BOOK 190: THE SNOWMAN: JO NESBØ

BOOK 190: THE SNOWMAN: JO NESBØ

The Snowman (Norwegian: Snømannen, 2007) is a novel by Norwegian crime-writer Jo Nesbø. It is the seventh entry in his Harry Holeseries.

The book was adapted into a film. The film was released in the UK on 13 October 2017. Unlike the novel, the film was poorly received by critics.

MY VERDICT: I enjoyed the book. It’s always hard to tell whether a book is written well when you’re reading a translation so I won’t comment on this but I did feel that the narrative was a little disjointed. It could have been written much clearer with much more suspense. The whole idea behind the murders and the investigation was interesting though, the book kept my attention. 

I did however guess who the killer was pretty early on, which is very rare for me (although I am getting better), I don’t know if that’s a mark against the book or not?

PODCAST: DEATH IN ICE VALLEY

PODCAST: DEATH IN ICE VALLEY

An unidentified body. Who was she? Why hasn’t she been missed? A BBC World Service and NRK original podcast, investigating a mystery unsolved for almost half a century.

MY VERDICT: The above information is all the background you’re given before you start to listen to this well made documentary podcast. And it’s intriguing, which sets the tone for the mystery and the series. A woman is found dead and burnt in the remote valley near Bergen in Norway. No one knows who she is, no one knows where she came from, no one has reported her missing and all the labels are missing from her clothes.

I’d heard of this mystery a long time ago but didn’t research it at all as I was under the impression that there wasn’t much to know – nothing had been discovered in all the years since her death in 1970.  That was until this podcast from the BBC and NRK started digging.

Not only are the facts fascinating, and the investigating is amazingly well done, but I think one of the best aspects of this podcast is the style. The moody rain-scapes are atmospheric and perfect for setting the tone. The differences between the presenters are one of things that I find most interesting. The English man from the BBC, Neil McCarthy, is an outsider and a pragmatist with typical English pessimism while Marit Higraff, the presenter from NRK is forever optimistic and tells such a compelling background to McCathy and us, the listeners.  

Some information is held back, it doesn’t speculate madly (like the internet) and facts or information is given to us clue by clue, but it’s a testament to a well-made podcast and great storytelling rather than to give a biased opinion. 

There’s a great website to accompany this https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p060ms2h

I would recommend to listen to the podcast first and then look at all the notes. And then maybe look at all other crazy internet theories afterwards.

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FILM 1586: TROLL HUNTER

TRIVIA: The film contains several references to old Scandinavian folklore. For example, the goats on a bridge and a troll under it are a reference to the "Three Billy Goats Gruff". At one point Thomas mentions an eating competition, a reference to the story "Askeladden".

The movie contains several characters played by Norwegian comedians: Otto Jespersen (the troll hunter), Knut Nærum (the power plant supervisor), Robert Stoltenberg (the Polish bear supplier), and Hans Morten Hansen (Finn, the troll hunter's boss) are all high profile comedians.

Film 1072: Headhunters

Trivia:  Casting for the twin police officers Monsen proved particularly difficult because the twins had to weigh over 220lbs and be identical. Lars Skramstad Johnsen and Gunnar Skramstad Johnsen fit the bill.

Summit Entertainment bought the rights to produce an American remake of this film, even before its initial release.

Upon its release, the film has been sold to over 50 countries - a record for any Norwegian film.

The film features several references and tributes to Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy. Diana watches the second film from the trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009), on TV the night Roger comes home late. Also, aerial shots from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) were used to fill in some missing scenes. One of the clips features a car driving over a bridge. The car from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) was digitally replaced with the car Roger Brown drives in this film.