Wondering if any of you reader types have taken a shine to Henning Mankell's series of Kurt Wallander books. Or if you've read them and thought they were "meh."

You can discuss the TV show(s) here if you like as well. (Thinking there was a thread about them here in the "Old Testament," but don't know for sure.)

A good thing about the books being a bit older is that used paperback copies can be had for pretty cheap these days. For no reason in particular, I took the plunge and finished the first one yesterday, and now hope to read them all in due time.



Anyway, some of the things I like about the book(s) are what other people--on the internet at least--apparently don't:


-From the onset life is kind of a mess (divorced, estranged daughter, no love life, increasingly senile father, lives in a unkempt house, doesn't always take good care of himself, etc)

-He is flawed in his detective work (at times), and doesn't always have the correct answer/best line of inquiry

-The descriptions of chilly-ass Sweden in its more barren winter, or winter-adjacent months is a good balm for these sweltering summer days

Etc.

The books are not crap, but it’s been a while since I’ve read any, and the shows (both the Swedish series and the English series with Kenneth Branagh) have stuck in my head more than the books. But I certainly enjoyed them.

If you’re interested in crime/suspense fiction, I’d heartily recommend Megan Abbott, Tana French, and Richard Price.

Abbott takes the ingredients of noir and makes something entirely new—and, in my mind, often superior—out of them. Dare Me and You Will Know Me are good places to start.

French’s books are hit or miss, but the best are loose and atmospheric and are as evocative of wet Ireland as Mankell’s books are of cold Sweden. In the Woods and The Witch Elm are favorites.

Price might have the best ear for dialogue of any living writer. Just stupendous. Clockers, Lush Life, and The Whites are all awesome.

I’d also add John Le Carre to the list, though he’s more espionage.

The crime genre as a concept doesn't really appeal to me. John le Carré I view as different and would def consider reading at some point. Though if the above poster views them as similar and I happen to like JLC, maybe I would like the others as well? We'll see.

I kind of groan at the forced, sometimes exoticizing, contextualization that often happens when presenting these books. "Below the innocent surface, this country harbours dark secrets" bla bla. I shouldn't blame the books for that though.

Not a big fiction reader but I love the Wallander books. Own and have read almost all of them.

Enjoyed the Branagh adaptations. Haven’t watched the Swedish but I’m sure I will eventually.

NC no waffles.

Wood Goblin wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 2:27 pmIf you’re interested in crime/suspense fiction, I’d heartily recommend Megan Abbott, Tana French, and Richard Price.

Duly noted. I will add some of the titles you mentioned to the docket. Have seen a few films written by Price though, and while I remember some of them being pretty good, at least a couple of them were not at all my bag. Kiss of Death I've been meaning to revisit though, even if only because it begins a scene with Nic Cage bench pressing a bored beautiful woman.

kokorodoko wrote:The crime genre as a concept doesn't really appeal to me.

It's occurred to me before that crime books and films often traffic in worn tropes and cliches, and maybe a given work's value has to do with how these are upended/subverted/modernized or blended together/mixed with foreign elements, etc., or maybe simply how well written/shot/acted they are. Amid the pandemic I've seen a whole bunch of crime movies, wildly varying in quality, and it's readily apparent how much some of them have borrowed from each other, to good or not so good effect.

kokorodoko wrote:I kind of groan at the forced, sometimes exoticizing, contextualization that often happens when presenting these books. "Below the innocent surface, this country harbours dark secrets" bla bla.

Would say that in the case of the Wallander books, Mankell's use of immigration/open border policy and some natives' hostility toward this as a kind of thematic underpinning has only become more relevant to the times. Not having read all of the books yet, I don't know how it will all play out, but the theme of dormant/somewhat closeted fascism/xenophobia/racism/scape goating/etc. coming to a head isn't outmoded. Especially when transposed to, say, Trump's America. And the way it's been presented so far doesn't necessarily implicate everyone.

ErikG wrote:Enjoyed the Branagh adaptations. Haven’t watched the Swedish but I’m sure I will eventually.

Am curious about the Swedish one because the actor who plays Wallander was in the SOV Peter Watkins movie, The Freethinker (sort of a sister film to Edvard Munch, about August Strindberg). He also has a more "weathered" demeanor, which I think pairs a little better with the mental image conjured from the books.

DaveA wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 12:44 pmWould say that in the case of the Wallander books, Mankell's use of immigration/open border policy and some natives' hostility toward this as a kind of thematic underpinning has only become more relevant to the times. Not having read all of the books yet, I don't know how it will all play out, but the theme of dormant/somewhat closeted fascism/xenophobia/racism/scape goating/etc. coming to a head isn't outmoded. Especially when transposed to, say, Trump's America. And the way it's been presented so far doesn't necessarily implicate everyone.

Sounds like something I would be interested in. Depending completely on the quality of the writing. Which book you would recommend?

By the way I don't know about the Swedish tv series, but the movies are atrocious. Don't bother with them.

kokorodoko wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:07 pm Sounds like something I would be interested in. Depending completely on the quality of the writing. Which book you would recommend?

The quality of the writing ain't shoddy at all. The style is a bit more sparse, with details added piecemeal/only when necessary.

Here's a list of the books in order--have only read the first so far: https://www.goodreads.com/series/51652-kurt-wallander

Would recommend going in as blind as possible.

Thanks, I'll do that.

Finished the third Wallander book today, with my morning coffee and La Croix, after getting sidetracked a bit. Did enjoy the last two books but their multinational settings detracted somewhat from the perfectly fine (up to that point) nineties Swedish milieu. It would be inaccurate to say Mankell bit off more than he could chew with The Dogs of Riga and The White Lioness (partially set in Latvia and South Africa respectively, and dealing with the issues you would expect in these places at that juncture), since their conclusions managed to tie everything that lead up to them together. But at the very least they were more "meal-like"/larger in scope than anticipated, and I would've been content with the series staying relegated to Skåne/small-town Sweden for at least another installment or two while it grew its legs. It'll be interesting to see where it goes from here.