Reptile Memoirs
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1.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A bestselling Norwegian debut already sold in thirteen territories, Reptile Memoirs is a brilliantly twisty and unusual literary thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbø, Kate Atkinson, and Tana French, asking the question: Can you ever really shed your skin?
Liv has a lot of secrets. For her, home is the picturesque town of Ålesund, perched on a fjord in western Norway. One night, in the early-morning embers of a great party in the basement apartment she shares with two friends, Liv is watching TV, high on weed, and sees a python on an Australian nature show. She becomes obsessed with the idea of buying a snake as a pet. Soon Nero, the baby Burmese python, becomes the apartment's fourth roommate. As Liv bonds with Nero, she feels extremely protective, like a caring mother, and she is struck by a desire that surprises her with its intensity. Finally she is safe.
Thirteen years later, in the nearby town of Kristiansund, Mariam Lind goes on a shopping trip with her eleven-year-old daughter, Iben, who angers her mother by asking for a magazine one too many times. Mariam storms off, leaving Iben in the shop and, expecting her young daughter to find her own way home, heads off on a long calming drive. When she returns home in the evening, her husband is relieved to see her but terrified that Iben isn't also there. Detective Roe Olsvik is assigned to the case of Iben's disappearance; he has just turned sixty and is new to the Kristiansund police department. As he interrogates Mariam, he instantly suspects her—but there is much more to this case and these characters than their outer appearances would suggest.
A biting and constantly shifting tale of family secrets, rebirth, and the legacy of trauma, Reptile Memoirs is a brilliant exploration of the cold-bloodedness of humanity, and the struggle to mend broken lives and families.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ulstein's choppy debut charts the nightmarish connections among two women, an unhinged cop on the verge of retirement, and a tiger python. In 2003, nursing student Liv and her two hard-partying roommates buy the snake and name it Nero, though Liv quickly claims the snake for herself, locking it in her room and growing sexually aroused when feeding it. In 2017, Mariam refuses to buy her 11-year-old daughter, Iben, a comic book, and the girl runs away. Chief Inspector Roe Olsvik, 60, is assigned to the case of Iben's disappearance. He suspects Mariam of foul play, and his investigation soon crosses several ethical boundaries. The trauma of abuse is central to both Liv's and Mariam's stories, with Liv having been assaulted by her older brother growing up, and Iben being the result of a rape that occurred before Mariam was married. Chapters narrated by Nero, who reflects on his snake siblings and at one point does a very bad thing, add an awkwardly fey perspective ("I saw her face. Something was dripping from it—salty drops from her eyes," he recounts of Liv), and psychological intrigue abounds as the parallel narratives gradually coalesce, revealing Olsvik's motivations for stalking Mariam. There are some surprises, as not every character turns out to be who they seem, but the twists largely feel contrived and the result of fortuitous discoveries. Still, the depiction of the characters' pain adds depth to this literary thriller.
