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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Redemption Iceland-style?, 3 Feb 2012
This review is from: The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning (Kindle Edition)
New York Croatian Mafia hitman "Toxic" (Tomislav Boksic) kills an FBI man in error and flees, ending up in Iceland having changed places en route with an American televangelist - who, unfortunately, he has to kill - on his way there to support a fringe Icelandic religious group. Hallgrimur Helgason wrote this novel in English before translating it into his native Icelandic, but it has only now, thanks to AmazonCrossing, found an English-language publisher. It is the second of - according to the Icelandic press - 12 Icelandic novels to be published in English by AmazonCrossing; I enjoyed the quite different first one ("The Greenhouse" by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir) and if they're all as good as these first two they'll be well worth watching out for. Once in Iceland, Toxic has to pretend he is Father Friendly to maintain his cover, his quick wit saving him hilariously from all sorts of misadventures as he tries to keep in character. It turns out the religious types are not always so holy after all, and Toxic makes a half-decent televangelist when he puts his mind to it. His cover is soon blown, but his religious friends, instead of turning him in, hide him in exchange for his agreement to undergo a strict regime aimed at making him a new man and purging him of his sins. As the book the progresses, the jokes become less knockabout, and the tone becomes more serious as we discover that Toxic's problems stem from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when he lost his family and fiancée; you begin to feel sympathy for him despite the way his life turned out, and root for him as he tries to turn himself into a (fairly) respectable member of Icelandic society,with a (sort of) nice girlfriend who's keen to marry him - knowing all along that, in today's world, "they all lived happily ever after" is no more than a pipedream. This is certainly a dream of a book, best described perhaps as a dark comedy: it's certainly NOT a thriller so steer clear if that's what you want. Helgason constantly subverts your expectations so that while you expect him to vilify everything and everybody in the novel, in fact he has great sympathy for most of his characters, faced with the rotten world they have to inhabit. Helgason's English is delightful, very readable but at the same time quirky, often using English very funnily in a way a native English speaker probably wouldn't. A very funny, and ultimately very thought-provoking book that can be wholeheartedly recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning--Hallgrimur Helgason, 18 Feb 2012
This is the Icelandic author's first novel written in English. It is narrated in the first person by Tomislav Boksic(Toxic). The Croatian,Toxic,hardened by fighting in the Balkan conflict in former Yugoslavia,becomes a ruthless hitman in New York,but when he kills the wrong man,he has to flee USA ,and ends up in Reykjavik disguised as an American evangelist,Father Friendly. Toxic is faced with considerable culture shock in Iceland,apart from the landscape,weather, and language people do not carry guns, and there is no place for his singular 'skills'.Whilst being perused by local police and enemies from USA ,local evangelists are engaged in saving his soul. Against this backdrop,Toxic,with his new girlfriend ,Gunnhildur(Gunholder)comes to face his past, and forge a new identity. This original novel is not a conventional crime novel,rather a darkly humourous satirical tale,with much to enjoy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not much housekeeping!, 10 Feb 2012
This review is from: The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning (Kindle Edition)
I really enjoyed this book, and despite the main character being a hitman who enjoys his job, I ended up feeling sympathy for him. It is very funny, and engagingly written. If you are looking for housekeeping tips this isn't the book for you, if you don't have a sense of humour it's not for you. If you enjoy a fun read and are broad minded then this is a great read.
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