Smilla's sense of snow by Peter Hoeg

After finishing the third book of the millennium trilogy I found myself bereft of Scandinavian literature. With Salander Larsson has written one of the most mesmerizing fictional characters. In Smilla Jasperson I believe I have finally found her match.
Smilla in her own way is as unique and as intriguing and tough as nails as Salander. She is a loner, a world renowned glaciologist, an heiress, a admirer of Newton, an anarchist, a rebellious daughter, an immigrant, an outcast by choice, sometimes unlikable but always a very stubborn and fascinating heroine. The book starts off with the death of Isaiah, the child of a neighbor. Isaiah was someone she knew and loved. It was someone who pushed his way into her life and she let him in even though she liked to be alone. He was someone who understood her and she had very few people like that in her life. The police determines the cause of death to be an accident. However, Smilla with her understanding of snow and ice discovers clues that say otherwise. Her search for answers leads her to a complex corporate conspiracy. In telling the story of her search for truth and justice Hoeg explores the history of Greenland and Denmark and its affects on the population of both countries. Smilla with a foot in both cultures - her father is Danish and mother is Greenlandic Inuit - is the perfect character for that as she pushes beyond her physical and mental limits.
While both books share certain themes Smilla is a much more introspective and philosophical character than Salander. Her pondering about life, post-colonial culture, ice, and Europe provide a weight to the narrative that left more of a mark on me than the millennium books. For me, Smilla is a thinking man's/woman's Salander and while some might find that boring, I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story. I am not at all surprised it was Time Magazine's book of the year. Hoeg's prose brings to the fore the beauty of snow and ice covered landscapes of Scandinavia. I expected the unresolved ending as it only adds to the story. This is not a book to have a HEA ending or a villain at the end that most mysteries are known to produce. It resonates more as a piece of literature because it is much more than mystery. The mystery aspect only serves as a vehicle to explore the other themes of loss, identity, love, culture, colonialism and society of today surrounding the caustic and complex character of Smilla Jasperson.