The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell

Just got to share this trailer:



and an interview of Mankell talking about The Man from Beijing (published 28 January 2010 in hardback):



Favourite quote from the book:  "The truth is never simple.  It's only in the Western world that you think knowledge is something you can acquire quickly and easily.  It takes time.  The truth never hurries."


Backcover blurb:  In a sleepy hamlet in the north of Sweden, the local police make a chilling discovery; nineteen people have been brutally slaughtered.  It is a crime unprecedented in Sweden's history and the police are under incredible pressure to solve the killings.

When Judge Birgitta Roslin reads about the massacre, she realises that she has a family connection to one of the couples involved and decides to investigate.  After the police make a hasty arrest it is left to her to find the source of a nineteenth century diary and red silk ribbon found near the crime scene.  What she will uncover leads her into an international web of corruption and a story of vengeance that stretches back over a hundred years.

The Man from Beijing is a gripping political thriller and a compelling detective story and is translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson.

Brief biography of the author:  Henning Mankell, author of the BAFTA-award-winning BBC television series Wallander, devotes much of his free time to working with Aids charities in Africa, where he is also director of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo.  In 2008, the University of St Andrews in Scotland conferred him with an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of his major contribution to literature and to the practical exercise of conscience.

My briefest thoughts:  If you want to read the usual Swedish crime fiction, then you might be let down by picking up this book because this book is more of a political thriller encompassing Europe, China, Africa and the United States from the present dating back to the 19th century than the ubiquitous crime mystery that you would expect from one of the masters of crime writing.  I do not read a lot of Mankell, this probably being the second after a long sabbatical, but if the reviews are anything to go by, the Wallander series is the usual crime fiction fare but this book, in contrast, is unusual for the simple reason that colonialism in China and a lust for revenge is Mankell's target here.  I would especially welcome authors to write outside their comfort zone and in this case, Mankell has done a super job because after a tentative start on the book, the rest is engrossing, entertaining and enthralling.  Do read it.  Highly recommended.  Also, the translation is superbly done.

I like this review by Eurocrime - always spot-on - or you can read the review by The New York Times entitled Murder Most Global.

To know more about the author, go to his website or the Inspector-Wallander website for English speaking fans where you can find lots of interesting and updated information on his books and interests and of course about the "master of the Swedish crime thriller" himself.  You can like and leave comments on the Henning Mankell's Facebook page too.

Rating:  4/5