Thomas Andrikus > Recent Status Updates

Page 230-2 of this novel contains some of the best philosophical musings I’ve seen for the last several novels I’ve read!

Forgot to mention that every character in this novel seem to have their own distinctive scent based on mood... It’s as if you could smell what they are feeling on a particular time

Johanna Sinisalo is such a talented writer. I’m saddened by the fact that I’m getting closer to the end of this novel...it is very well-writ

The Finland of this novel has an unhealthy obsession with capsaicin, kinda like North Korea’a obsession with the Kims hahaha

Finding chili dealers in this dystopian version of Finland is like finding drug dealers in this world!

I finally understand what the Cellar refers to! This is a unique dystopian novel

This is a very unusual story. I hadn’t expected the character of Olav the hitman to turn out to have a...moral compass. Deep inside, the guy turns out to be a decent one!

Oh no. Is this guy gonna fall in love with the intended victim again? He’s supposed to kill her! Hahaha the story is somewhat unusual for a mystery novel!

A hitman with a soft heart? Interesting!

Hence it has become hard to fire her, because to Louise and the kids, it’s like exiling a family member. And don’t forget about Louise’s inherited debts from her late husband too. She has become a ticking time-bomb, about to explode anytime soon. All we need now is the detonator.

On p.174-5 is seen one of the crucial clues to the murder that has been building up for the last several chapters: Louise has become indispensable not as a nanny, but as a “third parent” to the kids— with her own irritable ways of doing things due to a difference in culture and economic status.

“[Strange beasts] populate Louise’s landscapes...Where do these stories come from? They emanate from Louise, in a continual flood, without her even thinking about it...” — p.30-1

This seems to be a foreshadowing of Louise’s mindset that is replete with darkness and morbidity.

The reasoning behind Miryam’s reluctance to hire fellow immigrants from North Africa makes complete sense... Sometimes “immigrant solidarity” (as the book calls it on p.18) can be quite vexing. Also, no illegal immigrants because they’d be too afraid to call cops/ambulance (p.5)

Whoa! A fast-forward at the beginning of the novel! Kinda sucks that the suspense is taken away though, because I’d rather not know about this shocking incident, yet...