Interesting Novel

Finished December 27
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida
This short novel(226 pages) grabs your attention early and doesn't let go. When Clarissa's father dies, she finds her birth certificate and learns that he wasn't her biological father. Clarissa's mother disappeared when she was 12, so she doesn't have her to turn to. When her fiance, Pankaj, tells her another secret the same day, she feels betrayed by everything she thought was true. She follows the name on her birth certificate to her birthplace in northern Finland to find her birth father. As she gropes towards the truth she meets a Sami priest, an elderly Sami healer, and a young reindeer herder. When she finally learns the truth, she must decide where and how to live her own life. Portions of this story feel very dream-like and I got a sense that fate was leading her towards the truth rather than her own actions. I found Clarissa a very interesting character and one forced to grow up very quickly.