Rated of 5
by Helen A challenging but riveting read
Like a spider spinning its web to entice its prey, author Peter Hoeg slowly but adroitly entices readers to suspend their belief in ordinary reality as they enter a world of illusion, mystery, and suspense to join Kasper Krone in his search for the quiet girl.
Bach's music, the mysticism of Gurdjieff, the synchroncities of Jung, the spirituality of the Orthodox Church, and high technology intermingle in this fast-paced novel.
The book begins slowly as the author moves forward and backward in time to develop the characters but quickly springs into high speed action..
Rated of 5
by Amber Exhausting
The premise of this book interested me, but I found it insurmountable in its delivery. I patiently waded through pages and pages - then reread them in the hope that basic elements (such as the plot) would become clear. No such luck. I’m sure there is a set of readers out there for which this book would be an exciting challenge that would yield something beautiful. But there was way too much investment asked for my taste. I couldn’t even follow basic elements of the plot. The coherent threads were too disparate and disjointed.
Rated of 5
by Sylvia Interesting and challenging The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg was hypnotic and mysterious. The beginning is confusing with seemingly unconnected strings of plot and characters and for some readers that may be a deterrent, but if you stick with it, the end will be rewarding. Kasper Krone, the main character is fascinating, unusual, and sympathetic. I would recommend this to readers who have no trouble suspending disbelief , enjoy a bit of the fantastic, and have patience for not understanding everything from the beginning. I found it compelling and interesting.
Rated of 5
by Kathryn A Tough Read
Peter Hoeg's much anticipated fifth novel, The Quiet Girl, was an introduction for me to the author. Unlike many books translated into English, this one seemed to lose clarity in the transition. Although the plot was intriguing, the writers rather quirky writing style and the lack of standard English grammar was distracting to me. It was a tough read to finish. Hoeg fans may celebrate The Quiet Girl. I'm ready to move on to a new author.
Rated of 5
by Marta A Mental Challenge
I usually review books for young adults so sitting down with Peter Hoeg's book was very challenging for me. It takes a lot of focus and mental prowess to read but it was worth it at the end. This is mainly a thriller and the main character is a clown and a brilliant musician who is fixated on the music of Bach. It is set in a very innocent world and explores love and what is real. If you would like a challenging read I recommend this book.
Rated of 5
by Judy Not up to Smilla
I loved Smilla’s Sense of Snow and so started reading The Quiet Girl with great anticipation. I gave it 125 pages and had to stop reading. The story so disjointed and the characters so enigmatic and opaque that I lost all interest. The writing itself is bad (writer or translator?). I hope the editor of this American edition fixes the hundreds of sentence fragments. They don’t work. In most cases, just taking out a few periods and putting the fragments together make perfectly good sentences. This is all too bad. The book has potential. I saw hints of the kind of writing that made Smilla’s Sense of Snow so compelling. For example, this sentence resonated: “When for a moment we let ourselves feel deep, sudden joy or sudden sorrow, reality begins to disintegrate.” Some wonderful insights. Terrible book. (My own sentence fragments!)
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