Reviews

Forty Days Without Shadow by Olivier Truc

tessyoung's review

4.0

I loved this book. The setting and the narrative combine wonderfully. I love novels where the landscape is a character in itself and this is certainly the case here. The characterisation builds on how relationships and events in time and place make people and the places they inhabit. The politics of Lapland and the experience of the Sami people is central to this book and makes me want to read other books that speak to this history and to the present challenges experienced in this area. In this novel it is the exploitation of geology, but as I write the exploitation of the ancient forests in this area is a threat to reindeer herders and raises questions about indigenous and rights and the protection of modes of living in an environment.

The mystery is interesting, the plotting quite masterly in bringing together many different strands, over a 500 year history, without it ever seeming forced, too quick or convenient or too slow. I don't want to give too much away but I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.

My only disappointment is that this is the first in a trilogy, but the only one translated into English. My other half has read the other 2 (1 in French and the other in Italian...) and he says the subsequent books are really good too and work together well. Translations in Spanish, German and Portuguese are available it seems so if you have other languages you may be able to complete the series....

colorfulleo92's review against another edition

3.0

Intresting premise and it was engaging but I didn't love it as much as I had hoped. Will most likely continue on with the series as it was somewhat entertaining and I hope it will pick up in later books. (I think it's a series or there are at least more books by this author)

kiramke's review

4.0

Interesting detail and viewpoint. I enjoyed hearing the more political dimension. Comes across as well-researched and urgent.

lajambonnade's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

sugarloaded's review against another edition

It was extremely slow. 

fiona_with_the_cats's review

2.0

If accurate, the insight this book gives to the Sami culture and it's clashes with modern day Norway are really interesting. Overall though I found this book a bit of a drag to read. The characters were one dimensional and lacked subtlety. I found the male gaze throughout the story extremely tiresome and the ending was oddly abrupt and ultimately unsatisfying.

susannam's review against another edition

2.0

So many books, so little time. Why did I continue reading a book I was so irritated by? I don't regret finishing it, but I don't recommend it unless you want to pick up some interesting history about the Sami people and their history in the northern part of what is now Scandinavia and Finland. There is information about the sad and all too familiar oppression and attempted extermination of Sami people and their culture by the political majority and an interesting plot line of the discovery of a rare Sami drum (hundreds of Sami drums were collected and destroyed in the past as they were considered pagan and dangerous). Unfortunately, the author resorted to one-note characters and over-the-top dialogue that made sure we knew who the bad guys were and who the good guys were, making it less than satisfying. I'll give props to the last few chapters when plot threads came together and there was real tension. The two main characters, modern-day Reindeer Police Nina and Klemet, look like they'll develop into an interesting team in future books, but I hope the author will let readers figure out the villains without big arrows pointing to them.