Somewhat similar to Miss Smilla’s novel Feeling for Snow, The Quiet Girl tells of a special person, a famous Danish clown Kasper with a remarkable gift, a keen ear that enabled him to create a solid map of an entire town from which to look could determine Educational Quiet Book calls based on the speaker’s location, based solely on the speaker’s ambient noise.
For Kasper, every human being has a certain sound; A quiet person is the closest thing to the divine, and he meets one such girl, young KlaraMaria , his student in Physical Comedy, whom he uses as therapy for troubled children. KlaraMaria , injured, slips him a note that she has been kidnapped and asks for his help.
Kasper has his own problems, having avoided paying taxes for a long time. That means he has to flee the authorities in search of KlaraMaria – and soon he’s not just looking for her, there appear to be several children with special abilities, several children from around the world who are like KlaraMaria , and all of them are missing (a girl turns out to be dead and mutilated). Time is running out, how long can these wonderful children survive?
Despite being a thriller, The Quiet Girl occasionally gets surreal and looks like magical realism, making it a bit difficult to follow. Episodes from Kasper’s past jump in in such a way that it can be difficult to determine what happened, when, how, or why. The mystery is more or less solved by the end of the book, but reading it is not an easy journey, although rewarding.
unique perception of the world
It’s unusual for a thriller to have such a mystical atmosphere, and yet it works in The Quiet Girl, probably because of Kasper and his unique perception of the world. While there is nothing wrong with his eyes or other senses, he primarily uses his hearing. He hears in shades and sees in sounds, or at least that’s how he thinks of things. He thinks the same way about people, which sometimes makes it difficult for him to communicate with others.
The kids in The Quiet Girl are adorable. They are gifted and very special, but at the same time they are very children, with some very good-natured desires and also desires that remind readers of spoiled brats. Although they have such special gifts that inevitably make them different, their actions and desires are easy to understand because they are children first.
All characters grow until the end of the book. You all learn something. Kasper is perhaps the one who learns the most, from his dying father who keeps helping him, from the woman he loves who left him because he felt he was so special that she should dedicate her life to him , and about the children – at the end he discovers that there is a child with whom he has a lot to make up for.
The Quiet Girl may not be an easy read due to its mystique and meandering narrative and the protagonist’s unique perspective, but the mysterious world and Best Quiet Books for Kids captivating characters are worth the effort – the book grabs your attention and refuses to let go.