"Incomparably unique, this addictively unsettling literary thriller is a viper’s nest of obsession, trauma, self-preservation and revenge."
Uncoiling monstrous extremes of human behaviour through traumatised, obsession-driven characters, Silje Ulstein’s Reptile Memoirs is a thriller like no other. An audaciously bizarre, taboo-tangled marvel of a debut.
Guilefully plotted, the multi-timeframe, multi-voiced narrative is wildly original. In 2003, Liv becomes obsessed with the idea of having a snake, so she and her flatmates buy Nero, a young Burmese python that comes to dominate her life, evoking unnervingly intense emotions, and providing her with a strange sense of security. In 2017, Mariam’s daughter goes missing, prompting a twisting, shifting investigation that unveils the long-submerged secrets and traumas of everyone involved, including one of the chief investigators.
Reader, there’s no escape from the serpentine onslaught of this story. Reptile Memoirs takes the notion of unexpected plot twists to seething, shocking extremes as characters slough their identities and the timelines converge, with the snake-narrated “reptile memoirs” of the title providing an unnerving, cold-blooded perspective on cold-blooded human actions.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
A dark, gripping story that keeps you guessing right until the end.
For a debut novel, this is outstanding. It twists and turns in so many directions, much like the python that features heavily. With multiple time frames this literary thriller keeps you on your toes. The characters are well rounded and the plot well-thought out. I’ll be looking out for this author in the future.... Read Full Review
The best novel I have read in a long time.
This is an extraordinary book, completely original, with a sharply twisting plot.
The story is set in Norway in 2003 and begins with a character called Liv, who sees a python on the TV and becomes obsessed with having one for a pet. Liv and her two flatmates, Egil and Ingvar buy a young Burmese Python and name it Nero. This is just the beginning for Liv of an extremely intense and dangerous obsession with Nero.
It’s 2017 and a character called Mariam argues with her daughter in a shopping mall, her daughter runs off and disappears, leading to a police investigation which twists and turns revealing the deeply hidden secret revelations and disturbed histories of all the characters.
The character’s secrets shockingly unfold through the cleverly written narrative while the plot unravels and uncoils - as dangerous and sinuous as the snake itself.... Read Full Review
Reptile Memoirs is a thrilling and complex crime novel, which has plenty of the classic Nordic Noir police procedural elements but is wrapped up in the middle of a much more unusual and gut wrenching horror story.
Reptile Memoirs is a thrilling and complex crime novel told over multiple timelines, beginning with the disappearance of Mariam’s daughter Iben. As we begin to follow the police investigation, the story then shifts back in time over a decade to introduce Liv who, together with her two flatmates, adopts a baby python. As all of the intricate pieces of the story fall into place, it becomes clear that these two seemingly unrelated characters are linked by a terrible trauma - the shocking consequences leading to revenge, obsession and murder.
This book had plenty of the classic Nordic Noir police procedural elements but was wrapped up in the middle of a much more unusual and gut wrenching horror story.... Read Full Review
Liv has a lot of secrets. Late one night, in the aftermath of a party in the apartment she shares with two friends in Alesund, she sees a python on a TV nature show and becomes obsessed with the idea of buying a snake as a pet. Soon Nero, a baby Burmese python, becomes the apartment's fourth roommate. As Liv bonds with Nero, 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. Following an argument Mariam storms off, expecting her young daughter to make her own way home . . . but she never does. Detective Roe Olsvik, new to the Kristiansund police department, is assigned to the case of Iben's disappearance. 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.
Reptile Memoirs features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Psychological thriller, Fiction, General Fiction, Debut Books of the Month, Star Books, Fiction in translation, Recommendations, Fiction: special features
Reptile Memoirs is available in Paperback, Hardback
Reptile Memoirs was written by Silje O. Ulstein and published by Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
Reptile Memoirs has 400 pages
£13.49
