Rodin does not have a good record. Two books, two misses.
I started out really like the book. I liked the mystery about the boy's death. I liked the relationship between the boy and Smilla and the boy and the mechanic. I though that was going to be the story. Then I realized that this is a thriller and a NYT best seller.
There are a few things that bother me about conventional thrillers. One is the amount of time pope spend having the crap beat out of them, with generally little to no effect on the speed of the plot. Here, once Smilla's beatings started, it was a pretty regular occurrence, though she was still able to continue with the adventure with no issues. It got to the point where I was unable to suspend disbelief for any longer. There was little chance that she could have done half of what she did if she really had the crap beat out of her as described.
Another thing I dislike is how the plot has to get so out of hand after a while because the author has almost backed himself into a corner and can't otherwise find a way out. Really? Aliens?
I really did like the background on Smilla and her life with her mother in Greenland. I would have liked to hear more about her childhood and her interaction with her brother. I liked hear about the different clothes, boots and tools that Greenlanders used as they lived, worked and walked on the ice.
One other thing that really bothered me was the review on the back of the book from People that Hoeg was Hemmingway-esque. No. That is entirely wrong. There was more exposition than Hemmingway would have ever used and the plot was far to complicated to be a Hemmingway story. And there wasn't nearly enough drinking.
Not a very good read, though I did enjoy learning about Greenland and its relationship to Denmark.
4/10
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