“People always leave traces. No person is without a shadow.”
October 5, 2015 5:31 AM Subscribe
Henning Mankell, Dean of Scandinavian Noir Writers, Dies at 67 [The New York Times]
- Obituary [The Guardian]
- Henning Mankell in quotes: 10 of the best. [The Guardian]
- Henning Mankell, the Artist of the Parallax View by Slavoj Zizek [Lacan.com]
- Henning Mankell, Interviews [Der Spiegel: 2004, 2010, 2011]
Henning Mankell, the Swedish novelist and playwright best known for police procedurals that were translated into a score of languages and sold by the millions throughout the world, died Monday morning in Goteborg, Sweden. He was 67. Mr. Mankell was considered the dean of the so-called Scandinavian noir writers who gained global prominence for novels that blended edge-of-your-seat suspense with flawed, compelling protagonists and strong social themes. The genre includes Arnaldur Indridason of Iceland, Jo Nesbo of Norway and Stieg Larsson of Sweden, among others.
Mr. Mankell who led the way with 10 mystery novels featuring Inspector Kurt Wallander, a gruff but humane detective troubled by self-doubt, overeating, alcoholism and eventually dementia. Most of the action takes place in and around Ystad, a real-life town of 18,350 inhabitants on the Baltic Sea, about 380 miles south of Stockholm and now a magnet for Wallander buffs.Related:
- Obituary [The Guardian]
The extraordinary global success of Wallander did not slow Mankell down much, nor diminish his engagement in global causes. He wrote a trilogy about an African girl who lost both legs after stepping on a landmine, and her struggles as she grows up. He wrote one novel in which a Chinese man massacres an entire family in a remote Swedish village as revenge for the treatment meted out by their ancestors to his in the US in the 19th century. He took a strongly pro-Palestinian position, repeatedly comparing Israel to South Africa and asserting that it was building a new apartheid society, and he sailed on one of the ships that attempted to break the blockade of Gaza in 2010 and was seized by Israeli commandos. In later years he worried about the surveillance state, and warned that digital technologies were being used to make the individual transparent while governments and corporations could operate in secrecy.- 'How it feels to be diagnosed with cancer.' by Henning Mankell [The Guardian, 2014]
- Henning Mankell in quotes: 10 of the best. [The Guardian]
- Henning Mankell, the Artist of the Parallax View by Slavoj Zizek [Lacan.com]
- Henning Mankell, Interviews [Der Spiegel: 2004, 2010, 2011]
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posted by Monsieur Caution at 5:44 AM on October 5, 2015
posted by Monsieur Caution at 5:44 AM on October 5, 2015
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posted by janey47 at 5:55 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by janey47 at 5:55 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I made what I think was a mistake in reading The Pyramid as my introduction to Mankell this summer, and after that wondering what the big deal was and deciding not to read any more. The Pyramid, though, is basically table scraps and seemingly published without much enthusiasm from the author, even. So which Mankell work would reverse that first impression of mine?
posted by chavenet at 6:43 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 6:43 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
So which Mankell work would reverse that first impression of mine?
It's been quite some time since I read them, and I'm always been a bigger fan of the man than his books, but I'd go for first few Wallander books, in publication order, i.e. Faceless Killers up to Sidetracked, maybe. (I haven't read The Pyramid, but it sounds like it makes little sense if you don't know the characters from the earlier books)
(But catching up with Mankell at this point may suffer a bit from him being one of the pioneers in a genre that has seen better writers follow in his footsteps. And a LOT of worse ones, because writing Nordic Noir about some city that nobody else is writing about is how you make a living as an author in Scandinavia these days. So if you grab a random Swedish crime novel and get a Mankell, you're ok.)
posted by effbot at 7:20 AM on October 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
It's been quite some time since I read them, and I'm always been a bigger fan of the man than his books, but I'd go for first few Wallander books, in publication order, i.e. Faceless Killers up to Sidetracked, maybe. (I haven't read The Pyramid, but it sounds like it makes little sense if you don't know the characters from the earlier books)
(But catching up with Mankell at this point may suffer a bit from him being one of the pioneers in a genre that has seen better writers follow in his footsteps. And a LOT of worse ones, because writing Nordic Noir about some city that nobody else is writing about is how you make a living as an author in Scandinavia these days. So if you grab a random Swedish crime novel and get a Mankell, you're ok.)
posted by effbot at 7:20 AM on October 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
I went through a mad Scandi-crime burst a year or so ago where that's all I watched for days while doing dishes or the like.
At first I thought "wow I've gained some insight into Scandinavia."
And then I thought "you know I probably understand Scandinavia as well as someone who has only seen Sons of Anarchy understands California".
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posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 7:36 AM on October 5, 2015 [6 favorites]
At first I thought "wow I've gained some insight into Scandinavia."
And then I thought "you know I probably understand Scandinavia as well as someone who has only seen Sons of Anarchy understands California".
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posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 7:36 AM on October 5, 2015 [6 favorites]
My mother loved Scandinavian Noir, and turned me on to it. Sorry about Mankell's passing. He was a very good writer.
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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:39 AM on October 5, 2015
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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:39 AM on October 5, 2015
I always found myself gravitating towards Jo Nesbø as opposed to Henning Mankell, but you could not deny the influence and impact that Mankell made on the entire 'Scandinavian noir' genre. A loss to the writing community for sure. He will be missed.
posted by Fizz at 7:42 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 7:42 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
ugh what a drag. Somewhat fittingly, I had already been planning to watch the final episode of Wallander tonight.
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posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:48 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:48 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Noir is one of my fave reading, and Mankell introduced me to a more modern, even more troubled protagonist. Also, I thought the author sounded like a wonderful human, thou I regret I never met him. The world has lost an interesting voice, and I'm sorry to hear of his passing.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:01 AM on October 5, 2015
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:01 AM on October 5, 2015
. BTW, Netflix has series 1-3 of the Kenneth Branagh Wallander (I don't think S4 has aired yet) and series 2-3 of the Krister Henriksson version. Hulu has series 1 and 3 (but not 2) of the Krister Henriksson version but not the Kenneth Branagh version. I really enjoyed both versions.
posted by pibeandres at 9:32 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pibeandres at 9:32 AM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
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The genre includes Arnaldur Indridason of Iceland, Jo Nesbo of Norway and Stieg Larsson of Sweden, among others...
... such as Martin Beck, who appeared in print more than 15 years earlier. I love the Wallander novels, but Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall invented this sub-genre, so I am surprised to see Mankell receiving so much credit.
Anders Bodelsen, who wrote the excellent book Think of a Number (on which the film Silent Partner was based), was another early practitioner.
posted by ubiquity at 10:14 AM on October 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
The genre includes Arnaldur Indridason of Iceland, Jo Nesbo of Norway and Stieg Larsson of Sweden, among others...
... such as Martin Beck, who appeared in print more than 15 years earlier. I love the Wallander novels, but Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall invented this sub-genre, so I am surprised to see Mankell receiving so much credit.
Anders Bodelsen, who wrote the excellent book Think of a Number (on which the film Silent Partner was based), was another early practitioner.
posted by ubiquity at 10:14 AM on October 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
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posted by vignettist at 11:44 AM on October 5, 2015
posted by vignettist at 11:44 AM on October 5, 2015
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posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:01 PM on October 5, 2015
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:01 PM on October 5, 2015
I thought 'Dogs of Riga' one of the best filmed mysteries ever.
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posted by clavdivs at 4:06 PM on October 5, 2015
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posted by clavdivs at 4:06 PM on October 5, 2015
>So which Mankell work would reverse that first impression of mine?
I liked "Return of the Dancing Master", but it's not a Wallander mystery, and you should probably start with one of those- the first 8 or so are good. The thing about Mankell is his humanity- he used mysteries as a way to talk about injustice and changes in society. I liked him as a person very much.
posted by acrasis at 5:25 PM on October 5, 2015
I liked "Return of the Dancing Master", but it's not a Wallander mystery, and you should probably start with one of those- the first 8 or so are good. The thing about Mankell is his humanity- he used mysteries as a way to talk about injustice and changes in society. I liked him as a person very much.
posted by acrasis at 5:25 PM on October 5, 2015
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I'll always associate Mankell's books with the Krimis that I read when I was learning German. I read most of his books in German translation - great practice, and good reads.
posted by Otherwise at 6:26 PM on October 5, 2015
I'll always associate Mankell's books with the Krimis that I read when I was learning German. I read most of his books in German translation - great practice, and good reads.
posted by Otherwise at 6:26 PM on October 5, 2015
I love the Branagh versions of the Wallander books, and this will just make series 4 even more depressing whenever it finally airs. So sad.
posted by fremen at 10:06 PM on October 5, 2015
posted by fremen at 10:06 PM on October 5, 2015
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I was introduced to both Mankell and Scandinavian crime in general via Branagh's series of Wallander, and so of course I think that anyone who is looking to explore would find it as compelling as I did. Not for the faint of heart, and there is sometimes an odd disconnect to have see a Swedish world speaking English. But there is a heartbreaking compassion to them, and the landscapes seem simultaneously beautiful and bleak.
The extras on the DVDs include some interviews with Mankell and he seemed like a fascinating, compassionate man. I'm sorry to hear of his passing.
posted by Athanassiel at 1:28 AM on October 6, 2015
I was introduced to both Mankell and Scandinavian crime in general via Branagh's series of Wallander, and so of course I think that anyone who is looking to explore would find it as compelling as I did. Not for the faint of heart, and there is sometimes an odd disconnect to have see a Swedish world speaking English. But there is a heartbreaking compassion to them, and the landscapes seem simultaneously beautiful and bleak.
The extras on the DVDs include some interviews with Mankell and he seemed like a fascinating, compassionate man. I'm sorry to hear of his passing.
posted by Athanassiel at 1:28 AM on October 6, 2015
It's interesting that all three Wallanders have been shot on the same set in Ystad and locations in the area.
posted by y2karl at 5:00 PM on October 7, 2015
posted by y2karl at 5:00 PM on October 7, 2015
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posted by Fizz at 5:31 AM on October 5, 2015