Don’t Look Back

Don’t Look Back (1996/2002) Karin Fossum translated by Felicity David

I started this book, then put it down, and then picked it back up multiple times.

The book opens with a young girl being picked up by a strange man driving a van, and the idea that this young girl might die was just more than I wanted to deal with.

Then I read the book description, and it talked about the body of a teenager being discovered.

A teenager?

So with that in mind, I read through the first chapter and was relieved to discover that nothing bad at all happens to the young girl.

Eventually, we meet Inspector Sejer of the Norwegian police, who is initially called out in the search for the child, and then called back after the body of the teenager is discovered.

I’ve discovered that I really really like mysteries set in other countries–especially those written by non-English speakers. I like the glimpses into places and people that are foreign to me.

“A few times, when she ran past, i stopped her and shook my finger. I told her: You’re running way from your own soul. That made her laugh. I told her: I will teach you to meditate instead. Running along the streets is a clumsy way to find peace. That made her laugh even more. and then she’d set off around the corner.”

And, despite all the murders and stuff, these mysteries make me want to visit these places.

If only I didn’t need air travel to get there.

As far as the mystery, once I discovered that the child was NOT killed, I quite enjoyed the story, and I really liked Inspector Sejer.

Sejer’s first impulse was to rush forward and left him up, roaring out his great joy in a jubilant voice. That’s the way all children ought to be greeted, with genuine, exuberant joy.

That’s is just a marvelous passage.

So I quite enjoyed this book and am very glad that I stocked up on these when they went on sale for the kindle.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

 
 

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