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A review by johannalm
The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann
2.0
The Cold Song, Linn Ullmann
Award winning Norwegian writer brings the reader into the very dysfunctional world of Jon and Siri and their two daughters who live in Oslo Norway. The father is a philandering, self center writer suffering from writer's block. Siri, the mom, is a workaholic chef and restaurant owner who has lots of unresolved issues with her distant and unkind mother. The older daughter, Alma, has lots of anger issues that keep getting her kicked out of school. The grandmother, whose home they stay at in the summers, has a close relationship with a woman who takes care of her and who everyone else is afraid of. When the nanny hired for a summer to watch the younger daughter goes missing, the family is forced to face their issues which they do poorly. The nanny's inconsolable parents won't let go and continue to try and find out what happened. The reader knows what happened and waits for the rest of the characters to get there. Lots of screwed up people in this book who are unhappy or angry or nasty without any explanation for why. Many probably could have prevented the murder if they were just a tad kinder, but no one cared enough. Very atmospheric but I was not happy with the lack of insight into what made all these people tick so oddly.
Award winning Norwegian writer brings the reader into the very dysfunctional world of Jon and Siri and their two daughters who live in Oslo Norway. The father is a philandering, self center writer suffering from writer's block. Siri, the mom, is a workaholic chef and restaurant owner who has lots of unresolved issues with her distant and unkind mother. The older daughter, Alma, has lots of anger issues that keep getting her kicked out of school. The grandmother, whose home they stay at in the summers, has a close relationship with a woman who takes care of her and who everyone else is afraid of. When the nanny hired for a summer to watch the younger daughter goes missing, the family is forced to face their issues which they do poorly. The nanny's inconsolable parents won't let go and continue to try and find out what happened. The reader knows what happened and waits for the rest of the characters to get there. Lots of screwed up people in this book who are unhappy or angry or nasty without any explanation for why. Many probably could have prevented the murder if they were just a tad kinder, but no one cared enough. Very atmospheric but I was not happy with the lack of insight into what made all these people tick so oddly.