Norwegian by Night
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Norwegian by Night
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Narrated by:
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Sean Mangan
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By:
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Derek B. Miller
About this listen
Sheldon Horowitz - 82 years old, impatient, and unreasonable - is staying with his granddaughter's family in Norway when he disappears with a stranger's child. Sheldon is an ex-Marine, and he feels responsible for his son's death in Vietnam. Recently widowed and bereft, he talks to the ghosts of his past constantly.
To Norway's cops, Sheldon is just an old man who is coming undone at the end of a long and hard life. But Sheldon is clear in his own mind. He'd heard the boy's eastern European mother being murdered, and he's determined to protect the child from the killer and his Balkan gang. With an endearing combination of dexterity and daring, Sheldon manages to elude the police in what is hostile, foreign territory for him. But what he doesn't know is that the police and the gang both know where he's heading.
Norwegian by Night is the last adventure of a man coming to terms with the tragedy of his own life as he tries to save another's. It combines laconic, deadpan humour, moral seriousness, visceral grief, and narrative tensions in a remarkable way - and Sheldon, in particular, is about to become a famous fictional hero.
©2012 Derek B. Miller (P)2013 Bolinda Publishing Pty LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
My Favourite Book in Ages
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What made the experience of listening to Norwegian by Night the most enjoyable?
The story contains so many different elements - crime, religion and cultural background, flashbacks, sadness, love, humour. It is a real "page-turner", or whatever the audio equivalent of that is. It is easy to take sides for or against the various lead characters, and almost live their stories with them.Who was your favorite character and why?
Sheldon - a man in a foreign country, suspected of losing his mind, not blessed with a great deal of tact, but still determined to see right prevail.Did Sean Mangan do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?
Some of the characters were easy to distinguish, but others were harder to separate either from other characters or the narrator's 'normal' no-character voice. I felt some of the narrative could have done with a more gentle delivery - rather a lot of the narration is spoken in the same rhythm and spacing (and audible breathing) as Sheldon's character.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Many of the moments when Sheldon and the boy are doing illegal or just silly things together, but the first 'wet' moment in the cupboard is especially moving.Any additional comments?
The ending seems a bit sudden, and as other reviewers have said, leaves you slightly unsatisfied, but after a while you sort of understand why it finishes like it does. This is a superb book, and as someone with some experience of Norway, I found the places and the people (and their outlook on life) were accurately brought to life through the story. A disturbing listen in places, but well worth it.Gripping story with an unexpected ending
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brilliantly read
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What did you like most about Norwegian by Night?
The main character.Who was your favorite character and why?
The main character, his depth. I loved him.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Several.Any additional comments?
The ending was a disappointment at first. I was a bit underwhelmed. However, with hindsight I was actually delighted with it. The story took my hand, led me down the garden path and then slammed the gate in my face.You will make excuses to keep listening.
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Is there anything you would change about this book?
The end! The book ends with a number of unanswered questions and improbable (if not impossible) events.Would you recommend Norwegian by Night to your friends? Why or why not?
No, it is a book that doesn't give anything to the reader/listener. It is not a bad experience to listen to it, but after doing that you ask yourself: what was the point?Have you listened to any of Sean Mangan’s other performances? How does this one compare?
It was my first book and probably the last.Could you see Norwegian by Night being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
It could be a movie because there is some action here and there, as well as a number of interesting flashbacks. But it will not be an Oscar winner. Clint Eastwood could perform as Sheldon.The book is acceptable but the END.....
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A multi-layered story - dark, tender and comic
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Intriguing
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An excellent, thought provoking book
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Sheldon, much loved and ageing, is still traumatised by his own war experience and the loss of his son in the Vietnam war. He is constantly struck by what it means to be a Jew in a country which barely knows his people, and in many ways denied complicity with the Nazi occupation and the extermination of more than a third of the tiny Jewish population of just over 2000 people. Sheldon is difficult, obstinate, good humoured and lovable - not necessarily all at the same time...
Their lives are intersected by another divided and traumatised group - both victims and perpetrators among them - Albanian Kosovars, Serbs and others from former Yugoslavia taken into Norway as refugees. Gender, divided loyalties, crime, prior roles and massacres in an ethnic war, influence their violent interactions.
The third group of actors are the Norwegians themselves, represented by sensible but somewhat boring Lars; Sigrid the police commander succesfully breaking the glass ceiling yet still dependant on her father for advice and her not very able male colleagues; and a bunch of simple-minded and ineffectual recreational hunters.
Sigrid is faced with solving a murder, finding and rescuing a young boy, and interpreting Sheldon's behaviour - noble, at times misplaced, and always programmed by memory, experience, trauma and guilt.
Sheldon is always at the centre of this simultaneously incredible but credible story. A delightful book, full of surprises, wit, and wise asides.
A great story, beautifully told, enthralling and inspiring.
Captivating on all fronts
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The story follows an old Jewish American man who recently moved to Norway and his subsequent involvement with "evil".
I enjoyed the flashbacks, the grumpy but lucid and eloquent voice of the old man as well as the fast moving plot. In fact, once I started reading this, I could do little else until I had heard the whole book!
It was time well spent!
Excellent, deep and full of suspense
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