50 Books in a Year: Book #15 The Ice Princess

The Ice Princess
Camilla Läckberg

Nordic Crime Fiction
Free Press, March 2011
Trade Paperback, 416 pages
ISBN-10: 1451621744
ISBN-13: 9781451621747
$15.00

          I am a big fan of crime fiction, no really, I am. I love the Lincoln Rhyme novels (the most famous being The Bone Collector), Sherlock Holmes (esp. Hounds of the Baskervilles), and all those Agatha Christie novels. There is a Nordic crime fiction craze, however, that seems to be all the rage nowadays that I just can't seem to get the fever for.  I remember reading and watching Smilla's Sense of Snow, but, there are others out there (and, I'm not even talking about that Stieg Larsson person and his books--books that I will eventually read I promise!), one such person is Camilla Lackberg. Although Lackberg has a whole series of books starring a famous over-worked detective, Patrik Hedström, her books have just recently been translated into English. I think the reason I haven't jumped on the Nordic crime wagon, is that, being an avid reader, I can feel that something is being lost in the translation of a book. In a translation awkward turns of phrase seem to get repeated,  sentences seem choppy and, no matter how good the translation, the flow seems stilted.
        I chose to read this book to see if the translation, by famed Larsson translator Steven T. Murray, would be any different.  It wasn't. Not only do I dislike that something that is missing because of the translation, I also dislike duh duh duh scene enders and there are several in this book. Don't get me wrong I enjoy suspense and I do care what the letter said, I do care what's in the waste basket and I do care what's missing from the bedroom, I just want the fact that the writer already knows something that I'm using clues to figure out myself to be a little less apparent in the clues he/she is giving--I don't need commerical breaks. These plot points made me read the book faster than I would have liked because I wanted to see if I was right in my assumptions and they were so blatant that they got in the way of the plot. But, that doesn't mean the story (if you can get past the hard to pronounce names and places) wasn't any good.
        Although this is Patrik Hedström Book #1, the main character is Erica Falck, a woman whose parents just died, whose sister is in an abusive marriage and whose childhood friend has just been horribly murdered left in her bathtub, a thin layer of ice covering her body. She spends most of her time trying to find out more about her friends life, but there are a couple of side stories (such as her sister and her abusive husband) that I found a little distracting from the main plot. I do like how Läckberg incorporates this present mystery with one from 20 years in the past. I also liked that I jumped ahead to read the ending, but had no clue what was going on because she introduces so many characters and plot points from the beginning to the end. While I like that Erica is the protagonist of the book, I don't understand why Lackberg would give her such a lead role in this book and then name the series after Patrick, as if we are following his life and not hers. I can't wait to read the rest of the series (or at least the next one) to see how that plays out. I like the idea of Ericka as a strong female role who has issues, but doesn't let those issues get in the way of the truth she is seeking. I'll be sad if that doesn't carry through to the rest of the series.
        What I like most about this book is that it is set in a real place. The little town of Fjällbacka, where this, and other Läckberg novels, takes place has a population of about 1,000 people, and is most noted for being a town where Ingrid Bergman lived for a time. This story winds all around the town and Stockholm enough that I felt compelled to research the town (the map in the book wasn't really detailed enough) to see points of interest including the famed Bergman square.
         I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced crime drama with a few twist and turns and doesn't mind that something has gotten lost in its translation.

3 1/2 (too many little flaws to make it a 4, although this book is an excellent plane read)

Websites of Interest
Camilla's Top Ten Swedish Crime Novels
On Good Reads
Official Website
Top 100 Crime Novels According to Wikipedia
Fjällbacka

I received this book for free for review from Free Press Blog Tours.

50 Books in a Year: Book #9 The Story of Stuff

         

Full Title

The Story of Stuff: The Impact of Overconsumption on the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health--And How We Can Make It Better  Annie Leonard

          I am a consumer. As I look around my living room, I see our extra ginormous TV, our DVDs, CDs, stereo equipment, dolls and other toys, and furniture, I wonder when I became such a collector of stuff.

          I decided to read this book (a free book from Free Press Blog Tours) from Simon and Schuster because I wanted to know what effect my consumption had on the world, I was not truly prepared for what I found out.

          This book (like the original video above) comes in five parts or chapters: Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption and Disposal. By the end of the first chapter I was feeling a little guilty about my meager shopping habits, my cheap t-shirts, my part in the oil wars in Nigeria--ie. my Nissan Sentra, miner and worker exploitation in foreign countries, the gold in my PS3 and the diamonds in my wedding ring. By the end of the second chapter I was feeling angry at Annie Leonard for bringing to light what happens because of my consumption...I love my wedding ring and my t-shirts and my computer, TV and electronics and don't even get me started on Disney. By the end of the book I vowed to do what I can to make the linear consumption graphic a closed loop.

          I found myself talking about this book to anyone who would listen. At lunch we talked about what our love of meat does to the environment and I brought up coffee (chapter one of the book) and t-shirts (throughout the book). We talked about it while grocery shopping (alumium cans are everywhere, people, really!). I struck up conversations with the kids who pumped by gas, checked my stuff out at Wal-Mart and came into my classrooms. I learned about the make-up of my make-up...thank goodness I don't wear much. I learned that Big Business and the government would prefer that I just buy, buy, buy without thinking of myself or others. I learned that in the 1950s, when we consumed less and led simplier lives, we were a happier nation...the data does not lie.
          However, there is hope. I like that at the end of every section Leonard takes time to tell each of us what we can do to not only create a greener environment that is sustainable, but to simplify our lives. I took Laclede county's pollution report card here and learned that we are the top 20% dirtiest counties in the US, I'm not surprised, we have a lot of factories. I learned that when buying diamonds (rocks I still love!) I can ask the jeweler questions provided from the diamond buying guide created by Amnesty International and Global Witness to make sure I am not buying blood or conflict diamonds. And, as for my t-shirts...I've learned I'm doing the right thing when I wear t-shirts from high school, wear your t-shirts until they wear down and then when you can't wear them anymore turn them into rags or a quilt. I've learned that I can be a responsible consumer and help write a new story about the history of stuff.

          Simply put, this book, while intense, is good and will change your life if you allow it to.

Oh and I forgot (today is Word of the Week Tuesday), instead of one word I have three:

Grey water: the act of filtering and reusing water to be used again.

Perceived Obsolescence: to 'perceive' an item as broken or obsolete because of taste or fashion manipulated by 'corporate decision makers, industrial designers, economic planners, and advertising men actively, strategically' promoting the next new idea or trend.
Toxics Release Inventory: 'a database of information about toxic chemicals releases, both via air and in waste.'

Have a blessed and lovely day!