Professor Andersen's Night

Middle aged academic Professor Andersen sits down to a lonely but immaculately presented Christmas Eve dinner, but his self-contained celebration is interrupted by the sight of a woman being strangled in the flat opposite. That's where any comparison with Rear Window would have to end. Having decided he is too inebriated to make a credible call to the police, the rest of the book and Professor Andersen's entire christmas holiday is spent obsessing about how to resolve this temporary lapse in civic duty. For an intelligent slice of Norwegian society, served ice cold, liberally sprinkled with philosophical angst, look no further. Dinner parties, snowy walks and long hot baths are all excellent places to prevaricate. Beer with an aquavit chaser optional.
Lucinda Corby (Thu 19th Jan 2012)