The Three Fates of Henrik Nordmark
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Henrik Nordmark is a bald, middle-aged security guard with few friends and no romantic possibilities. Tired of being the weed sprouting out of the wallflower, generic in his generality, Henrik has an epiphany. He will have one moment of inimitable distinction, even if it kills him.
Henrik first sets out to experience the throes of addiction, then to become virtuous, and barring this to be known as a public menace. Inevitably he resolves to find true love and fails miserably. Along his journey, Henrik inadvertently becomes the target of a team of elderly assassins — one blind, one deaf, and the other mute.
Henrik’s counterpart is Roland, a young office worker who, thinking he’s won the lottery, dumps his girlfriend and casts aside his friends. He addresses an email to the company where he works: “Dear Heartless Bastards …” Soon Roland’s entire world — the fictional one he’d built up in his mind — comes crashing down to painful reality.
Henrik’s and Roland’s lives intertwine with that of a young couple, the aptly named Bonnie and Clyde, two formerly star-crossed lovers who have grown to loathe each other. Bonnie and Clyde now have homicidal intent in their hearts, but do they have the cleverness or proficiency to pull off their respective crimes?
The characters’ lives all come together in a crescendo in which Henrik realizes his true purpose on earth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Though rough around the edges, Meades's debut novel is still witty and entertaining. Henrik Nordmark is an ordinary man who strives to be unique in a world where no one seems to notice him. He tries marijuana, speed dating, and even kindness directed at the elderly, all to no avail. Meanwhile, he accidentally interferes with the fates of two lottery players, causing one to end up with the other's winning ticket, inadvertently ruining both of their lives. Added to the mix are a murderous fianc and three elderly assassins who mistake Henrik for their target. Coincidences abound, and all of the characters find themselves involved in each other's lives. It seems that everyone is out to get poor Henrik, who is too wrapped up in his quest for an extraordinary life to notice. Though Meades often tries too hard, the book is full of laugh-out-loud moments. Henrik is ridiculous in his simplicity (suggesting that "their two person department have a Secret Santa program"), and his multiple phobias keep his adventure interesting. A disappointing ending and dated pop-culture references hobble an otherwise amusing book.
