karenloge's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laurakate's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I was so ready for this book to be great and it very nearly was. It is a phenomenally plotted historical mystery of great depth and clearly impeccably researched. The historical accuracy was also excellent. However, it was let down from being a five star novel by its descriptions of women, who were primarily there to chase after and seduce the main character. There were more descriptions of their breasts and bottoms than any other feature, and the main character did not respect or love either of the two women he toyed with throughout the book. We as readers are expected to root for one of the women, the 'wild' one, but she came across as a privileged brat who was attempting to be edgy. All in all, the book was incredible - except for the fact it was ragingly misogynistic.
lindquist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
booknookie's review against another edition
2.0
Click here to see my other reviews.I wish Goodreads had the ability to let us readers give half stars in rating. I would really need that function right now because I can’t decide if I want to give it a two star or a three star rating. Don’t get me wrong, I kind of liked the book. It was just so damn slow and that (in the end, no spoiler) mostly evolved around some threes just made it unbelievable. I could not connect with it and even though it was an interesting and kind of fun puzzle game regarding the family history, it was just not enough. I didn’t even like the main character that much.
I believe that if I hadn’t had the audiobook, I would have struggled to finish. It was just so tedious, I didn’t like the main character, who apparently cannot have a non-sexual relationship with women and the ending was quite unclear. Much better to listen, but the book itself was not as good as I had expected.
Gold star for the nice writing. I thought that was really good and Mytting did a great job with it.
ambsonline's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed it but honestly it wasn’t incredible. The writing was really beautiful and engaging, but I kept waiting for something *more* to happen that didn’t. Felt like emotions could have been further developed. But the mystery was fun! The twists and turns surprised me.
runakr's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Spennende og fin bok. Var nesten andpusten da boken var ferdig. Spennende nesten helt til siste slutt.
kelsiludvigsen's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it, but his two others ones were more my genre. You can tell he has done a lot of research about boats, guns and trees
gurobooks's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
Since his parents died under mysterious circumstances Edvard has lived with his Grandfather Sverre on a remote farm in Norway. Shunned by the local villagers due to his wartime record Sverre is a recluse, but when he dies a beautiful coffin arrives, apparently from his estranged brother Einar. Einar was supposedly killed in the second world war but there seem to be links to Edvard's past and he decides to go investigate the truth. This journey takes him from Norway to Shetland and on to France, an exploration of horrors from two wars and love and betrayal both past and present.
To try to place this book into a genre is very difficult as it spans so many. There are elements of a thriller, a romance, an historical novel and also literary fiction, all of these combine to a wonderful narrative. The overwhelming themes are of love and loss, all the characters are passionate about something but the truth means different things to each. Whilst very sad in places I also felt a real sense of optimism, particularly in the ending which goes against the grain for plot development but felt completely right given the tone of the book
To try to place this book into a genre is very difficult as it spans so many. There are elements of a thriller, a romance, an historical novel and also literary fiction, all of these combine to a wonderful narrative. The overwhelming themes are of love and loss, all the characters are passionate about something but the truth means different things to each. Whilst very sad in places I also felt a real sense of optimism, particularly in the ending which goes against the grain for plot development but felt completely right given the tone of the book