The Hitmans Guide to Housecleaning, Hallgrimur Helgason
The Hitmans Guide to Housecleaning, Hallgrimur Helgason
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The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning

Author: Hallgrimur Helgason

Narrator: Luke Daniels

Unabridged: 8 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/06/2012

Synopsis

With some 66 hits under his belt, Tomislav Bokšić, or Toxic, has a flawless record as hitman for the Croatian mafia in New York. That is, until he kills the wrong guy and is forced to flee the States, leaving behind the life he knows and loves. Suddenly, he finds himself on a plane hurtling toward Reykjavik, Iceland, borrowing the identity of an American televangelist named Father Friendly. With no means of escape from this island devoid of gun shops and contract killing, tragicomic hilarity ensues as he is forced to come to terms with his bloody past and reevaluate his future.

About Hallgrimur Helgason

Hallgrimur Helgason was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1959. He started out as an artist, showing his work in several galleries of both New York and Paris, where he lived in the late eighties and early nineties. He made his debut as a novelist in 1990 and gained international attention with his third novel, 101 Reykjavik (“Imagine if Henry Miller had written Tropic of Cancer on crack instead of wine.” —Tim Sandlin), which was made into a film starring Victoria Abril. In 2001 Helgason received the Icelandic Literary Prize for The Author of Iceland. He has twice been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, with 101 Reykjavik in 1999, and Stormland in 2007. A film based on the latter was released in early 2011. The Hitman’s Guide to Housecleaning is his only novel written in English. It was published in Iceland in 2008, in the author’s own translation, and became a bestseller in Germany in 2010. A father of three, Hallgrimur divides his time between Reykjavik and Hrísey Island.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lukasz on January 11, 2013

Hallgrimur Helgason’s “The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning” is an outstanding book. It is beautifully written and funny; it has an outlandish yet engrossing plot, and an unexpected depth. Tomislav Boksic, aka Toxic, a Croatian American, is a hitman, a highly successful contract killer. He has flawles......more

Goodreads review by Evan on February 24, 2012

A dark comedy with a slight euro flavor, from an Iceland author's first novel written originally in english. The twisted Tarantino-ish tale of serbo-croatian mafia hitman, and former war criminal, fleeing from New York after a job. He kills and assumes the identity of a look-alike who turns out to b......more

Goodreads review by Mack on September 02, 2012

Other reviewers have given excellent summaries of the plot of this book so I'm going to confine my remarks to what I like about it. The "Stranger in a Strange Land" trope is well established in literature and for that reason needs to be handled deftly or risk losing the reader in its sameness. Combin......more

Goodreads review by ميرنا on November 18, 2024

"عليك أن تقلعي عن التدخين، قد يقتلك" أقول. "هل تحدثني عن القتل؟" تقول بابتسامة مهينة. "نعم، لم لا؟". "لقد قتلت كاهنًا لتوك. أليس كذلك؟ بالإضافة إلى أنك مطلوب لارتكاب جريمة قتل أخرى". "أتحسبين أن القاتل لا يهتم بالحياة ؟ لا يهتم بالصحة أو يحافظ على نظافة المنزل؟" أقول بينما أشير إلى الغرفة المرتبة. تقول:......more

Goodreads review by Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog on May 28, 2017

The plot of The Hitman's Guide to Housekeeping is fairly conventional. Tomislav Boksiæ or as he calls himself Toxic is a professional hitman. His last professional kill brings the entire weight of the terrestrial world on his head. His next hit, his first murder (he will explain the distinction) wil......more

Quotes

“A sensational book. Hallgrimur Helgason’s brain is like this amazing app that morphs the English language into gorgeously blunt new forms. It delivers surprise after surprise and makes you feel good about books again. I can’t recommend it enough.” —Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X“If you read this I predict [Helgason]’ll be in your mind to stay.” —DBC Pierre, Man Booker Prize-winning author of Vernon God Little“[Helgason is] uproarious, sharp, and outrageously funny.” —Kirkus Reviews

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