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Snowblind
Iceland was once the pride of Europe—a strong economy, beautiful people, supposedly one of the happiest nations on Earth. Then it went bankrupt. Snowblind examines Iceland at exactly this moment, detailing what happens when a drug deal turns sour. At the heart of the novel lies the fragile relationship between Jón, a morally confused banker, and his estranged brother Palli. As winter suffocates them with 20 hours of darkness, the brothers find themselves on the run from Gummi, Iceland’s only true homicide detective. As they crisscross Iceland, the torturous chase unearths a bewitching country, unforgiving terrain and spiritual darkness that leads to murder.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 16, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 24, 2016
This may be the worst book I ever read. I'll let the author's prose, which is HILARIOUS, speak for itself.
1) Benedickt speaks formally, paying strict attention to his diction like the neurotic accountant he personifies. Yet, his proper syntax can't help gloss over the fact that this man is fat.
("Can't help gloss over"?????? And he "personifies" a neurotic accountant?)
2) His relationship with Nina has dissolved like antacid tablets dropped into water , drank to cure a Sunday hangover.
(Aside from the clumsiness of the metaphor, I take issue with "drank." The past tense is "drunk." Look it up.)
3) Daybreak. Dusk reveals a slate-colored sky as bleak as the screen of an etch-a-sketch after a child twists the knobs for half-an-hour.
(I love the unnecessary precision of "half-an-hour." And how quickly dusk follows upon daybreak.)
4) Anna attempts to break the silence festering between her parents like a duodenal ulcer.
5) ...one will never be able to exculpate images of the country's enchanting natural world from the mind.
("exculpate"???)
6) ....the body looks less like a man, and more like a slab of meat, except for the dark eyes, which stare up at the brothers like a sheep head on a plate, a traditional Icelandic food.
(Maybe it's me, but the last four words seem HILARIOUSLY unnecessary. Here's another run on metaphor:)
7) The decomposing barn looks pathetic, weaker than a cancer-stricken grandfather relegated to a nursing home reeking of bleach.
4) Flying doesn't scare a man like Gummi unless he's puttering over Iceland in a plane no larger than a lawnmower.
(I doubt that there is a plane that size. He is, incidentally, flying through a "puke gray sky.")
5) ... the emotion is sucked out of the room like a deflated, red balloon.
(Why is it red? And really? Someone somewhere has actually sucked a balloon out of a room?)
This man needs a dictionary and an editor. Or perhaps a different career?
1) Benedickt speaks formally, paying strict attention to his diction like the neurotic accountant he personifies. Yet, his proper syntax can't help gloss over the fact that this man is fat.
("Can't help gloss over"?????? And he "personifies" a neurotic accountant?)
2) His relationship with Nina has dissolved like antacid tablets dropped into water , drank to cure a Sunday hangover.
(Aside from the clumsiness of the metaphor, I take issue with "drank." The past tense is "drunk." Look it up.)
3) Daybreak. Dusk reveals a slate-colored sky as bleak as the screen of an etch-a-sketch after a child twists the knobs for half-an-hour.
(I love the unnecessary precision of "half-an-hour." And how quickly dusk follows upon daybreak.)
4) Anna attempts to break the silence festering between her parents like a duodenal ulcer.
5) ...one will never be able to exculpate images of the country's enchanting natural world from the mind.
("exculpate"???)
6) ....the body looks less like a man, and more like a slab of meat, except for the dark eyes, which stare up at the brothers like a sheep head on a plate, a traditional Icelandic food.
(Maybe it's me, but the last four words seem HILARIOUSLY unnecessary. Here's another run on metaphor:)
7) The decomposing barn looks pathetic, weaker than a cancer-stricken grandfather relegated to a nursing home reeking of bleach.
4) Flying doesn't scare a man like Gummi unless he's puttering over Iceland in a plane no larger than a lawnmower.
(I doubt that there is a plane that size. He is, incidentally, flying through a "puke gray sky.")
5) ... the emotion is sucked out of the room like a deflated, red balloon.
(Why is it red? And really? Someone somewhere has actually sucked a balloon out of a room?)
This man needs a dictionary and an editor. Or perhaps a different career?
July 26, 2016
So, this novel is actually better than the first one mechanics wise, but the story isn't quite as well done. A superior author would help us feel more for the authors. If you want good Icelandic fiction, go read about Inspector Erlendur.
December 20, 2017
There is a good story in this book, but it is bogged down by purple prose. Granted, the over description of the landscape is deliberate, as the author is trying to communicate the drama contained within it. However, the word choices in some of the character descriptions just do not seem natural. There is also a repetitiveness that can be annoying, although that is clearly intentional and sometimes provides some levity. I thought the story improved as the book went along. It is also one of the few series set in Iceland that attempts more than passing empathy for foreign workers. I liked the story of the brothers, I just felt that I wanted something more or something deeper from this book in the end. But then, again, perhaps the point of the book was how pointless it all is.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews