3 posts tagged “mysteries”

I have found that many of my interests and hobbies are relatively rare. That is, not everyone shares my obsession with them. In fact, many of them never even heard of some of my favorites in a given area of interest.

It's kind of like my favorite types of animals. (Though listing my favorite animals will take time and blog post space. It might be easier to list the ones I'm not too keen on, but I digress.)

So, to get to the point, it occurred to me that my two favorite genres of books are a bit like cats and dogs. Let me explain.

Crime novels, in general, are crime novels, though there are of course historic ones, thrillers, puzzles etc. So that is the same as cats. A cat is a cat, regardless of its breed or appearance. (Though to make this a little more complicated, most people haven't heard of my favorite mystery writers either, so maybe I shouldn't take this metaphor too far.)

Anyway - With me so far?

Fantasy is more like dogs. What's a dog? A big tough, impressive one, like a - Eurasian? Yes. A lively, medium sized one, like a Tibetan Terrier? Yes. A small, adorable one, like a Lhasa apso or a Bolognese? Yes. A - you get the picture. My favorite fantasy books do have other followers, but really not that many. If I meet an average fantasy fan (yeah, I wish), I'm betting he or she might not even have heard of my favorites.

So there you have it. When it comes to crime novels, I like many different kinds. Fantasy, particularly my not so well known authors. 

Since the (originally) Swedish Wallander mysteries have been successfully exported to the UK, I thought I'd put in my two cents' on this topic. In an earlier post, I've already mentioned that they're not quite my thing. What I would like to discuss is something else. In the UK reviewers are raving about Kenneth Branagh in Wallander. I haven't seen the UK version yet, but I will, just to see what they've made of it. As far as I'm concerned, things can only get better. :)

What I'm reacting to is just one thing that keeps being repeated over and over again, in the reviews, in the UK and even in the US. Sweden is gloomy. What? Ok, I'll admit that the north, far away from Wallander's Scania, could be described as gloomy, especially during the dark season, which, frankly, lasts almost all the year around. That's the north, not Scania. If you went to Scania presumably you'd notice that much of Sweden is pretty ordinary. The scenery is beautiful. (I just had to mention that. After all, I live here. I like the scenery.) But let's get this straight once and for all, Scanians are not gloomy. Not generally. Sure, anyone can get gloomy, especially if you work hard all day tracing killers and dealing with gruesome murders. Are the British sleuths any more cheerful?

This is how the rest of us Swedes (or Goths, as I am - and no, I'm not dressed in black, we're called goths anyway and there's a fascinating linguistic or semantic explanation to why there are so many goths worldwide, especially throughout history) view Scania and the Scanians:

They're jolly, positive people. They love to eat and drink. Kind of, if you allow the metaphor or simile like hobbits, though not as short and fat, well some might be, but then so can anyone. Scania is usually green and smiling, rather than gloomy, though personally I tend to agree that the area around Ystad might be described as gloomy, especially during the winter.

Oh, and another thing, for those of you who are into fan fiction/slash, I will translate my Wallander fics some time, and it will be sooner if I get some requests.

Right now, Europe is discovering Swedish crime novels. I just read an article on the Guardian's website which mentioned, among others, Stieg Larsson, Liza Marklund and Camilla Läckberg. The UK has already taken Henning Mankell's Wallander mysteries to their heart.

It seems almost petty to mention that they've just scratched the surface. In all honesty, I haven't read Stieg Larsson or Liza Marklund. I have however read Mankell, Nesser and Läckberg and I must say I wasn't impressed. For instance, take the latter - when you write a 'mystery' that is so predictable that someone like me - a writer wannabe, but still just an amateur - knows exactly who is the killer, why he did it and how it all happened when I'm reading the first couple of lines of the second chapter - what does that tell you about the quality of the book?

Forget all of the above writers (the Whiskas people books - Whiskas people are those who go for the most popular of anything, in case you're wondering). I'll tell you about my favorites instead. Since we're talking about Swedish mystery writers, I won't go into my Finnish favorite, at least not here, or the British, American or French books I like. So, here goes...

Emma Vall. She's really three persons using the same pen name. They're reporters, and so is their main character Amanda Rönn. She investigates crimes in the northern town Sundsvall. Emma Vall also writes mysteries for kids, about a girl named Svala (she's originally from Iceland, hence the unusual name). The mysteries for kids are as well written as the others. My only problem with the kids' books, is that they're a little predictable. The basis is as follows: Svala makes a few new friends (or reconnects with some old friends) who have a problem. She starts to investigate to help them. That's it. Don't let that stop you from reading them, if you like books for older kids. They're still good, even if the writers might want to vary the 'recipe' a little. If I have to criticize anything about the 'grownup' mysteries, it's the fact that while Amanda Rönn is relatively young - just over 30 - she prefers men who are around 60. I think that's because one of the writers is about that age herself and creates love interests of her own age. All their books are well written and definitely worth reading.

Arne Dahl. Pen name for a man named Jan Arnald. In addition to writing mysteries he's also a short story writer, editor and critic. His mysteries are about a fictitious group investigating serious crime - the A group. The group employs quite a few people, so chances are you'll find a main character you'll like. For instance out of the roughly ten people involved, I primarily like two of them, both male, but there's no one I absolutely can't stand. These books are well written and fascinating, but once in a while, Arne Dahl tends to get a little too fanciful (I noticed this in Hidden Numbers (Mörkertal).

Thomas Kanger. He's a reporter too, just like the women behind Emma Vall. His main character is young cop Elina Wiik who works in Västerås in eastern Sweden. Just like most cops, she's single and trying to find time to date in the midst of her busy professional life. I used to like these books and I still like most of them. However, in The Borderland (Gränslandet) he just gets too fanciful for my taste. There's absolutely no logic in the ending. It stops being a mystery and turns into speculative fiction and that just isn't appropriate, without any warning. The earlier books are still fine, but I won't recommend The Borderland.

Åsa Nilsonne. She's actually a psychiatrist and medical doctor, but also writes excellent mysteries about the cop Monika Pedersen, working in Stockholm. Monika Pedersen is single (is there any cop who isn't either single or divorced?), but has a close male friend, who is gay. Most of the cases are investigated in central Stockholm, but in the last book Monika goes to Ethiopia to follow up on a lead.