isaiah, dies falling off a roof and this brings Smilla into a mystery world. She knows that he didn't fall off by accident - the marks in the snow tell her that - but the police don't necessarily believe her.  She does some sleuthing, finds out Isaiah's father died on on an Arctic expedition for a large company. Before you know it, she's heading out on a ship tracking down leads to solve this mystery.

I am really divided on this novel. On one hand, Smilla is a great character. She's everything I hope to be when I grow up, complete with Goodreads reviewers who refer to her as "repulsive" and "the sort of girl you would take on a first date, ask to be excused to go to the bathroom only you make for the exit."  The story about cultural trauma and loss of identity and mistreatment of indigenous peoples is not preached in this novel, but delicately woven into the strands of narrative. It's an explanation for who Smilla is and why she behaves the way she does, and why she makes choices that we wouldn't always make.  The first part of the novel is a gripping mystery novel with muted foreshadowing with plenty of explainable and relatable red herrings.

And then there's the second half of the book. As soon as we got on the ship, I lost my hold on the plot.  I sort of wished it had a list of characters in the front of the book, Russian novel-style.  I would find someone's name in the text and then frantically flip back pages in an attempt to figure out what I know about that person already. If I had read it on a Kindle with a search function, it would have been a much more pleasant experience.  And, if you're someone who likes endings to tie up all the loose ends, you're going to be let down by the last few pages.  I definitely was. When I read the last paragraph, I flipped the page, expecting there to be more. I might have muttered "how is that the ending?" before slamming the book down on the coffee table. 

I guess I'd give it a tepid recommendation.  I like the character of Smilla enough to maybe just give it a thumbs up on that element alone. But I definitely think that if you're looking for a story on a ship, In the Heart of the Sea is a much better voyage book.

Things I looked up:
Verger: A church official who keeps order or serves as an usher
Disulfiram: A compound that causes a severe physiological reaction to alcohol used in the treatment of alcoholism
Potentiometer: Instrument for measuring electromotive force
Pomeranian pine: Also known as Scots pines, the thickest, oldest, and tallest pines in Poland in an area known as Pomerania (this was fascinating to me because I only knew about the dogs and didn't realize the dogs were named after a region)
Marline spike: A tool used in marine ropework to help with jobs like untying knots and as a toggle joining ropes under tension. It's shaped in the form of a polished metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point. It's also used as a murder weapon in this book.
Basedow's disease: Known in the US as Graves' disease, it's an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid and a side effect is bulging eyes, which is how it came up in this book.