QUIET GIRL

Loved Hoeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow but after trying his other books, I realized the translator of Smilla deserved equal credit for its brillance.

I have no idea what was happening in this book. The real should've been somehow distinguished from his imaginings (or hearings?) by italics or something. very confounding, confusing. I guess I'm not up to this esoteric kind of book.

With a protagonist, Kasper Krone, who has the ability to hear sound in amazing detail (he can even discern your inner character!), I began the book with high hopes. And the plot seemed intriguing, too, revolving around a group of children with (seemingly) extrasensory abilities. But before long the tale devolved into a metaphysical mishmash of religious gobbledygook: in his plodding towards salvation Kasper loves tossing out obscure religious quotes and facts in even the most awkward of circumstances, which, although initially captivating, becomes extremely tiresome after about the thousandth occurrence. And what's more, the plot seems to veer off-course time and again, and often characters are so poorly sketched that I couldn't keep track of who was whom.

Too long by at least 100 pages. Too cute, by half, with its attempts at religious earnestness. Why the heck did I buy this book?

You have to work way too hard for this book to make sense, and it's not worth it. I really wanted to like the book, after enjoying Smilla so much. But I had to reread the first 100 pages or so three times, with the attention to detail that is normally reserved for parsing arcane federal statutes and regulations for loopholes, in order for the narrative to even make a modicum of sense. Some books reward such effort; this one did not. By the end of the book, I just wanted to make it through so my hours invested in it wouldn't be in vain; I had long since stopped caring about any of the characters or enjoying the story (even though, as a general principle, I am perfectly OK with weirdness, paradigm shifts into sci-fi and fantasy, etc.). What starts as a charming and intriguing plot and cast of characters degenerates into a repetitious series of "Matrix"-like action scenes , while simultaneously (if improbably) getting too precious. The only thing that sustains interest is the book's "acoustic" motif. On the whole, a big disappointment.

If you liked SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW by the same author, you should try this one. While SMILLA uses textures
of ice and snow to enhance the story's descriptive power, THE QUIET GIRL uses sound. It's philosphical and deep
in its observations. But, also funny. If you like Hoeg, don't miss this one.

How can a music-lover not be intrigued with a mystery novel whose opening page ends like this? "They reached the center of the courtyard, and Kasper got his first sense of their musical key. It was D-minor, at its worst. As in Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor. Great fateful pillars of music. Then he recognized the little girl. At that precise moment the silence occurred." On the other hand, if this passage puts you off, be warned; it is typical of the whole.

I called this a mystery novel. Actually, there are at least four layers of mystery here. First, as with any whodunnit, those things that the police must find out: the authors of a crime -- in this case the kidnapping and murder of some small children. Second, those things that the reader must find out: the back-story of the principal character -- a renowned Danish circus clown named Kasper Krone. Kasper is brilliant, but has built up a load of trouble with unpaid gambling debts. He is also still searching for the great love of his life, a woman called Stina, who left him a decade ago after a three-month affair. For the first half of the book at least, the reader spends more time piecing together Kasper's back-story than solving the crime, but it is all essential to Høeg's intricate narrative style.

The third layer of mystery is that of Kasper's genius itself. Judging from this and [[ASIN:0385315147 SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW]], Høeg seems to like building a story around a character with unusual perceptions. In addition to Kasper's extraordinary ability to manipulate audiences as a performer, he is an accomplished violinist and is gifted with abnormal powers of hearing. These enable him, for instance, to place the source of a phone call from the faint sounds in the background. They also give him an uncanny intuition into what people are thinking and feeling by listening to their minds. Music has become his particular reference point and metaphor, especially the works of JS Bach; the musical writing in this book is pervasive and often exceptionally good.

A fourth layer is the mystery of what makes the missing children special. In addition to being unusually bright, they seem to have psychic abilities which verge on the occult. Also floating in the background, and somehow connected with the children, is an unusual group of nuns, an offshoot of the Eastern Orthodox church. The heady mixture that results -- science and religion, action adventure and near-fantasy -- puts me in mind of [[ASIN:0061650730 TROPIC OF NIGHT]] by Michael Gruber, another highly intelligent writer who is sometimes too complex for his own good. In Høeg's case, I went along gladly for the ride, but admit to getting a bit tired when the book seemed to be approaching an end for the third or fourth time, only to strike off in yet another direction.

But one thing that the children do have is the secret of silence. When I first read the passage quoted above, I assumed that this silence was a negative quality, a disruption in the fabric. By the end of the book, I realized that it is what Kasper had been seeking all along, as a respite from the noisy adventures of his own life. As a metaphor for an almost religious vocation, it is not at all bad.

Classic Peter Høeg. As all the pieces are thrown at the reader like strange music, they coalesce into a bittersweet cannon, all pieces end up in place. Thank you Mr. Høeg.

I borrowed the audio version from the public library. The plot description on the back sounded so promising. From the first word, the narrator's voice was excellent. I was looking forward to commentary on circuses, on Denmark, on Bach.

Each individual scene was intruiging and suspenseful. I wanted to know more.

Unfortunately the plot was too jumbled. Normally I really enjoy the start of suspense stories where the reader has to put the pieces together as the author teases us with tidbits of information.

But in this case I was into the second CD and still nothing was coming together. I returned it to the library unfinished, deciding my time could be better spent on other books. The other poor reviews tell me I'm not the only one who felt this way. Maybe we should form a support group...

"The problem with anger at God is it is impossible to go higher in the system to complain." I may be paraphrasing the translation. Love him.

thriller with intellect, passion, love, and a hero, whose passion & profession is making people laugh, SheAlmighthy would be pleased with the learning curve showm by Kasper.

I'm on my second reading of Quiet Girl. From my first reading, two years ago, developed a delayed obsession to own an Lotus Elise. Unfortunately, owning a die-cast model and watching YouTube videos of other people driving their Elises will have to suffice

During my second reading I've had to acquaint myself with the some of the music of Kaspar Krone; and so, discovered Glenn Gould and the Goldberg Variations. For that alone, I am most grateful to Peter Hoeg. Also Chopin's Prelude in A-Minor (beautiful!), Die Kunst der Fuge, the Chaconne, and both serious- and rock versions of Bona Nox (both outstanding!). They're all on YouTube waiting for you.

I can see that for the third reading I'll have to take notes in an attempt to map the chronology of the chapters. I will also spend more time with Google Maps which have great coverage of Copenhagen.

The Quiet Girl is a demanding but endlessly engaging read and well worth the effort.