SOURCE: "A Hot Thriller from a Cold Climate," in Newsweek, Vol. 122, No. 10, September 6, 1993, p. 54.

Shapiro is an American reporter, journalist, and critic. In the following review of Smilla's Sense of Snow, she compares Høeg's work to that of John le Carré.

Smilla's in another tight spot—a narrow area of open deck, to be specific, on a ship forging through the ice off Greenland in a dark, freezing rain. The man walking toward her wants to throw her overboard, and so does the man coming up behind. This part of the deck is completely isolated, and Smilla's 110 pounds will be easy to toss down to the sea. Even if someone were to hear a scream she isn't likely to get much help; most of the creepy people on board hate her. For a moment she recalls what she knows about drowning. "You hold your breath until you...