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linatorkelsson's review against another edition
1.0
It did not live up to my expectations at all. I had to give it 150 pages before it started to be the least bit interesting. This book is also written from a first-person perspective without any contemporary conversations and with very long descriptions of completely unimportant things. With that said, it was very slow and drawn out… Would not recommend.
imaginarymeetings's review against another edition
5.0
The theme is eerily up to date: a mass shooting, with only one surviving suspect since the other shooter is dead. Is she guilty? What exactly happened before she was arrested amongst all the dead bodies? The scenario takes place in a high school filled with privileged kids, one of them is Sebastian who is the richest and most famous of them all. He is also the dead shooter. The other shooter, Maja, was his on-and-off girlfriend. This is more than just a simple whodunnit thriller. It is a story about getting hurt where money can't shield you, only crush you more, and a much needed manifesto pointing out the flaws, big and small, that have intoxicated our society.
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It's so refreshing to read a crime novel describing cases far from the forced melodrama, suited heroic lawyers and mandatory grittiness that can be found in so many other books in the same genre. "Störst av allt" by Malin Persson Giolito has been translated into several languages and is the first Swedish novel to get its own Netflix show. Bravo.
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It's so refreshing to read a crime novel describing cases far from the forced melodrama, suited heroic lawyers and mandatory grittiness that can be found in so many other books in the same genre. "Störst av allt" by Malin Persson Giolito has been translated into several languages and is the first Swedish novel to get its own Netflix show. Bravo.
kchisholm's review against another edition
5.0
If ever there was a book that shows that the Best Swedish Crime Novel award needs to be closely followed, QUICKSAND is it. Scandinoir remains one of the big things in worldwide crime fiction, but, as you'd expect, there can sometimes be a little sameness to the sub genre. Which is not intended as criticism, there's only so many subject matters, styles and approaches available when you're writing psychological thrillers or crime fiction. QUICKSAND, on the other hand, has taken an unusual and different approach to a very difficult subject, handling that undertaking with considerable aplomb.
The novel is narrated by teenager Maja Norberg, who is standing trial for a high school shooting in which her best friend, several other students, a teacher and her boyfriend and fellow shooter, Sebastian, were killed. She's been in jail for nine months and seems surprisingly calm and sanguine about the possible outcome. Maja is a most unlikely killer, not because she comes from a privileged and wealthy background, but as she seems to be searching for answers herself.
The storyline switches between past and present seamlessly, always within Maja's viewpoint, going back to when she first met Sebastian, their growing romantic and sexual connection, and simultaneous relationships with her family, his father and her friends. Author Malin Persson Giolito hasn't flinched from making this character a difficult girl to connect with. She's a teenager with attitude and adolescent angst aplenty, contemptuous, judgemental, more often than not frustratingly annoying. Which makes this a discomfortingly realistic portrayal. A young girl beset with doubts and complex emotions, looking down on her parents, her teachers, her surroundings and society in general, reserving any real emotion and affection - not for the boyfriend she can't break away from - but for her baby sister and grandparents.
As the story progresses much about Sebastian and his own background becomes clearer, as does Maja's own involvement. Both of these teenagers have had unexpected difficulties to cope with - subtle and perhaps more "first world" than any problems associated normally with poverty and disadvantage, but nonetheless, there's something bubbling away under the surface of these seemingly perfect lives that isn't right and not good. There's much being said here about that idea of wealth and privilege compensating for bad parenting, unreasonable expectation and disaffection. As you'd expect, as more is revealed, the mental state of, and relationship between, Sebastian and Maja becomes more erratic, controlling and toxic.
But was it toxic enough for her to join him in his murderous plan? Did she know what Sebastian did on that final morning, was she an active participant? Did she incite or did she somehow get caught up in the madness herself? There's plenty of proof to say who shot who in that final scene in the classroom, but not necessarily why or even how. Even Maja is struggling for understanding, whilst in solitary confinement, in consultations with her lawyers and in a courtroom.
QUICKSAND is very clever in the way that it pulls readers in and repulses at the same time. It gives you licence to really dislike the central character, and the freedom to empathise, sympathise and change your mind all at the same time. Everyone is incredibly real - from parents right to the teenagers themselves. And because of that everyone is flawed, and the things that people do allowed to stun, confront, bemuse and annoy. It's finally a lesson in what you see is not always what you get, and right up until the judgement is read in court you'll be unsure how the rest of Maja's life is going to pan out.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-quicksand-malin-persson-giolito
The novel is narrated by teenager Maja Norberg, who is standing trial for a high school shooting in which her best friend, several other students, a teacher and her boyfriend and fellow shooter, Sebastian, were killed. She's been in jail for nine months and seems surprisingly calm and sanguine about the possible outcome. Maja is a most unlikely killer, not because she comes from a privileged and wealthy background, but as she seems to be searching for answers herself.
The storyline switches between past and present seamlessly, always within Maja's viewpoint, going back to when she first met Sebastian, their growing romantic and sexual connection, and simultaneous relationships with her family, his father and her friends. Author Malin Persson Giolito hasn't flinched from making this character a difficult girl to connect with. She's a teenager with attitude and adolescent angst aplenty, contemptuous, judgemental, more often than not frustratingly annoying. Which makes this a discomfortingly realistic portrayal. A young girl beset with doubts and complex emotions, looking down on her parents, her teachers, her surroundings and society in general, reserving any real emotion and affection - not for the boyfriend she can't break away from - but for her baby sister and grandparents.
As the story progresses much about Sebastian and his own background becomes clearer, as does Maja's own involvement. Both of these teenagers have had unexpected difficulties to cope with - subtle and perhaps more "first world" than any problems associated normally with poverty and disadvantage, but nonetheless, there's something bubbling away under the surface of these seemingly perfect lives that isn't right and not good. There's much being said here about that idea of wealth and privilege compensating for bad parenting, unreasonable expectation and disaffection. As you'd expect, as more is revealed, the mental state of, and relationship between, Sebastian and Maja becomes more erratic, controlling and toxic.
But was it toxic enough for her to join him in his murderous plan? Did she know what Sebastian did on that final morning, was she an active participant? Did she incite or did she somehow get caught up in the madness herself? There's plenty of proof to say who shot who in that final scene in the classroom, but not necessarily why or even how. Even Maja is struggling for understanding, whilst in solitary confinement, in consultations with her lawyers and in a courtroom.
QUICKSAND is very clever in the way that it pulls readers in and repulses at the same time. It gives you licence to really dislike the central character, and the freedom to empathise, sympathise and change your mind all at the same time. Everyone is incredibly real - from parents right to the teenagers themselves. And because of that everyone is flawed, and the things that people do allowed to stun, confront, bemuse and annoy. It's finally a lesson in what you see is not always what you get, and right up until the judgement is read in court you'll be unsure how the rest of Maja's life is going to pan out.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-quicksand-malin-persson-giolito
librarianinthelou's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 I don't know. I think it dragged on a little too much for me. Maybe I'm tried of reading about teenagers who do stupid things and go on and on about their lives. Maybe it was just too heavy for me right now. Interesting plot. Felt like unnecessary scenes and chapters at times. Sort of felt like the author was going for that shock factor with teenage drug use, sex, etc. I don't know. Enjoyed it at the beginning but was ready for it to be over at the end.
lykkerol's review against another edition
challenging
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tessessay's review against another edition
4.0
Skrämmande bra bok om Maja, som står anklagad för att ha skjutit ihjäl lärare och klasskamrater i en skolskjutning på en gymnasieskola i Stockholm. Läsaren följer både rättegången och tiden fram till vansinnesdådet, men hur skyldig är Maja, och hur kommer det sig att en välordnad flicka från Djursholm mejar ner sin pojkvän och sin bästa vännina?
Det här är en bok som jag tror att jag kommer tänka tillbaka på många gånger. Det är en sådan berättelse som griper tag och som växer även efter att läsningen är slut. Boken börjar med att Maja står i ett klassrum tillsammans med blödande klasskamrater och sin lärare, och jag avslutade med att höra om första avsnittet igen, då med hela skildringen i bakhuvudet. En riktigt, riktigt bra bok.
Det här är en bok som jag tror att jag kommer tänka tillbaka på många gånger. Det är en sådan berättelse som griper tag och som växer även efter att läsningen är slut. Boken börjar med att Maja står i ett klassrum tillsammans med blödande klasskamrater och sin lärare, och jag avslutade med att höra om första avsnittet igen, då med hela skildringen i bakhuvudet. En riktigt, riktigt bra bok.
dryan0's review against another edition
2.0
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at https://theblondelikesbooks.wordpress.com
Quicksand was my first Buddy Read of many to come with Sam from Clues and Reviews! so be sure to check out her review of the book, too.
Quicksand is a courtroom thriller about an eighteen year old girl named Maja who is on trial for a shooting at her high school that was completed by her boyfriend. Throughout the book, we'll learn what Maja's role in the shooting was. Did she know about it? Was she part of it? Guilty to innocent, you'll find out before the end of the book!
I was immediately intrigued by this book because of how similar it sounded to Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, which if you've been following my blog or my goodreads, you may recall, I LOVED. The link will take you to my review, so you can see me rave about it if you'd like. Unfortunately, Quicksand fell flat for me.
I will start out by saying that I loved the premise. Given how much I loved Dangerous Girls, I was really excited about the plot. What I found was that hardly any of the book actually took place in the courtroom. Most of it was spent doing flashbacks of times that were before the shooting. While I can appreciate the author's attempt at giving us some insight into the characters who are eventually wrapped up in this major crime, it often felt unnecessary to me. It felt like it wasn't adding anything to what I already knew about the characters, and I found myself wanting to skim those flashbacks because they weren't holding my attention. There are some flashbacks to the time of the shooting, or right before, which I did really enjoy. I think those were perfect for the story, and I loved being able to see the shooting in the past and then fast forward to the future and hear about it again during the trial. That said, there was a ton of talk about the trial but hardly any actual trial happening. I kept waiting for it to happen, but what I kept getting were flashbacks to long before the shooting took place. It left me wanting, but not in a good way.
The other thing I really struggled with was the writing. The sentences felt very choppy, and it felt like the author was trying TOO hard to write the way people talk, using lots of sarcastic words in quotations and run on sentences, but to me it was distracting. I'm trying to be lenient because this book has been translated from its original Swedish, so I'm not sure what was lost in translation and what was the author's writing style.
Last, Quicksand was marketed as a thriller, however I felt like the suspense was lacking for me. Almost all of the characters were really unlikeable, which is okay in some circumstances, but honestly I wasn't on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened.
I really went back and forth on the rating, because the first 70-75% of the book was 2 stars for me, but the last 25-30% I'd say was 3.5 or 4 stars, because the trial finally happened and we were actually getting somewhere. Because I struggled through 3/4 of the book, I'm going to land at 2.5 stars and round down for Goodreads because I had so many issues with it. I'm sorry to say that this wasn't a winner for me. I can't say I'd recommend this book, but if the premise intrigued you, as mentioned above, I'd recommend checking out [b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436] by Abigail Haas.
Thank you to Netgalley, Malin Persson Giolito, and Other Press for an ARC of Quicksand in exchange for an honest review. Quicksand will be published on March 7th, 2017.
Quicksand was my first Buddy Read of many to come with Sam from Clues and Reviews! so be sure to check out her review of the book, too.
Quicksand is a courtroom thriller about an eighteen year old girl named Maja who is on trial for a shooting at her high school that was completed by her boyfriend. Throughout the book, we'll learn what Maja's role in the shooting was. Did she know about it? Was she part of it? Guilty to innocent, you'll find out before the end of the book!
I was immediately intrigued by this book because of how similar it sounded to Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, which if you've been following my blog or my goodreads, you may recall, I LOVED. The link will take you to my review, so you can see me rave about it if you'd like. Unfortunately, Quicksand fell flat for me.
I will start out by saying that I loved the premise. Given how much I loved Dangerous Girls, I was really excited about the plot. What I found was that hardly any of the book actually took place in the courtroom. Most of it was spent doing flashbacks of times that were before the shooting. While I can appreciate the author's attempt at giving us some insight into the characters who are eventually wrapped up in this major crime, it often felt unnecessary to me. It felt like it wasn't adding anything to what I already knew about the characters, and I found myself wanting to skim those flashbacks because they weren't holding my attention. There are some flashbacks to the time of the shooting, or right before, which I did really enjoy. I think those were perfect for the story, and I loved being able to see the shooting in the past and then fast forward to the future and hear about it again during the trial. That said, there was a ton of talk about the trial but hardly any actual trial happening. I kept waiting for it to happen, but what I kept getting were flashbacks to long before the shooting took place. It left me wanting, but not in a good way.
The other thing I really struggled with was the writing. The sentences felt very choppy, and it felt like the author was trying TOO hard to write the way people talk, using lots of sarcastic words in quotations and run on sentences, but to me it was distracting. I'm trying to be lenient because this book has been translated from its original Swedish, so I'm not sure what was lost in translation and what was the author's writing style.
Last, Quicksand was marketed as a thriller, however I felt like the suspense was lacking for me. Almost all of the characters were really unlikeable, which is okay in some circumstances, but honestly I wasn't on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened.
I really went back and forth on the rating, because the first 70-75% of the book was 2 stars for me, but the last 25-30% I'd say was 3.5 or 4 stars, because the trial finally happened and we were actually getting somewhere. Because I struggled through 3/4 of the book, I'm going to land at 2.5 stars and round down for Goodreads because I had so many issues with it. I'm sorry to say that this wasn't a winner for me. I can't say I'd recommend this book, but if the premise intrigued you, as mentioned above, I'd recommend checking out [b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436] by Abigail Haas.
Thank you to Netgalley, Malin Persson Giolito, and Other Press for an ARC of Quicksand in exchange for an honest review. Quicksand will be published on March 7th, 2017.
runnerjules's review against another edition
4.0
"Störst av allt" is het meest recente, doch eerste boek van Malin Persson Giolito dat ik lees, en na lectuur van het boek smaakt het naar meer. De toon en de ernst van het boek worden reeds gezet op de allereerste pagina, waar in slechts enkele paragrafen datgene wordt beschreven waar het hele boek over gaat : twee tieners hebben in een school in Stockholm klasgenoten en een leerkracht neergeschoten. Eén schutter, Sebastian, werd gedood door de andere schutter, zijn vriendinnetje Maja. Zij, een briljante studente uit de gegoede klasse, overleefde het hele gebeuren en staat nu terecht voor moord en aanzetten tot moord. Na negen slopende maanden in voorhechtenis komt haar zaak eindelijk voor de rechtbank, en het zijn die weken in de rechtbank die tot in detail in het boek worden beschreven, de aanklacht, de verdediging, de verhalen van de getuigen.... afgewisseld met sprongen terug in de tijd, waarin Maja ons meeneemt naar haar eigen herinneringen over het gebeurde en vooral, over wat vooraf ging aan het spijtige voorval.
Een spannend boek, met verrassende effecten tot op het einde. De opbouw van het verhaal, waarbij telkens nieuwe elementen naar boven komen naarmate de rechtszaak vordert, doet je beseffen hoe snel je oordeelt, hoe snel je denkt te weten hoe iets in elkaar zit, om dan toch je mening te moeten herzien. Het stemt tot nadenken, want hoe snel oordelen we ook niet in het dagelijkse leven? Een boek doorspekt met zeer actuele thema's, zoals racisme, vluchtelingenpolitiek, kloof tussen arm en rijk enz. Een boek dat ook weergeeft dat de advocatuur een kunst op zich is en dat rechtspraak niet altijd zo zwart-wit is.
Met heel veel plezier en nieuwsgierigheid heb ik het boek gelezen. Enkel de vele herhalingen van verschillende feiten verveelde na enige tijd, wat Persson Giolito haar vijfde ster kost.
Een spannend boek, met verrassende effecten tot op het einde. De opbouw van het verhaal, waarbij telkens nieuwe elementen naar boven komen naarmate de rechtszaak vordert, doet je beseffen hoe snel je oordeelt, hoe snel je denkt te weten hoe iets in elkaar zit, om dan toch je mening te moeten herzien. Het stemt tot nadenken, want hoe snel oordelen we ook niet in het dagelijkse leven? Een boek doorspekt met zeer actuele thema's, zoals racisme, vluchtelingenpolitiek, kloof tussen arm en rijk enz. Een boek dat ook weergeeft dat de advocatuur een kunst op zich is en dat rechtspraak niet altijd zo zwart-wit is.
Met heel veel plezier en nieuwsgierigheid heb ik het boek gelezen. Enkel de vele herhalingen van verschillende feiten verveelde na enige tijd, wat Persson Giolito haar vijfde ster kost.
amypt46's review against another edition
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5