The Troubled Man
Encyclopedia
The Troubled Man is a crime fiction
novel by Swedish author Henning Mankell
, featuring police inspector Kurt Wallander
. Mankell has announced that it is the final Wallander novel.
and hired killers from Eastern Europe. Inspector Wallander suspects he has traced a big secret. This could be the worst spy scandal in Swedish history. At the same time, evidence suggests that Wallander is losing his memory.
(Pyramiden) in 1999. In 2002, he released Before the Frost
(Innan frosten), a novel that shifted the focus of the stories to Wallander's daughter Linda, who joins the police force. Mankell planned more novels focusing on Linda's police career but subsequently abandoned them after the death of Johanna Sällström
, the actress who portrayed Linda in the Swedish Wallander
TV series. Several years passed before Mankell decided there was one more Kurt Wallander story to tell. The naval aspect of The Troubled Man plot was inspired by the submarine incursions into Swedish territorial waters
that occurred between 1982 and 1983. Mankell considered these to be the worst scandals in Swedish political history.
The pace of The Troubled Man is significantly slower than the previous Wallander stories, with several chapters between murders.
The theme of the novel unofficially ties into Mankell's play Politik, which is set to debut at Stockholm City Theatre in Autumn 2010; the plot also concerns the Swedish submarine incidents in 1982. The play's main character is the late Swedish prime minister Olof Palme
, who also is featured in this book. Mankell got the idea for the play while he was working on The Troubled Man. The play will start on a submarine and then progress through time until after the assassination of Olof Palme
. Mankell has stated that he hopes that Michael Nyqvist
(best known for his role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) will play the lead role.
Swedish publishers Leopard förlag printed a first edition run of 125,000 copies. They are planning an immediate second edition due to the significant advance orders.
, Lotta Olsson wrote that some clues were unaccounted for at the end of the novel, and had "an annoying suspicion that Mankell started typing without really knowing where the story is heading". Of the writing, Olsson believe Mankell had a "restrained, factual" style, but felt that the narrative was being "told by a person with concentration elsewhere". Olsson concluded by stating that although the ending—of circumstances just "fading away"—might have reflected the aging Wallander's reality, it was "not sufficiently interesting to read about".
In Sydsvenskan
, Eva Ström had a higher appreciation for the writing style: "Mankell pilots the reader through the plot with a secure hand." Ström identified a theme of the novel as "What happens when memory starts to weaken?" Both Olsson and Ström suspected that another Wallander story would follow The Troubled Man, despite Mankell's insistence to the contrary.
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novel by Swedish author Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell is a Swedish crime writer, children's author, leftist activist and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most famous creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.-Life and career:...
, featuring police inspector Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander is a fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell. The protagonist of several mystery novels, set in and around the town of Ystad, 60 km south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Skåne...
. Mankell has announced that it is the final Wallander novel.
Synopsis
A highly-decorated Swedish navy officer, Håkan von Enke, disappears during his daily walk. For Kurt Wallander this becomes a very personal case as Von Enke is Linda Wallander's father-in-law. The clues lead back in time to the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and hired killers from Eastern Europe. Inspector Wallander suspects he has traced a big secret. This could be the worst spy scandal in Swedish history. At the same time, evidence suggests that Wallander is losing his memory.
Background and writing
Henning Mankell had originally planned to write no more Wallander stories after the publication of the short story collection The PyramidThe Pyramid (short stories)
The Pyramid is a collection of five short stories by Swedish crime fiction author Henning Mankell, published in 1999...
(Pyramiden) in 1999. In 2002, he released Before the Frost
Before the Frost
Before the Frost is a novel by Swedish crime-writer Henning Mankell.The main protagonist is Linda Wallander, daughter of Inspector Wallander...
(Innan frosten), a novel that shifted the focus of the stories to Wallander's daughter Linda, who joins the police force. Mankell planned more novels focusing on Linda's police career but subsequently abandoned them after the death of Johanna Sällström
Johanna Sällström
Johanna Maria Ellinor Berglund-Sällström was a Swedish actress...
, the actress who portrayed Linda in the Swedish Wallander
Wallander (Swedish TV series)
Wallander is a Swedish television series adapted from Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels and starring Krister Henriksson in the title role. The 1st series of 13 films were produced in 2005 and 2006, with one taken directly from a novel and the remainder with new storylines suggested by Mankell...
TV series. Several years passed before Mankell decided there was one more Kurt Wallander story to tell. The naval aspect of The Troubled Man plot was inspired by the submarine incursions into Swedish territorial waters
Swedish submarine incidents
The submarine hunts or submarine incidents were a series of several incidents involving foreign submarines that occurred in Swedish territorial waters during the Cold War, more specifically during the 1980s...
that occurred between 1982 and 1983. Mankell considered these to be the worst scandals in Swedish political history.
The pace of The Troubled Man is significantly slower than the previous Wallander stories, with several chapters between murders.
The theme of the novel unofficially ties into Mankell's play Politik, which is set to debut at Stockholm City Theatre in Autumn 2010; the plot also concerns the Swedish submarine incidents in 1982. The play's main character is the late Swedish prime minister Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
, who also is featured in this book. Mankell got the idea for the play while he was working on The Troubled Man. The play will start on a submarine and then progress through time until after the assassination of Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
. Mankell has stated that he hopes that Michael Nyqvist
Michael Nyqvist
Rolf Åke Michael Nyqvist is a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known from his role as police officer Banck in the first series of Beck movies made in 1997. He is recently most recognized for his role in the internationally acclaimed Millennium series as...
(best known for his role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) will play the lead role.
Publication history
The novel was published in Sweden on 18 August 2009. In the United Kingdom, Harvill Secker—who have published the British first editions of all the Wallander books—bought the rights to the translation in 2009. It will be published in March 29 2011 at Indigo Crossiron mills in Rocky view, Alberta, under the title The Troubled Man.Swedish publishers Leopard förlag printed a first edition run of 125,000 copies. They are planning an immediate second edition due to the significant advance orders.
Reception
In Dagens NyheterDagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
, Lotta Olsson wrote that some clues were unaccounted for at the end of the novel, and had "an annoying suspicion that Mankell started typing without really knowing where the story is heading". Of the writing, Olsson believe Mankell had a "restrained, factual" style, but felt that the narrative was being "told by a person with concentration elsewhere". Olsson concluded by stating that although the ending—of circumstances just "fading away"—might have reflected the aging Wallander's reality, it was "not sufficiently interesting to read about".
In Sydsvenskan
Sydsvenskan
-External links:*...
, Eva Ström had a higher appreciation for the writing style: "Mankell pilots the reader through the plot with a secure hand." Ström identified a theme of the novel as "What happens when memory starts to weaken?" Both Olsson and Ström suspected that another Wallander story would follow The Troubled Man, despite Mankell's insistence to the contrary.