My Favourite Book in Ages

Miller is a stunning writer. Characters beautiful, thoughtful, hilarious. And to be able to wrap a genuinely exciting thriller plot around these spectacular characters and beautiful, heartbreaking writing and story telling is genius. Please listen to this book - I think everyone would love it, laugh out loud, be moved and ache to know what happens next. Love, love, love this.

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Gripping story with an unexpected ending

What made the experience of listening to Norwegian by Night the most enjoyable?

The story contains so many different elements - crime, religion and cultural background, flashbacks, sadness, love, humour. It is a real "page-turner", or whatever the audio equivalent of that is. It is easy to take sides for or against the various lead characters, and almost live their stories with them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sheldon - a man in a foreign country, suspected of losing his mind, not blessed with a great deal of tact, but still determined to see right prevail.

Did Sean Mangan do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Some of the characters were easy to distinguish, but others were harder to separate either from other characters or the narrator's 'normal' no-character voice. I felt some of the narrative could have done with a more gentle delivery - rather a lot of the narration is spoken in the same rhythm and spacing (and audible breathing) as Sheldon's character.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many of the moments when Sheldon and the boy are doing illegal or just silly things together, but the first 'wet' moment in the cupboard is especially moving.

Any additional comments?

The ending seems a bit sudden, and as other reviewers have said, leaves you slightly unsatisfied, but after a while you sort of understand why it finishes like it does. This is a superb book, and as someone with some experience of Norway, I found the places and the people (and their outlook on life) were accurately brought to life through the story. A disturbing listen in places, but well worth it.

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1 person found this helpful

brilliantly read

great story and wonderful reader - seamlessly flow’s engaging - don’t know why the review box makes me write 15 word minimum really annoying am writing just to fill that requirement because there is nothing more i wanted to say!!

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You will make excuses to keep listening.

What did you like most about Norwegian by Night?

The main character.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, his depth. I loved him.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Several.

Any additional comments?

The ending was a disappointment at first. I was a bit underwhelmed. However, with hindsight I was actually delighted with it. The story took my hand, led me down the garden path and then slammed the gate in my face.

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4 people found this helpful

The book is acceptable but the END.....

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The end! The book ends with a number of unanswered questions and improbable (if not impossible) events.

Would you recommend Norwegian by Night to your friends? Why or why not?

No, it is a book that doesn't give anything to the reader/listener. It is not a bad experience to listen to it, but after doing that you ask yourself: what was the point?

Have you listened to any of Sean Mangan’s other performances? How does this one compare?

It was my first book and probably the last.

Could you see Norwegian by Night being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

It could be a movie because there is some action here and there, as well as a number of interesting flashbacks. But it will not be an Oscar winner. Clint Eastwood could perform as Sheldon.

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A multi-layered story - dark, tender and comic

This is confusing to start with but well worth persevering. It asks a lot of the reader but it gives back in abundance. All life's vast questions are here but woven into a story of such wit and wisdom, shot through with compassion and kindness, that it lingers and haunts the mind. Narration makes or breaks audio books for me. This one is beautifully narrated.

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Intriguing

I really enjoyed this well written story, and as an aside learning lots about Norway during the read. I liked not second guessing the plot though it's a straight forward thriller but with flash backs to the Vietnam and Korean wars and Sarajevo. I really enjoyed the old man, whose body and mind are failing him, our tainted hero. The narrative arc from Norway to America, during a chase through Norwegian countryside, is not forced. The characters are well fleshed and I enjoyed the reveals throughout the novel creating even more fully established characterisations. This is not your usual thriller, this has more depth and for a first novel, which I believe it is, it is really rather good.

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9 people found this helpful

An excellent, thought provoking book

I probably did it the wrong way round but I actually came to this book having first listened to American By Day by the same author so it was nice to get an introduction to Sigrid here. The narrator did a great job of bringing the main character to life and I was never less than captivated all the way through. Great ending as well, leaving you to finish the story in your own way.

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Captivating on all fronts

Sheldon Horowitz, a Jewish American veteran of the Korean war, lives a tranquil life in the company of his grand-daughter Rhea and her Norwegian husband, Lars. Quiet Oslo, into which he has been absorbed, distant from his traumatic past. [Every now and again we hear mention of the Literaturhuset - a great place to spend hours poring over books (English and Norwegian), hearing a talk or sharing a coffee if you ever ARE in Oslo].

Sheldon, much loved and ageing, is still traumatised by his own war experience and the loss of his son in the Vietnam war. He is constantly struck by what it means to be a Jew in a country which barely knows his people, and in many ways denied complicity with the Nazi occupation and the extermination of more than a third of the tiny Jewish population of just over 2000 people. Sheldon is difficult, obstinate, good humoured and lovable - not necessarily all at the same time...

Their lives are intersected by another divided and traumatised group - both victims and perpetrators among them - Albanian Kosovars, Serbs and others from former Yugoslavia taken into Norway as refugees. Gender, divided loyalties, crime, prior roles and massacres in an ethnic war, influence their violent interactions.

The third group of actors are the Norwegians themselves, represented by sensible but somewhat boring Lars; Sigrid the police commander succesfully breaking the glass ceiling yet still dependant on her father for advice and her not very able male colleagues; and a bunch of simple-minded and ineffectual recreational hunters.

Sigrid is faced with solving a murder, finding and rescuing a young boy, and interpreting Sheldon's behaviour - noble, at times misplaced, and always programmed by memory, experience, trauma and guilt.

Sheldon is always at the centre of this simultaneously incredible but credible story. A delightful book, full of surprises, wit, and wise asides.

A great story, beautifully told, enthralling and inspiring.

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5 people found this helpful

Excellent, deep and full of suspense

Wonderful story that combines well elements of character, story and historical events.
The story follows an old Jewish American man who recently moved to Norway and his subsequent involvement with "evil".
I enjoyed the flashbacks, the grumpy but lucid and eloquent voice of the old man as well as the fast moving plot. In fact, once I started reading this, I could do little else until I had heard the whole book!
It was time well spent!

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2 people found this helpful