It's kind of sad to call something your favorite book and only have read it once, but it really did take me a long time to read, and it was very good.
Translated from Danish, Smilla's Sense of Snow, which I finally saw the motion picture of today, is a thriller, for lack of a better word. The better word would mean something about deep philosophical and emotional insight. To put it plainly, a very very emo book. Besides that, it has one of the most interesting plots I ever read/saw, has many thrilling moments, all told through the unfolding mystery made by a half Greenlandic-half Danish scientist and mathematician with a hard exterior. A boy dies who she had a bond with despite her social isolation, and she has a compulsion to uncover why he has died, with the idea that is was not an accident.
I found the movie not nearly as good as the book, no surprises there. It is the same complaint of every novel that has been changed into a movie. The entire reason I liked the book, the deep inner monologue and desolate scenes had been lost with the movie, only displaying the action and sex. More importantly, not nearly showing how much she despised everyone, and how harsh she was. One of the first pieces of dialogue she made in the book was "Beat it you little shit." Her eyes showed just a bit too much compassion and fear for my taste in the movie. Not to say she wasn't a wonderful actor, she had the right idea, but I really think she should have read the book before playing the role.
I highly recommend the book, and if you get confused about the storyline then watch the movie afterward to clear things up.
This quote from the book really taps into her struggle.
"As a child I sometimes dreamed that everybody was dead and had left me behind with the euphoric freedom of choice in an abandoned adult world. I've always thought of it as a pleasent dream. At this moment, on this square, I realize that it has always been a nightmare."
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