Norwegian by Night (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
Sheldon Horowitz is in his
80’s, bereft over the death of his wife, burdened by guilt over his son’s death
in Vietnam, and weighed down by the memories of his service during the Korean
War. Hope of some sort of future comes
with the news his adored granddaughter Rhea is pregnant, a new generation to
carry on the family. Rhea is sure Sheldon is in the beginning stages of
dementia. Reluctant to leave her
grandfather alone in New York City, she persuades him to move to Norway to live
with her. Lars, Rhea’s husband, is kind,
solicitous, and willing to share their flat with the curmudgeonly old
widower. Norway is a whole new world for
Sheldon; he does not find any common community, there are only about a thousand
Jews in the whole country. The placid, easy going Norwegians are a puzzle. Any hope of a relaxed entry into Norwegian
life is shattered when Sheldon gives refuge to their Balkan neighbor and her
young son, hiding from a violent man.
Norway is relatively crime free, in general, but in this specific flat
things are going to get way out of control leaving behind a dead woman and an
octogenarian New York Jew on the lam across an unfamiliar landscape with a
traumatized, silent young child. Segrid, the police officer in charge, finds
herself matching wits with the surprisingly resourceful Sheldon and the Serbian
thug who will surely do him harm in a mad dash across Norway. I liked these characters, Sheldon and Sigrid,
as they each used all of their wiles.
June 2013 Indie Next List
“Sheldon Horowitz, an 80-year-old Korean War veteran, has a touch of dementia and goes to live with his daughter and son-in-law in Norway, where he becomes further disoriented. One day what sounds like violence breaks out in the upstairs apartment and a young boy's life appears to be at risk. Sheldon becomes the boy's protector/abductor, fleeing in disguise through the countryside as exiled Serbian war criminals and Norwegian cops give pursuit and the old man's Marine sniper skills come back to him. A wild, compelling, politically complex, and sometimes funny tale that is a very rich read, this is highly recommended.”
— Richard Howorth, Square Books, Oxford, MS
Description
Crime Writers Association John Creasey Dagger Award winner An ECONOMIST TOP FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A GUARDIAN BEST CRIME AND THRILLER OF THE YEAR
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR
-A soulful, humane, and sparklingly funny novel. Spend some time with Sheldon and company in the Scandinavian wilderness and you just might make peace with your god, your ghosts, and yourself.- -- Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story
Sheldon Horowitz--widowed, impatient, impertinent--has grudgingly agreed to leave New York and move in with his granddaughter, Rhea, and her new husband, Lars, in Norway--a country of blue and ice with one thousand Jews, not one of them a former Marine sniper in the Korean War turned watch repairman. Not until now, anyway.
Home alone one morning, Sheldon witnesses a dispute between the woman who lives upstairs and an aggressive stranger. When events turn dire, Sheldon seizes and shields the neighbor's young son from the violence, and they flee the scene. As Sheldon and the boy look for a safe haven in an alien world, past and present weave together, forcing them ever forward to a wrenching moment of truth.
-This is one of the best books of the season, of any genre.- -- Buffalo News
-Miller joins the ranks of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Jo Nesbo, the holy trinity of Scandinavian crime novelists.- -- Booklist (starred review)
AN INDIE NEXT SELECTION.
