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A review by ojtheviking
Den stille uke by Sven Petter Næss
3.0
3.4 rounded down.
While I don't believe there are any English translations of these books currently, I'll still write my review in English in the event that they will be available in the future and some of my non-Norwegian-speaking friends want to discuss them with me!
Now, since this is not only the first book in the Hardinger Singh series, but also Næss' debut overall, I want to be fair, benefit-of-the-doubt-style. Especially since I did enjoy the story. So don't let me bury the lede on this matter: I'm walking away from this with a mostly positive impression.
The first thing I have to acknowledge is how the book grabs your attention literally with the first sentence. I've always liked the concept of a great opening line in a novel, and as soon as I started reading this book, I thought: "Oh damn, we're jumping right into a whole vibe immediately, nice." It sets up as scenario to get you curious, then introduces another incident, leaving you to ask how these two things are connected. That's always a good way to set up a mystery that you'll want to find out more about.
I also respect that it's written from a progressive viewpoint. For the most part, the inclusiveness is casually woven into the overall story; the narration doesn't sensationalize anything in a way that feels performative, but just adds some context clues in passing that tells you something about who someone is. Racial issues are the most prominent part, giving us insight into how the main character grew up, and even for a country so statistically low on racism as Norway, I'd say it's a relevant topic.
This also allows for the story to shed some light on mental health as well, in the sense that Harinder Singh is very stressed out - to the point of low-key experiencing panic attacks - about returning to his hometown to solve the mystery of the story.
As for the mystery itself, there are some interesting twists and turns that keep you interested. Næss has also focused on bringing several characters more to life through personality traits and backstory, instead of making it only about the main character, and I like how that gives the story a feel of having an ensemble plot, with character development.
I do have some minor criticism, though. Some parts of the narration could come across as having somewhat of a distancing language, hesitant to fully go under the surface and explore the deeper emotions. Some descriptions end up sounding more like a report on recent events rather than colorful storytelling. This puts some characters and their motives in danger of having a slightly clichéd quality, and can make certain parts of the narrative borderline drag on a little bit.
There's also a strange paradox in the sense that there can be incredibly graphically violent moments, yet some parts feel a bit like tip-toeing around certain topics, which makes the overall impact a bit uneven.
But all in all, it shows promise, and I look forward to getting started on the second book and seeing how Singh, as a character, and Næss, as an author, both evolve!
While I don't believe there are any English translations of these books currently, I'll still write my review in English in the event that they will be available in the future and some of my non-Norwegian-speaking friends want to discuss them with me!
Now, since this is not only the first book in the Hardinger Singh series, but also Næss' debut overall, I want to be fair, benefit-of-the-doubt-style. Especially since I did enjoy the story. So don't let me bury the lede on this matter: I'm walking away from this with a mostly positive impression.
The first thing I have to acknowledge is how the book grabs your attention literally with the first sentence. I've always liked the concept of a great opening line in a novel, and as soon as I started reading this book, I thought: "Oh damn, we're jumping right into a whole vibe immediately, nice." It sets up as scenario to get you curious, then introduces another incident, leaving you to ask how these two things are connected. That's always a good way to set up a mystery that you'll want to find out more about.
I also respect that it's written from a progressive viewpoint. For the most part, the inclusiveness is casually woven into the overall story; the narration doesn't sensationalize anything in a way that feels performative, but just adds some context clues in passing that tells you something about who someone is. Racial issues are the most prominent part, giving us insight into how the main character grew up, and even for a country so statistically low on racism as Norway, I'd say it's a relevant topic.
This also allows for the story to shed some light on mental health as well, in the sense that Harinder Singh is very stressed out - to the point of low-key experiencing panic attacks - about returning to his hometown to solve the mystery of the story.
As for the mystery itself, there are some interesting twists and turns that keep you interested. Næss has also focused on bringing several characters more to life through personality traits and backstory, instead of making it only about the main character, and I like how that gives the story a feel of having an ensemble plot, with character development.
I do have some minor criticism, though. Some parts of the narration could come across as having somewhat of a distancing language, hesitant to fully go under the surface and explore the deeper emotions. Some descriptions end up sounding more like a report on recent events rather than colorful storytelling. This puts some characters and their motives in danger of having a slightly clichéd quality, and can make certain parts of the narrative borderline drag on a little bit.
There's also a strange paradox in the sense that there can be incredibly graphically violent moments, yet some parts feel a bit like tip-toeing around certain topics, which makes the overall impact a bit uneven.
But all in all, it shows promise, and I look forward to getting started on the second book and seeing how Singh, as a character, and Næss, as an author, both evolve!