momwrex's review against another edition
I loved the setting of this book - the descriptions of the north shore of Lake Superior and the history of the area were central to the book.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
To be published in October in the UK I was fortunate to get an advance proof of this book. Garnished with accolades such as award wins and revered as one of the best Norwegian crime novels of all time, this book had a reputation up to live up to.
Set in Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior, the book looks at the lives of the local communities; both the local people who are mainly of scandanavian origin and the native Ojibway. A brutal murder occurs in which a Norwegian man is beaten to death and the main suspect is his travelling companion. Investigated by Nyland, a police officer from Norway, the murder forms a backdrop to the bigger themes.
The main character is Lance Hansen, a park officer, who finds the body and is interested in local history. He becomes obsessed with the disappearance of an Ojibway man a hundred years ago and the potential link to his family. Similarly he realises through the course of the book that the murder of the Norwegian may be solved close to home.
Beautifully written (and translated) this book explores the themes of family and culture and is less of a crime novel and more of a literary novel. It makes one think and that is no bad thing - a very good book.
Set in Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior, the book looks at the lives of the local communities; both the local people who are mainly of scandanavian origin and the native Ojibway. A brutal murder occurs in which a Norwegian man is beaten to death and the main suspect is his travelling companion. Investigated by Nyland, a police officer from Norway, the murder forms a backdrop to the bigger themes.
The main character is Lance Hansen, a park officer, who finds the body and is interested in local history. He becomes obsessed with the disappearance of an Ojibway man a hundred years ago and the potential link to his family. Similarly he realises through the course of the book that the murder of the Norwegian may be solved close to home.
Beautifully written (and translated) this book explores the themes of family and culture and is less of a crime novel and more of a literary novel. It makes one think and that is no bad thing - a very good book.
jilliantw's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
fictionfan's review against another edition
2.0
Bogged down in unnecessary detail…
When a young Norwegian man is brutally murdered on the shores of Lake Superior, his body is discovered by Lance Hansen, a US Forest Service cop. As the investigation gets underway, suspicion quickly falls on the victim’s friend and companion. Lance is on the sidelines of the investigation, but realises he saw something that night that casts a different light over what may have happened. Will he put his family at risk by telling what he suspects?
The first chapter or two of this novel are very effective – Lance’s discovery of the body is dramatic and chilling. However, we are very soon bogged down in a mass of local and family history, as Lance, an amateur genealogist, begins to wonder if this is the first murder committed in the area. There is an attempt to draw parallels between the current crime and an event over a century ago, when Norwegians were beginning to populate this area of Minnesota. This drags the whole book down to a crawl, as we are given endless and repetitive stories about the early days of the settlers and details of the family history of almost every character, while there is very little actual investigation of the murder. Suffice it to say that, since the investigators soon find DNA at the scene, it ought to have been possible to wrap the whole thing up fairly quickly, but for reasons unbeknownst to this reader (who suspects that the writer got himself bogged down in an inconsistency that he hoped the reader wouldn’t spot) the police don’t seem to bother to try to match the DNA to that of their suspects.
Between the never-ending Minnesotan history, the in-depth look at the minutiae of daily life, including what everyone eats and where they eat it, and Lance’s constant agonising over whether he should put family loyalty over duty, I found this a real slog (though I could possibly set myself up in business as a tour guide of the region now). It is well enough written in a technical sense and the translation by Tiina Nunally is seamless, but I’m afraid it is simply dull. And worse yet – it’s the first of a trilogy so the crime is left unresolved at the end. I’m afraid I care so little about the outcome, I will not be reading the other two books. I find it frankly amazing that this book won an award for best Norwegian crime novel of the year in 2008 – I can only assume it was a bad year…
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When a young Norwegian man is brutally murdered on the shores of Lake Superior, his body is discovered by Lance Hansen, a US Forest Service cop. As the investigation gets underway, suspicion quickly falls on the victim’s friend and companion. Lance is on the sidelines of the investigation, but realises he saw something that night that casts a different light over what may have happened. Will he put his family at risk by telling what he suspects?
The first chapter or two of this novel are very effective – Lance’s discovery of the body is dramatic and chilling. However, we are very soon bogged down in a mass of local and family history, as Lance, an amateur genealogist, begins to wonder if this is the first murder committed in the area. There is an attempt to draw parallels between the current crime and an event over a century ago, when Norwegians were beginning to populate this area of Minnesota. This drags the whole book down to a crawl, as we are given endless and repetitive stories about the early days of the settlers and details of the family history of almost every character, while there is very little actual investigation of the murder. Suffice it to say that, since the investigators soon find DNA at the scene, it ought to have been possible to wrap the whole thing up fairly quickly, but for reasons unbeknownst to this reader (who suspects that the writer got himself bogged down in an inconsistency that he hoped the reader wouldn’t spot) the police don’t seem to bother to try to match the DNA to that of their suspects.
Between the never-ending Minnesotan history, the in-depth look at the minutiae of daily life, including what everyone eats and where they eat it, and Lance’s constant agonising over whether he should put family loyalty over duty, I found this a real slog (though I could possibly set myself up in business as a tour guide of the region now). It is well enough written in a technical sense and the translation by Tiina Nunally is seamless, but I’m afraid it is simply dull. And worse yet – it’s the first of a trilogy so the crime is left unresolved at the end. I’m afraid I care so little about the outcome, I will not be reading the other two books. I find it frankly amazing that this book won an award for best Norwegian crime novel of the year in 2008 – I can only assume it was a bad year…
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
morejam101's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kgimm29's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what to think of this book. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It takes place in Northern Minnesota so that is why I was initially interested in it. It starts off well with a murder and needing to figure out who did it, but the main character really bugged me. He is such a pussy. How is this a hero? This is book one in a trilogy, and I'll most likely read the others just to see how this all wraps up. I think what really got to me in this book was the fact that NOTHING happened. It was 300 pages describing a murder investigation and a wimpy forest cop and there was no resolution. I know that it's a trilogy, but the author could have at least concluded who the murderer was and THEN set up book two for something like a man hunt or trial, etc. Like I said before, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Unfortunately I do care enough to read the other two books.
jojobug's review against another edition
1.0
This book was confusing, had long dry spells, and I can only assume hopes that you'll read the next two books looking for a resolution that was absolutely not found here. So many scenes seemed entirely unnecessary. Also, being from Minnesota, I feel like the author has a very poor impression of us that is both unfortunate and not by any means accurately representative of us as a whole. The emotions were off somehow, ranging from forced and extreme to practically nonexistent. I just didn't understand or enjoy this at all.
breazy_reader_724's review against another edition
4.0
Liked it, and have reserved the next book in the series at my local library. The characters were interesting and the groundwork has been set for more character development. The author did not provide all the details on why the protagonist is in the situation he finds himself, but managed to resolve (?) the main mystery of the novel. I am eager to see what is next for the main character, whether a character from another country remains involved in the story, and more about the over-arching mystery of a long-missing character. I also feel I learned something about an area of the country, and the culture of it's inhabitants, that will spark interest in other stories involving those people and places.
vanityclear's review against another edition
1.0
The book had an exciting premise (moody Minnesota! jokes about Norwegian Americans made by Norwegians!). It entertained the possibility of a smooth historical tie-in (Ojibwe stories! desperate pioneers!). It was supposed to be gripping, noirish, and moody.
It was none of those things. The historical tie-in was neither smooth nor particularly tied in. In fact, the only thing tied to the plot was leaden prose that should have sunk the whole thing into the soggy center of Lake Superior. The whole manuscript should then have been encased in the ice from that redundant dream that Lance Hansen kept thinking about because he could never have any dreams anymore ever, boo bloody hoo, so sad too damn bad, and then left there for the deep sea monsters to gnaw on. The book's slowness might have been justified had there been any psychological or philosophical insight, but it appears that all of the narrating characters have exactly one dimension, with a token divorce, affair, or distaste for glass Viking ships thrown in for "interest."
If you're going to read In the Land of Dreams, read it on a camping trip, so that you can use it to start your fire.
It was none of those things. The historical tie-in was neither smooth nor particularly tied in. In fact, the only thing tied to the plot was leaden prose that should have sunk the whole thing into the soggy center of Lake Superior. The whole manuscript should then have been encased in the ice from that redundant dream that Lance Hansen kept thinking about because he could never have any dreams anymore ever, boo bloody hoo, so sad too damn bad, and then left there for the deep sea monsters to gnaw on. The book's slowness might have been justified had there been any psychological or philosophical insight, but it appears that all of the narrating characters have exactly one dimension, with a token divorce, affair, or distaste for glass Viking ships thrown in for "interest."
If you're going to read In the Land of Dreams, read it on a camping trip, so that you can use it to start your fire.