Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow

This is an unusual crime story set in Copenhagen, Denmark. It caused a sensation when it was published in 1992. The main character Smilla Jaspersen is a half Inuit scientist from Greenland, lonely and homesick in the big city. The death of an Inuit boy pulls her into a complex web of crime exposing Denmark’s complicated relationship with its protectorate Greenland. The title refers to the Inuit people’s understanding of their wintry habitat, and is a reminder of the threat to traditional lifestyles of many indigenous people. A thriller, but so much more. 

Dangerous glaciers, frozen seas, a meteorite hidden in ice, an arctic heritage, and a keen sense of snow that makes our heroine suspect a loved one has been murdered—all serve to create a visceral and beautifully-told suspenseful novel that not only grips but haunts the imagination. But perhaps what I love most about this book—and which inspires me in my own writing—is how its emotionally-challenged heroine simultaneously puts aside and delves into her memories to solve the mystery, reflecting the illogical and complex reality of the power of the past. An icebreaker ship heading to a… show more.

The sudden death of a small boy in the impoverished Greenlandic community in Copenhagen precipitates Smilla’s enquiries into a mysterious network of contacts and undefined interests. Accident or murder? Smilla loved young Isaiah; she needs to know why. Her anger, tenacity, and curiosity lead her inexorably into danger. Love is the route to loss and betrayal. But Smilla is a Greenlander, and she knows all about snow; she can name everything in this frozen world. The closer she gets to home, the more perilous the journey, and the more Smilla knows where she is: “If you haven’t grown up… show more.