Derek B. Miller
Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller combines the elements of a police thriller; a wild chase; a statement about the enduring psychological wounds of war; Kosovar war criminals on the hunt; a dedicated police inspector; and an unforgettable, cantankerous, delightful central character. The setting is in beautifully scenic Norway. Add to the mix some laugh out loud hilarity, and what you have is a gripping novel that is hard to put down.
The central character is Sheldon (“Donny”) Horowitz, an eighty-two-year-old former marine sniper in the Korean war. Widowed and retired from his watch repair business in Manhattan, Sheldon relocates to Norway to live with his granddaughter and Norwegian husband. He struggles to make sense of his new surroundings.
Alone in the apartment one day, Sheldon hears evidence of a violent argument in the upstairs apartment. He opens his door to find a terrified woman with her young son. Sheldon gives them shelter. While he and the little boy are hiding in the closet, the violent stranger breaks down Sheldon’s front door and strangles the woman. Sheldon escapes with the boy and heads toward the safety of his granddaughter’s summer home in the woods, embarking on his mission with a fierce determination to save the young boy at whatever the cost. He uses his marine training to evade the police and the killers until the final showdown.
As Sheldon makes his way across the Norwegian countryside, he flashes back to his time in Korea and to his son’s death in Vietnam. Plagued with guilt, Sheldon is convinced he is responsible for his son’s death by encouraging him to go to war. He hallucinates, imagining Koreans are chasing after him. He conducts conversations with his former war buddies, his wife, his son, his friends—all of whom are deceased. He talks reassuringly to the little boy, but since the little boy does not understand English, it is a one-way conversation.
The novel’s strength lies primarily in the vivid characterization of Sheldon. He is authentically portrayed as an intelligent, brave, resourceful, and curmudgeonly old man. Haunted by the wounds of war and his son’s death, he reminisces and hallucinates. Although he has trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality, he always returns to the task at hand with the knowledge that relaxing his guard can be fatal. His dialogue is peppered with humor, regardless of whether it is with his granddaughter, the figures he conjures up from his past, or the one-sided conversations with the boy.
This is a gripping novel that encompasses the excitement of a crime novel with the haunting memories of war veterans. It is also a meditation on aging, regret, and making amends.
Highly recommended.