Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg

Smilla’s Sense of Snow is Danish author Peter Hoeg’s third novel, written in 1992. This was made into a thriller movie in 1997 with Julia Ormond in the lead role of Smilla Jasperson. Did you know that Greenland, originally a colony of Demark, is now an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark? I didn’t either. The natives of Greenland, Inuits, have lived in this inhospitable climate since the 13^th century. As a result of Denmark’s involvement, many Inuits have migrated to Denmark where there are not looked on favorably as very rural people in the U.S. have some trouble assimilating into big city life. The story is interesting in it’s exploration of the societies in Denmark and Greenland, about which I knew so little.

This is a murder mystery that begins with the unexplained death of 6-year-old Isaiah, a kid who was terrified of heights, who jumped to his death from the roof of his apartment building. Isaiah’s mother, a full Inuit, was a drunk, and it was not unusual for the child to be left alone. The author wrote, “They say that people drink a lot in Greenland. That is a totally absurd understatement. People drink a colossal amount.” Smilla, who was half Inuit and had moved to Copenhagen at the age of 7 when her mother died, did not buy that this was a suicide, but the police were uninterested in pursuing this matter. With no standing as an investigator, Smilla stirred up trouble with people who wanted to keep the reason for Isaiah’s death a secret. The investigation took her into secret corporate files and an investigation into Danish expeditions that had occurred in Greenland.

I was past the 50% mark of this book when I chose not to read it further. The story line, at least for me, just bogged down and I lost interest. I found myself not being so interested in Smilla’s character and those characters with whom she interacted. Still, the premise of this book is a good one.

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