Occasionally a book comes along that stops you in your tracks, makes you think and you just know it will stay with you for a long time. Jon McGregor's Even the Dogs is such a book.
The story begins with the discovery of Robert's body. Robert is an alcoholic who lives alone in a squalid flat that has long since had all it's amenities cut off. Although he has lived alone his house was shared by a series of addicts who came and went. The flat was a sanctuary, where people could find others like themselves, a place of shelter and a place to find company.
The story goes from the discovery of Robert's body to his burial. Mixing the present, police scene of crime examination, autopsy, inquest etc, with flashbacks to his last few days. The story is told by the addicts that shared Robert's life, the police who discover his body etc.
It sounds a grim book and in many ways it is, but it is beautifully written in a staccato style that echoes the breathless lives of the addicts. The first chapter is stunning and probably the best chapter you will read this year.
Highly recommended
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Sunday 7 March 2010
The Man in Beijing by Henning Mankell
This novel begins with a grim discovery. All but 3 residents of a small hamlet in Northern Sweden are found brutally murdered. There is no obvious motive and no suspects.
Birgitta Roslin, a judge takes an interest in the case when she realizes that two of those killed were her mother's foster parents. The only clue found at the crime scene is a strip of red silk that Birgitta discovers has been cut from a lantern in a Chinese restaurant.
This is a complex but easy to read novel that moves from modern day Sweden to 1860's America (via the device of a set of diaries discovered in one of the murder victims home) to modern day China. Mankell has always been interested in politics and the section of this novel that deals with the complex politics of China, the emergence from communism into a sort of state controlled capitalism, is absolutely fascinating.
I always enjoy Mankell's novels and The Man from Beijing is a pleasurable read but is ultimately unsatisfying. For me there are a number of problems with this novel. The various strands in the story are interesting but they don't come together in a believable and satisfying way. The central character Birgitta is not in the story for a good third of the novel and while the central character is not in the story it lacks focus and drifts. Finally, it wasn't clear if this novel was driven by the characters or the storyline, in the end it fell between the two.
Worth reading for the quality of the writing but The Man from Beijing isn't vintage Mankell.
Birgitta Roslin, a judge takes an interest in the case when she realizes that two of those killed were her mother's foster parents. The only clue found at the crime scene is a strip of red silk that Birgitta discovers has been cut from a lantern in a Chinese restaurant.
This is a complex but easy to read novel that moves from modern day Sweden to 1860's America (via the device of a set of diaries discovered in one of the murder victims home) to modern day China. Mankell has always been interested in politics and the section of this novel that deals with the complex politics of China, the emergence from communism into a sort of state controlled capitalism, is absolutely fascinating.
I always enjoy Mankell's novels and The Man from Beijing is a pleasurable read but is ultimately unsatisfying. For me there are a number of problems with this novel. The various strands in the story are interesting but they don't come together in a believable and satisfying way. The central character Birgitta is not in the story for a good third of the novel and while the central character is not in the story it lacks focus and drifts. Finally, it wasn't clear if this novel was driven by the characters or the storyline, in the end it fell between the two.
Worth reading for the quality of the writing but The Man from Beijing isn't vintage Mankell.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
