Reptile Memoirs

A bestselling Norwegian debut already sold in thirteen territories, Reptile Memoirs is a brilliantly twisty and unusual literary thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbø, Kate Atkinson, and Tana French, asking the question: Can you ever really shed your skin?

Liv has a lot of secrets. For her, home is the picturesque town of Ålesund, perched on a fjord in western Norway. One night, in the early-morning embers of a great party in the basement apartment she shares with two friends, Liv is watching TV, high on weed, and sees a python on an Australian nature show. She becomes obsessed with the idea of buying a snake as a pet. Soon Nero, the baby Burmese python, becomes the apartment's fourth roommate. As Liv bonds with Nero, she feels extremely protective, like a caring mother, and she is struck by a desire that surprises her with its intensity. Finally she is safe.

Thirteen years later, in the nearby town of Kristiansund, Mariam Lind goes on a shopping trip with her eleven-year-old daughter, Iben, who angers her mother by asking for a magazine one too many times. Mariam storms off, leaving Iben in the shop and, expecting her young daughter to find her own way home, heads off on a long calming drive. When she returns home in the evening, her husband is relieved to see her but terrified that Iben isn't also there. Detective Roe Olsvik is assigned to the case of Iben's disappearance; he has just turned sixty and is new to the Kristiansund police department. As he interrogates Mariam, he instantly suspects her-but there is much more to this case and these characters than their outer appearances would suggest.

A biting and constantly shifting tale of family secrets, rebirth, and the legacy of trauma, Reptile Memoirs is a brilliant exploration of the cold-bloodedness of humanity, and the struggle to mend broken lives and families.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Reptile Memoirs:

An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense)

"Part fairy tale, part psychological thriller, this tale follows a missing child, a damaged young woman with a pet Burmese python and other inhabitants of a Norwegian coastal town."-New York Times, "Globetrotting"

"The serpentine plot of this astonishing debut gradually tightens its grip and leaves you gasping . . . The narrative twists will make your jaw drop; the sections told from the point of view of Nero, whose prey becomes larger and larger, make you gag. Silje Ulstein is a daringly original writer."-Times (UK)

"A dark, visceral novel of shame, trauma and secrets, told in two distinct timelines . . . Disturbing, thought-provoking . . . Enigmatic and intricate, this first novel will chill even the most hardened of Scandinavian noir fans with its considerations of human nature, self-determination and animal instinct."-Shelf Awareness

"Everyone seems guilty in this well-written, pitch-black psychological thriller, whose tense, lost-child theme conjures twisted fairytale tropes."-Booklist

"Original, sharp, tender and chilling, Reptile Memoirs is hugely ambitious and hypnotically readable."-Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End

"Reptile Memoirs is a magnetic ocean tide: a bold, heart-stopping and genre-defying debut which compels us to sink toward the darkest depths of our past. A masterfully shocking and at times wonderfully uncomfortable exploration of obsession, desire and rejection, sexuality and taboo, Ulstein leaves us breathless in her quest to examine which version of the self is capable of love and violence."-Sarah Schmidt, author of See What I Have Done

"This book is a shapeshifting marvel. I found it compulsively readable, and not just for the unexpected paths by which it unpacks its secrets. Silje Ulstein writes about snakes in ways that made me feel I've never really seen them before: In language that is as seductive as it is prickly, she pries open the boundaries between reptiles and humans, adults and the children they once were, and criminals and victims. An uncanny, unsettling, and totally immersive read."-Emily F...

Readers Top Reviews

Gorilichis

This novel has so many twists that it gave me whiplash. The chapters are told by different characters. At first, it’s not clear how they relate to each other, but it all fit perfectly in the end. Every single theory I had ended up being wrong. I didn’t like any of the characters except for Nero, the snake, but I was still invested in their stories. Liv has an unnatural relationship with her pet python. Years later, Mariam leaves her daughter in a store and the girl disappears. An older cop is convinced that Mariam is responsible. A younger police officer is just trying to find the girl. There are other disappearances and murders in the past. Big trigger warning to animal lovers: there were scenes that I had to skip altogether. I guess if the plot is about a girl gone missing, a kitten and a puppy shouldn’t matter but, well, each one has their own triggers. The fact that the same narrator performs all the different points of view, including the male cop, is a little unusual, but Julie Maisey does a good job trying to make them all distinctive. A solid, and sordid, tale. I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Dreamscape Media!

elysejody

Silje Ulstein is a new author to me. The embossed ‘blurb’ description could not be more accurate: “A bestselling Norwegian debut …(already sold in thirteen territories), ‘Reptile Memoirs’ is a brilliantly twisty and unusual literary crime-thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbo, Kate Atkinson, and Tana French. asking the question: ….. can you ever really shed your skin?” Silje Ulstein gives readers a sharply written - entertaining - clever - psychologically astute….literary-mystery-thriller that I had to read slowly in parts (re-reading the beginning chapters a couple of times), ……The storytelling is almost comical in parts - yet it’s quite dark in themes —(loneliness, shame, tabu longings, and frivolous behaviors) — This entire novel is slithering endearing—as well as crime-curiosity-engrossing on the surface …. But…. below the surface….. it’s heavy content, caginess, and foresight — is more poignant than simply dry scaly skin. With a literary ‘snake subplot’ …Ulstein dances between plausible and the absurd. With tons of heart and spirit — [requires careful attention to dates, setting, time periods, cast of characters, and two storylines on the readers part], “Reptile Memoirs”, is a wild ride you don’t want to miss…. It offers a heartfelt and sincere investigation into the paradoxical nature of love, familial as well as romantic, crime, radiant quirky eccentrics, obsessions, interesting characters, loss, abuse, grief, and a mystery thriller intrigue - winningly surreal - and deeply perceptive. Meet Nero…..snake-of-the-hour….[baby Burmese python] …..and Liv (who loves Nero) Liv says: “I had never thought any living creature would be able to make me happy. Had believed that I would carry loneliness with me wherever I went. But last night, when I lay under the bed with Nero after he had whispered his first words to me, I felt a happiness spread through my veins, out into each finger and down through my feet, back to my heart and out again, as if I had found the way into my own body”. Nero was no longer satisfied with a live mouse or a rat every now and then. He took them and swallowed them, but they didn’t satiate him. He kept Liv awake at night… Drilling into her ears with his ancient voice. (Hunt)… Nero was letting Liv know that he was furious - at HER - for not being fed enough. WARNING….[letting the cat and puppy out of the bag here/spoiler]…. NERO WAS HUNGRY. Liv went looking for kittens and puppies to fed Nero. So….’without’ graphic bloody details …. be warned….we learn that NERO will eat these bigger animals. — Readers - who are very sensitive to the ‘thought’ of ‘snake-eat-kitten-and-dog …..can move on. (It’s one sentence in the ‘entire’ story). There is no lingering embellishment. It’s over fast. Generally speaking - we follow two tim...

Reptile Memoirs

Editorial Reviews

Readers Top Reviews

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