English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Eyehavenofilter wrote: "Sharon I think I might have a way to watch some BBC stuff if I download BBC on my iPad.... This could take some doing though. Wish me luck."

How did you get on? Hope you managed it.

Reading The Eye of the Leopard, by Henning Mankell - I've never read a book by this man and not enjoy it. A first rate author. Beautifully written.

Me neither. Did you read The Man from Beijing? Just excited adding a new book out in June from him. A Treacherous Paradise.....

Sharon, yes, I think I read almost all of Mankell's non-Wallander books, not the children's books. I very much enjoyed The Man from Beijing - this man is a genius in my eyes. His vision and scope of writing is quite incredible. I look forward to his future books with bated breath.

Junying wrote: "Sharon, yes, I think I read almost all of Mankell's non-Wallander books, not the children's books. I very much enjoyed The Man from Beijing - this man is a genius in my eyes. His vision and scope o..."

Agree my first from Scandinavia and love the books, series and films. Have not read the Africa ones nor depths. But read two or three of the kids series and enjoyed them!! Downloaded Shadow Girls today and pre ordered the one above. Very much look forward to them. When my backlog permits....... :-)

Sakura wrote: "HELLO I was wondering if anyone has read the book Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft?"

Just got this book from the library, but haven't had a chance to start it yet! Have you read it?

Just finished Helsinki Blood, it's an emotional, violent thriller. Nordic Noir at its best.

Lili wrote: "Just finished Helsinki Blood, it's an emotional, violent thriller. Nordic Noir at its best."

Sounds good. I pre ordered but not here yet!!

Lili, thanks for the recommendation. Will put it on my reading list :)

Just finished one of Mankell's books. If you are a fan of his, check out my review here: http://www.junyingkirk.com/?p=4575. I'm on a Mankell phase now and planning to read all his books one by one.

Junying wrote: "Lili, thanks for the recommendation. Will put it on my reading list :)

Just finished one of Mankell's books. If you are a fan of his, check out my review here: http://www.junyingkirk.com/?p=4575. ..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henning_...

FYI re his time in Africa etc......hence it plays such a role in his writing.
Great review .....

Thanks, Sharon. He has an amazing life, which obviously shaped his writing and his world views. I admire him, as a writer and a human being.

Junying wrote: "Thanks, Sharon. He has an amazing life, which obviously shaped his writing and his world views. I admire him, as a writer and a human being."

Absolutely. Been my main writer, along with Rankin for many years.
Really enjoyed Italian Shoes and happy to see they are filming it. Also The Man from Beijing read and film both good IMO.

Sharon wrote: "Junying wrote: "Thanks, Sharon. He has an amazing life, which obviously shaped his writing and his world views. I admire him, as a writer and a human being."

Absolutely. Been my main writer, alon..."

Mine too. Husband more a Rankin fan & read all his books. I stick with Scandinavian - I have not read much Wallander because I followed the TV series. Aim to start today with The Fifth Woman :)

Oh yes, Sharon, your earlier message reminded me that I should have a live link for the author, so readers can learn more about him. Will go and add the wiki links yo my post now :) Cheers & have a lovely week!

Junying wrote: "Oh yes, Sharon, your earlier message reminded me that I should have a live link for the author, so readers can learn more about him. Will go and add the wiki links yo my post now :) Cheers & have a..."

I have him on Facebook. Very useful. IMHO for you too. Just like ten ask for notifications...etc. works for many very well.

Yes, I liked him on FB too. Sharon, if you 'd like to sign me up as a friend on Facebook, here is my link: http://www.facebook.com/junying.kirk?.... Of course, I won't feel offended if you don't :) I don't know how to find you there.

Junying wrote: "Yes, I liked him on FB too. Sharon, if you 'd like to sign me up as a friend on Facebook, here is my link: http://www.facebook.com/junying.kirk?.... Of course, I won't feel offended if you ..."

Great...thanks for friendship. Lovely to share ideas on GRs, FB and twitter.

I've been following the discussion re: Mankell here and I'm curious if any of you have opinions on all the politics in the novels? I have only seen the Branagh Wallander (all that's been available to me so far) and loved those so then picked up the books and started them in order. I found they really dragged and that the TV series had cut the politics and stuck to the mystery and that was more fun. The White Lioness was the last one I read because it took forever to slog through all the politics, which I'm reading years after the fact. Do you think that's part of it? That times have changed so much that the politics are no longer relevant? I really enjoyed The Man from Beijing, perhaps because I know less about this part of the world? Or perhaps you all love Mankell because of the politics?! :) - Anne

I have read all HM KW books and many of his standalone books with the exception of his Africa books, even read a few of his children's books. HM is very involved in politics and his stories reflect his slant. I love it but it frustrates my husband. We also have watched all the original series but cannot, despite being Kenneth Branagh fans, stand the to us watered down UK series.
Most of the pleasure for me reading Scandinavian books and enjoying the series, is the full on reality of the current politics.
Having said that, I appreciated Ian Rankin's Rebus and other books because they too IMO reflected the real politics of the times. As do many other UK writers.....and European writers IMHO seem more able to include the real times we live in, placed in the context of the time frame of the story than NA writers. Without hyping it up! It is extreme enough on its own.....
How do you feel the times have changed....he wrote about Ystad and SA during a specific time. Today, the attempt to eliminate would just be different politians! The human networks are probably just even more entrenched....

Anne wrote: "I've been following the discussion re: Mankell here and I'm curious if any of you have opinions on all the politics in the novels? I have only seen the Branagh Wallander (all that's been available..."

The Scandinavian Crime Wave began as a leftist political movement based on different social problems 50 years ago, plus mean less to you as your not Swedish. It's understandable if they're less then fascinating to you as the social process there has marched throught time.

Sharon wrote: "I have read all HM KW books and many of his standalone books with the exception of his Africa books, even read a few of his children's books. HM is very involved in politics and his stories reflec..."

Thanks, Sharon. I have only read the first two Rebus and haven't found them overly political. I think what I meant about times changing is less about Ystad but rather that since Dogs of Riga and White Lioness a lot has changed politically in the world - SA is no longer under apartheid, for example. I would love to see another dramatization of Wallander, but am stuck with PBS over here. I guess I'm just not that interested in the politics in a larger context though I do appreciate how they affect a character in the novel - without the larger picture being presented. I'm not sure if that makes sense; for example, I like novels set in Hitler's Germany and how the Reich affected a character, but I don't need a diatribe about the regime. I'm reading A Prayer for Owen Meany and I'm sick of the complaints about Vietnam and Reagan (even though I agree!).

James wrote: "Anne wrote: "I've been following the discussion re: Mankell here and I'm curious if any of you have opinions on all the politics in the novels? I have only seen the Branagh Wallander (all that's b..."
I'm wondering based on this comment, James, and on Sharon's, if I haven't read enough Mankell; so far the politics that have "bored" me are to do with eastern Europe and South Africa. Hmmmm. Might have to sit down with the next in line after White Lioness. Thanks!

Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's political and world views, and for me one of the reasons I enjoy reading writers like Mankell, Stieg Larsson, also James's books based in Finland, are what I have learnt through these books. Pure history books and books on politics bore me, but when they are weaved into a story, I love them, because I discover so much through them. Even if some facts are not historically accurate, they still fascinate me - It's great to be able to tell between fiction and facts.

Like you, Anne, I enjoy movies and books about WWII. We all know the historical facts, but through fiction, we get to see history through different eyes and experience them in a way which we can't imagine by reading news reports or even watching documentaries.

So, back to Mankell, even though his books have political elements, I found them very interesting, allowing me to learn about a culture, that particular time in history, which I would never know otherwise.

Junying wrote: "Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's political and world views, and f..."

Anne wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I have read all HM KW books and many of his standalone books with the exception of his Africa books, even read a few of his children's books. HM is very involved in politics and his..."

Try Alone In Berlin, Hans Fallada......you will really find that a read. Google it. Quite a different inside view during WWII !

While apartheid is gone, the murder and intrigue there has changed pace and evolved and the human networks are quite a real problem in Europe. Not only reflected in Mankell's books.

Mankell has written some really raw books on Africa and he spends a large portion of his year living and working there. His insight is pretty intense.

I started reading these twenty years ago and have to say I appreciate the insights and find them thought provoking.

Other problems of immigration and crime through Europe seem IMO a true view being aired. Having just worked with war crimes for the past two decades and seeing so much in the daily international and local media. Our problems with movement around Europe are getting more intense and scare me silly.....

We lived through PBS in NA. Only real way to get quality with a few exceptions.

Junying wrote: "Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's political and world views, and f..."

Agree. Me too.....

Thanks, Sharon, Found Alone in Berlin on Amazon. Will put it on my reading list. Good night!

Junying wrote: "Thanks, Sharon, Found Alone in Berlin on Amazon. Will put it on my reading list. Good night!"

Under GRs it is the same but different title, I assume for USA market, Every Man Dies Alone. http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/3...
Or Alone in Berlin.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68...

Sharon wrote: "Junying wrote: "Thanks, Sharon, Found Alone in Berlin on Amazon. Will put it on my reading list. Good night!"

Under GRs it is the same but different title, I assume for USA market, Every Man Dies ..."

Thank you all for the insights! And I'm going to put that book on my Bookmooch wishlist - thanks!!

Sharon wrote: "Junying wrote: "Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's political and wo..."

It's very difficult to write a good book without painting a cultural portrait of the setting at a given moment in time, and those, sometimes most unfortunatately, include politics. But politics change and the reasons behind them forgotten, so to a later generation seem irrelevent. Consider though, Charles Dickens. He addressed the social problems of his age in such a way that they continue to resonate with readers today, although contexts have changed. My Helsinki White is a very political novel, but my hope was that the problems and corruption would resonate with U.S. readers, who have experienced very similar situations, the so-called 1%, Teabaggers, corruption, lies, and cover-ups at the highest levels in our recent history. A hero of mine, Graham Greene, seems to have been a master of this. His novels, which encompass political changes across 40 years of writing, all ring true to me me now and resonate with my own life/cultural experiences today. Read Shakespeare. Still feels contemporary, despite the use of language. Heart of Darkness became Apocalyse Now. And so on.

James wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Junying wrote: "Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's p..."

As always, Jim you say it so well....absolutely agree. I have often read certain writers and classics over the years in an attempt to understand the political, cultural and social situation of a certain time. Btw your latest is pre ordered on kindle and I see tomorrow is the due date :-).

Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominating our time in history. In Northern Europe, it's hard not to discuss women roped into human slavery and forced prostitution because so many of those women come from the former Eastern Bloc and cross Nordic borders on their journeys to hell. I wonder, if in 50 years, those themes will continue to be understood and resonate with readers in the latter part of the 21st century?

James wrote: "Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominating our time in history. In Northern Europe, ..."

IMHO addressing these issues so well has lead to the huge success currently of certain European writers, leading on to films and series.

Sharon wrote: "James wrote: "Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominating our time in history. In Nor..."

My literary studies (the university) lead me to believe that the writers in a movement who do something the best in a movement aren't necessarily those who do it best, but those who do it first. Yup, tomorrow is D-Day. I'm a little nervous.

James wrote: "Sharon wrote: "James wrote: "Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominating our time in ..."
I've habitually, through my writing career, blurred fact and fiction so closely that often it would take a PhD level expert to separate them. I've never decided if that's moral/ethical or not. Less in the Vaara series than to thrillers not available in English.

I can tell you that whether a book is published or not often depends on setting and whether the publisher feels it will engage an audience. If I'm not interested in the time and place, I'm hesitant to read a book. Same with professions of protagonists. That's why so many are cops rather than accountants.

Agree with pretty much all said. My fave books are a mix of modern crime and recent historical fiction - I get a bit bored once I get further back than the 20th century. If the author can effectively mix up some shades of history, real life, crime, repression, politics or war....then I'm bedazzled with joy. Not crime, but I love the novels of Pat Barker and my two favourite books of the last few years were Cutting for Stone and Half of a Yellow Sun.......but I digress....

Getting back to scandi crime & what Anne was saying......I too find Wallander on screen - Krister Henriksson version though, better than the books which I think are a bit stodgy and often long winded. Usually I'm the other way around and prefer the book to the film but perhaps that's a reflection of how excellent the Yellow Bird production is/was.

btw - I'm not a big fan of Alone in Berlin......found it very slow......but worth a read if interested in that era.

Ian wrote: "Agree with pretty much all said. My fave books are a mix of modern crime and recent historical fiction - I get a bit bored once I get further back than the 20th century. If the author can effective..."

Did you catch my post a few weeks back Ian where HM released that he has made A Troubled Man twist so KH can play him in a YellowBird production and in fact, 5 or 6 more after that? I was about as happy as could be when I read that. Love their productions of the Wallander and indeed Nesbo and quite a few others....

Ian wrote: "Agree with pretty much all said. My fave books are a mix of modern crime and recent historical fiction - I get a bit bored once I get further back than the 20th century. If the author can effective..."

Ahhh, Ian, "stodgy and often long winded" - that is my complaint! Reading through all of James and Sharon's comments has been an education but also I find myself agreeing - I like in the first Wallander the issue of immigration, or in Steig Larrson the issue of enslaved prostitution. I do agree these set the tone and provide a lot of the interest and necessary background. I guess I just felt I was being lectured to with some of the Wallander books. And I do feel that I've learned a lot about the world and history just because authors have included politics and current events in their books, absolutely. BTW, James, your books are on my Bookmooch wishlist too!

I just found Series 2 of KH as Wallander in Netflix so it's on the list. Looking forward to it!

Anne wrote: "I just found Series 2 of KH as Wallander in Netflix so it's on the list. Looking forward to it!"

Enjoy. There are way more in the series than books. IMO about 27 or so and something like six to come. Lookout for Jo Nesbo's Headhunters film on Netflix. Edge of your seat film from his standalone book outside the Harry Hole books.

Junying wrote: "Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's political and world views, and f..."

All, I fullheartedly agree that politically-infused writing allows us to, as Junying put it so very well, learn about a particular culture, a particular time in history, and i personally believe this is partially what separates the great books from the good. I can forget a "beach-blanket" mystery just about the day after I read it, but the Scandi mysteries I believe stay with us because they change us...hopefully making us more broad-minded, informed about people and places we don't know, etc. Unfortunately I've found few American writers who do this well...although I am yet to read James Thompson (on my April list!)

James wrote: "Sharon wrote: "James wrote: "Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominating our time in ..."

Don't be. Mind you from Lili's description it may be too noir for me.... :-))

James wrote: "James wrote: "Sharon wrote: "James wrote: "Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominatin..."

Interesting point.

Christine wrote: "Junying wrote: "Ann, James and Sharon,

I tend to agree with Sharon, regarding the politics of Mankell's books - In my humble opinion, all writing reflects in some way the author's political and wo..."

IMO European not just Scandinavian writers ....cannot generalize indeed but there are some amazing writers. I just finished two good books set in Spain, follow various Italian, French and the UK is full of good writers of substance. I personally really enjoyed the learning curve in Tom Rob Smiths three books, Child 44 (2008), The Secret Speech (2009), Agent 6 (2011). He follows a life and those lives surrounding the main character through birth to death and very changing and turbulent times within Russia and its relationship to the rest of the world. These books made a huge impression on me. They expanded on so many issues faced by people living through Stalin to today in Russia and really put perspective on Afghanistan and indeed USA and their witch hunts for communists to their full participation in directing certain events. But over the years we had writings from Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. They sure were popular in the 70s. Many before and since. Nation by nation. There are many good writers in NA but quality over quantity has always been a problem. This said as a NA living in Europe. IMHO look for the type and know you will have a good read...in fact too many to catch up on!

Anne wrote: "Ian wrote: "Agree with pretty much all said. My fave books are a mix of modern crime and recent historical fiction - I get a bit bored once I get further back than the 20th century. If the author c..."

Well, that's the big trick, isn't it? Writing about issues without lecturing and being a pedant.

Hi all, love the intelligent and interesting discussion about books & politics :)

Sharon - I want to see your reading list. I very much enjoyed/liked Child 44, and would like to read the other two you mentioned.

Christin - yes, I agree with you too. Scandinavian writers do seem to possess a very strong sense of social justice and a very liberal mind, which I find very appealing to me. The stories may be setting in a small town somewhere we've never been or even heard of, but the issues addressed are usually something we can all relate to. That may explain what some American authors lack - sometimes when I read something or watch something by Hollywood, I thought: this could only happen in America! It may not be a bad thing, but sometimes it can be limiting, making no lasting impact.

I also agree that sometimes films are better than the books. For instance, I loved Headhunters and Jackpot by Jo Nesbo, but I did find his book a bit too slow to my liking, although I have only read one of his books so far, so hardly a qualified critic about his work.

James, good luck with your new release today - will share it on my SM.

Junying wrote: "Hi all, love the intelligent and interesting discussion about books & politics :)

Sharon - I want to see your reading list. I very much enjoyed/liked Child 44, and would like to read the other two..."

Truly recommend the trilogy as it takes Leo from early childhood through turbulent times in our world but refreshing through the eyes of his part of the world. I felt I was in a long film reading them 1-2-3! Loved the journey. The writer is known for his research and has quite a rep. Google/wiki is good source I find for each new writer I tackle. A UK detective I worked with recommended him to me or I might have missed the books.

Child 44 could well be my next read Sharon.....it's been tempting me for a while.

btw Jim good luck with the launch of Helsinki Blood today....great launch/publicity e-mail you sent.....I await it's uk kindle availability. Hope you have some good parties arranged lol.

Thanks Ian. My party is working on the next book. I'm going to lounge in the bed while I do it though. I'm tired from prepping for this book launch.

Sharon wrote: "James wrote: "Sharon wrote: "James wrote: "Writing about Europe without addressing the financial crisis and problems concerning immigration is near impossible because those are the themes dominatin..."

Sharon If you liked the previous books in the series I would guess you will also like Helsinki Blood.