Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow By Peter Høeg

[Kylie]

Welcome to the thread for our June Reading Circle! This month's choice is:

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter H�eg

(From Amazon): One snowy day in Copenhagen, six-year-old Isaiah falls to his death from a city rooftop. The police pronounce it an accident. But Isaiah's neighbour, Smilla, suspects murder. She embarks on a dangerous quest to find the truth, following a path of clues as clear to her as footsteps in the snow.

Here are the usual questions to consider:

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

I'll throw in some more questions throughout the month to keep the discussion going.

Happy reading everyone!

Edited August 5, 2010 by Janet

[Kylie]

We have lift-off!

 

Time to start discussing Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. I've been a little naughty and haven't finished the book yet, but I look forward to discussing it nevertheless (I more or less know how it ends).

[Ooshie]

I haven't finished it yet either, but should do in the next couple of days

[Kylie]

What are everyone's thoughts so far?

 

I've read a lot of books set in various locations around the world but Smilla feels the most 'foreign' to me by far. I think it's partly due to the setting and partly due to the writing.

 

My own country is so different to Denmark/Greenland; I've seen snow briefly just a couple of times in my life so I can't fathom Smilla's passion for it. This makes it difficult for me to identify with her character. The politics/history of the relationship between Denmark and Greenland is also a learning curve for me (albeit an interesting one).

 

I feel like I'm a couple of steps behind the story all the time and I'm struggling to keep up with what's going on. I get confused with the different characters and the politics of the whole thing.

 

At the beginning (I'm only 100 or so pages in) Smilla seemed to be gaining access to everyone and everything so easily and I was wondering (still am) just how a civilian could do this. I couldn't work out where she stood in the scheme of things.

 

Around page 90, where she has a meeting with Ravn, we learn a lot more about her, and yet I don't feel any wiser. She sounds like a Lisbeth Salander-type character, but I was able to understand Lisbeth so much better. I can't reconcile the Smilla I've been introduced to with the couple of pages of information we've received regarding her background. I guess she seems like a 'non-entity' to me at the moment. I can't find anything to grip onto that allows me to sympathise or understand her. Maybe she's too unemotional.

 

Having said all that, I've pretty much enjoyed what I've read so far, but when I put the book down I find it very hard to pick it up again. I've all but lost my reading mojo with this book.

[vodkafan]

Real life has been pressing on me and I have not started reading yet. I will start today and contribute soon as I am done.

[Kylie]

No worries Vodkafan. Feel free to contribute along the way. I don't plan on writing any spoilers here.

[Ooshie]

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

Smilla herself was my favourite character. I found her knowledge of snow and ice, and her ability to orient herself in any landscape or building without landmarks fascinating, and enjoyed learning more about Greenland/Denmark and the very different lifestyles and attitude she had experienced in each. I also liked her independence and strength of character.

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

I have actually enjoyed the whole book, but I did find it took me quite a few pages to relax into the style it it written in.

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

I have read this book twice previously (my very poor memory means that I don't remember anything about the plot and so can enjoy books again and again after a suitable break!), and after the first time I bought another Peter Hoeg (Borderliners) which I didn't enjoy and didn't keep. I haven't bought anything else of his since, although I might try again now. I would certainly read other books set in Greenland or Denmark, and I do enjoy thriller/crime books very much.

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

I found that the book as a whole needed more concentration from me than most; usually I just whiz through books without paying much attention, but if I didn't pay attention then I got a bit confused.

5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

 

Yes, I have really enjoyed the whole book. I liked the character of Smilla and her independence, I loved learning more about Greenland, I was fascinated by the information on snow and ice, and I enjoyed the storyline.

[frankie]

I read the book in Finnish so I don't have all the terms and words in English but I hope that won't effect my discussion on the book

 

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

My most favorite character was Esajas. He seemed like a really quirky kid but I guess one would become quirky living in the conditions he was. I felt so sorry for him, having a drunk for a mother and having lost his father. I loved the way he communicated with Smilla and the Mechanic. Such a serious and silent boy who wasn't allowed a normal childhood.

I also liked the Mechanic and Miss Smilla. It was hard to understand and relate to Smilla because of her seeming lack of emotions but I admired her for having such a soft spot for Esajah.

 

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

It is quite hard to pinpoint a particular part which I enjoyed. I guess Smilla's 'coldness' was so evident in the story, that I couldn't help but love all the situations or details where she expressed some kind of an emotion. I loved reading about how she used to read to Esajah.

I think I disliked quite a lot of the scenes. All the details about ships and stuff just went over my head and I had a really hard time concentrating in the story during those parts. I also didn't particularly enjoy the part when Smilla was on board, I was constantly worrying about her safety. I also don't usually enjoy stories that have to do with water and possible drowning because I cannot swim that well myself and hate water that is so deep it goes above one's head.

 

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

I have a hard time placing this novel in just one genre. Were it a plain thriller it would've been far too slow paced and boring. It was definitely my first H�eg novel. I had such high hopes for the novel and was kind of disappointed in it at the end, I'm not really sure if I feel like reading anything by him in the future. To be quite honest I cannot see why this book has been such a success, I might have not finished it if it hadn't been for this reading circle (and the 1001 Books challenge).

 

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

I definitely struggled with all the different see, ice and ship jargon, and I struggled with remembering some of the characters. The names weren't the problem but rather the fact that there were so many of the characters mixed here and there. The ending was incredibly odd and I cannot even say for sure that I understood what it meant. For me, some of the story almost read like a fantasy novel.

 

5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

 

In the beginning it was very enjoyable. The further the story went, the more I started to think it isn't a straight forward story at all and I would have to pay really close attention to everything. The ending, like I've already said, was really odd, like it had been cut short because the author didn't know how to end it better. I have to admit I was really annoyed to read the last 100 pages or so, I just felt like I had no idea where anything or anyone was going and things weren't explained so they would've made sense to the reader (the blonde that is me).

 

One of the things I enjoyed in this novel was that the city of Odense was mentioned, I spent one month there during the summer 2006. I've also been to Copenhagen a couple of times and it was so nice to think that I've been to some of the places, for example the Tivoli. The street names were also delightful because I could translate some of them to Finnish. And I enjoyed it when the cook of the ship spoke German, it's so weird to notice how much I remember from my highschool German classes which was well over 10 years ago.

[vodkafan]

I finished the book late last night. OK bring on the questions!

 

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

I liked Smilla herself, The way the author revealed bits of her slowly. Although her character in my opinion was very unreal and seemed to have lot of contradictions . For instance, she had a sharp sense of humour and came up with snappy one liners. To develop that you have to be around people a lot, yet she was a loner.

Also, with her Eskimo upbringing I would have thought she would not have a liking for cosmetics, yet she made a point of putting make up on many times in the book.

She was helped by a lot of sympathetic characters in the story. Ravn, Elsa Lubing.

Verlaine was nasty and dangerous. Because Tork came into the story so late, he never seemed real to me, he was like a James Bond super villain.

I didn't like the kid Isiah. He was a weirdo kid.

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

The early chapters were better. After Smilla got on the boat she seemed to become a sort of "Jane Bond" character with almost supernatural skills of fighting and sneaking about. I had to keep reading to find out what the mysterious prize Tork was after. The author handled that well, the thing was unusual and grand in scope. The bits highlighting the differences between the cultures was interesting, that stuff always is.

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

First by this author. Believe it or not, this was my first ever murder mystery! But half way through it turned into more of a sci-fi novel. It straddles a few genres I think.

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

I was OK with all the science bits until page 226, where the author writes something I know is completely ludicrous.

He states that the mechanic had his wrists and ankles cut into by his dry suit because of "suit squeeze" which left him badly scarred. This was at a depth of only 12 metres. The author states correctly that every 10 metres underwater is another BAR (atmosphere) of pressure. But I used to be a commercial diver. I regularly dived below 30m (3 BAR), and a neoprene dry suit even when squeezing you at that pressure will NOT cut your wrists and ankles. (hurts your testicles a bit though if your suit is not tailor made) Neoprene is soft rubber. It is rubbish. Saturation divers (who breathe Helium) work at much greater depths and pressures on the ocean floor. How come they still have their hands and feet?

So this careless slip ruined it a little for me and I began to wonder if all the ice science was made up rubbish too.

 

5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

Yes.

[Kylie]

Thanks everyone for your comments so far! I'll quickly post my own answers and then I'll discuss a few interesting points that I picked up from other answers.

 

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

Smilla, I guess. Although she was also my least favourite character (I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book). She was strong and determined in many ways, but I didn't get why she went to the lengths she did.

 

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

Again, I have conflicting feelings. Some of the parts on the boat were very interesting, but only when things were actually happening and the plot was moving along.

 

The rest of the boat stuff was incredibly boring and I really had to force my way through it. I feel like every single inch of that huge ship was described to me in way too much detail. What Hoeg described in a couple of hundred pages could have been better said in two, I think. And a lot of Smilla's exploring seemed to lead nowhere, so I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary padding.

 

OK, I was going to add more but there's too many things to rant about here. I'll post the rest below.

 

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

Yes, this is the first book I've read by Hoeg, and I doubt I'll be reading any more.

 

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

Well, I was pretty much blindly believing all the sciencey parts of the book until I read Vodkafan's comments above. Then I started to doubt everything in the book. I would like to think the parts about the ice are accurate, but who knows? I'm glad I also Googled the Arctic Worm. I had been thinking it was real.

 

5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

Not particularly. I found it really hard to get into; I can't even put my finger on why. But every time I put the book down I struggled to pick it up again. I think my attitude didn't help.

[Kylie]

Here are (some of) the rest of the problems I had with this book:

 

I had a lot of trouble keeping the characters sorted in my mind. By the time I got near the end and something (presumably important) was revealed about Ravn, I had completely forgotten who he was and what connection he had with the story, so the news didn't interest me in the least. It certainly didn't seem to warrant putting herself and her 'friend' in so much danger in order to make that phone call from the ship!

 

And for goodness' sake! There was a part where Smilla was creeping around the boat and checking every nook and cranny before she made the tiniest move. Then when she got to her destination she just strolled inside the room and closed the door behind her before turning on the light. What a stupid thing to do! I couldn't believe it!

 

And I just don't get why everyone was so willing to help her when they had no idea who she was. She didn't seem important enough for anyone to bother helping by sharing such dangerous knowledge, but they all did it!

 

And why did she

follow Tork onto the ice at the end? She knew he was expecting her and wanted to kill her but she calmly went along with it and followed him and chatted to him like an old buddy.

 

 

Smilla came across as being really anti-social and quite a loner and yet we learn from her background that she worked in close-knit teams in many different jobs. She had a character that seems completely different to what we know. She was such a contradictory character that it made it difficult to really know her.

 

One of the problems I had with the style of the story was the seeming lack of emotion in the narrative. One minute she's calmly and dispassionately describing a near-death experience, and then she follows it up with 'I've never been so scared in my entire life'. Until she says that, I've been completely unaware (despite the circumstances she's found herself in) that she is feeling anything at all. By the time the above line comes along to help me out it seems completely ridiculous.

 

Geez, I didn't realise I had so many problems with the book. I'm going to go and revise my rating down to 4/10.

[vodkafan]

Your comments are interesting Kylie. Yes you are totally right about that phone call! For all the good it did she might as well have phoned for a hairdresser's appointment. And the Arctic Worm was not even real either? Bah

[Kylie]

Apparently it's one of those mythical supernatural creatures. It made an appearance in The X-Files once, according to Wikipedia. I was pretty disappointed to find out it wasn't real (but also kind of relieved!)

[Kylie]

OK, on to the discussion group questions that I've borrowed from readingguides.com.

 

1. "It's hard to figure out what genre this dense and tantalizing story belongs to--is it a murder mystery, science fiction, morality tale, or an intricately plotted adventure wrapped in a carapace of technical information, a la Tom Clancy?" --Partisan Review

 

How would you classify Smilla's Sense of Snow? What elements of the book fit into the conventions of the genres named above? Does the book include elements of any other genres? Discuss other books you feel are comparable to Smilla's Sense of Snow.

[Cookie]

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

 

I really liked the boy, Isaiah (sp?) although you never actually meet him.

I also like the Mechanic until you find out he was working for them. I thought he seemed like the strong silent type but I didn�t think he was stupid.

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

 

I really like the snow science and I really hope it was real and not just made up. I also liked (at least for the first half of the book) the style of writing and the calm and disconnected way Smilla described all that happened to her.

I didn�t really like the scenes on the boat. I don�t know anything about them and I just couldn�t picture it although it was described in such great detail.

I felt that after a good start the book just didn�t sustain its momentum.

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

 

This is the first book I�ve read by the author and I don�t think I will be reading any more.

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

 

I really struggled with the German, as I don�t speak it I had no idea what the cook was saying!

5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

The first half was enjoyable, the second half not so much.

[Ooshie]

Goodness, that's a hard one, Kylie - I definitely feel it has elements of all of those! An intricately plotted adventure wrapped in a carapace of technical information, a la Tom Clancy, presented as a fable, maybe?

 

I can't think offhand of any other books that I feel are comparable to Smilla, but will be very interested to see if others have come across more books like that as I would like to read them

[vodkafan]

I had to think about this question a while before answering. I really can't remember any other book that was quite like this one. However, I don't think that is a good thing. Looking back on it, more and more I feel that the plot was not credible, none of the characters seemed real, and the ending was poor.

It was not a good book.

[chrysalis_stage]

I'm about 95 pages into this book and while some moments I enjoy the majority is boring me so far, I do think if I read more I may get into it but I really can't be bothered to right now. There are far too many books on my tbr list I want to read and will take less effort than this book is asking of me right now. I will keep my copy (I got it free) and try and read it in the future when I feel i'm in the mood for this type of read because I don't feel like its a bad book, i'm just not feeling it at the moment.

[Kylie]

It's probably a good idea for you to put it aside if you're not getting into it, Chrysalis. It will likely only get worse for you.

 

Vodkafan, I agree with your comments.

[pontalba]

Only about half way through, and enjoying it so far. I remarked over on the activity thread that she reminds me a bit of Lisabeth Sander, I hadn't seen your post mentioning that Kylie. Smilla is far more interactive with society than Lisabeth, and while she has had a rough time of it, not half as bad as Lisabeth.

 

When I've finished I'll address the questions above, but at this point, I'm liking the mechanic character, he is a total mystery at this point in the book. And I rather like Lander, he is such a contradiction.

 

This is the first one by Hoeg I've read, although I have another one on my TBR stack, only recently acquired, The Quiet Girl.

 

Some of the more introspective bits remind me of Mankell's Wallander character. Or, maybe it's all that darned snow!

[Kylie]

Sorry everyone, I've been a bit lax in keeping the discussion going. Here are a few more questions to finish off the month with (all taken, or at least paraphrased, from readinggroupguides.com).

 

2. How do you feel about a male author writing from the point of view of a woman? How successful was Peter H�eg in portraying the inner life of his heroine, Smilla?

 

3. Is Smilla devoid of feelings or is she merely hiding them? What are the causes of her antisocial behavior?

 

4. Discuss Smilla's relationship with her father. What are the causes of the rift between them? Do you feel he deserves the poor treatment he receives from Smilla? Is there some degree of reconciliation between them in the course of the novel?

[pontalba]

It was my impression that Smilla felt too deeply, and given the upheaval in her early life was afraid to show it, or even admit to feeling any real emotion. I found myself wondering if it was a part of her cultural heritage from her Inuit mother. Although I must bear in mind that the impression Hoeg gives is that the Danish people are on the repressed side as well. [true or false?] Hoeg presented her emotional dilemma accurately, whether for a man or a woman.

 

So, with the independent aspects of her mother, and a perhaps repressive side of her father [whether cultural or personal] combined with the early death of her mother, and her removal from all she'd known, I can certainly understand a certain reluctance on her part to commit, or show any commitment to any human relationship.

 

However, when she was backed up against a wall by the circumstances of the stories events, she knew she could count on her father's support, both financial, and when betrayed by his wife, his help in getting away from the authorities. She admitted to herself that he'd done the best he knew how for her, and truly loved her.

 

 

I found her study of the forms of ice fascinating. She was a brilliant and eccentric woman and I think Hoeg presented her in a reasonable and true fashion. She was not a typical, or even truly feminine woman and I don't think he went overboard in showing her one way or the other.

 

Whilst reading, I found the section on the ship to be a bit long. Perhaps, in retrospect I am changing my mind...I believe it was necessary.

[pontalba]

At the beginning (I'm only 100 or so pages in) Smilla seemed to be gaining access to everyone and everything so easily and I was wondering (still am) just how a civilian could do this. I couldn't work out where she stood in the scheme of things.

 

She wasn't just any civilian, she'd been on many Arctic explorations and evidently her father was an influential person. Although, that wasn't as clear in the beginning of the book.

 

OK, on to the discussion group questions that I've borrowed from readingguides.com.

 

1. "It's hard to figure out what genre this dense and tantalizing story belongs to--is it a murder mystery, science fiction, morality tale, or an intricately plotted adventure wrapped in a carapace of technical information, a la Tom Clancy?" --Partisan Review

 

How would you classify Smilla's Sense of Snow? What elements of the book fit into the conventions of the genres named above? Does the book include elements of any other genres? Discuss other books you feel are comparable to Smilla's Sense of Snow.

 

I don't see any science fiction aspects to it really. The meteor is a fairly common object, yes it's in a God awful place to get to, and Tork seems to have given it all sorts of mythical powers, it did historically as well, but to me that didn't qualify it for sci-fi. As y'all have stated, the "worm" is a sort of urban myth item, not sci-fi [to me].

 

I'd classify it as a literary mystery. The book doesn't strike me as that unusual. The setting makes it different for me, but most depictions of detectives, and Smilla was at heart a detective, show them as loners that buck the system. Her breakdown of the different types of snow, and how to use them to walk across the water certainly showed off her powers of observation.

 

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

 

I really struggled with the German, as I don�t speak it I had no idea what the cook was saying!

 

This is the first I've read by Hoeg, but I have another on the shelf to read.

 

Regarding the German, after the phrases in German, it was paraphrased in English.

[Kylie]

I agree, Pontalba, that calling it sci-fi is a bit of a stretch. I think it leans more towards a thriller, but it's a very mild one in my opinion.

 

As for H�eg's portrayal of a woman, I think he did just fine. I just didn't like Smilla much as a character. Regarding her femininity, that seemed to me to be another contradiction. She wasn't portrayed as being overly feminine, but then careful attention was often given to her brand-name clothing.

 

I think Smilla was a little harsh on her father. He was clearly trying very hard with her but she wasn't giving anything in return, just asking for money and help when she needed it.

[pontalba]

Smilla was certainly harsh on her father, I fully agree. But in her heart of hearts, she knew/felt that he had tried to do his best, and most of all, she knew he loved her, and her mother. The book implied that he loved her because she was a part of her mother more than for herself. In a way that isn't fair because she was such a prickly pear he wasn't given much of a chance to know her.

If she had not been deep down sure of his love, I doubt she'd have gone to him for any sort of help at all. I didn't get the impression that she was only "using" him.

 

The way Hoeg used the eyeliner and good clothes, I got the impression she only used them as a form of defense against the world. She felt she had little enough defense, and used whatever she thought would work on "civilized" people.

 

I think I'll be rereading this book, because I feel I may have missed details along the way.