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trizie81's review against another edition
3.0
Das Buch liesst sich sehr gut (an einem Abend durchgelesen). Ein "old school" Polizeiroman möchte man sagen. Gestört hat mich die häufig abwertende Darstellung der Frauen im Roman wie es vermutlich früher ok erschien ( immerhin ist der Roman Anfang der 60er erschienen),daher 2 Punkte Abzug. Es wundert mich trotzdem dass eine Frau hier mitgeschrieben hat.
Wenn einem nicht auffallen würde dass die Protagonisten kein Handy haben und stattdessen Schreibmaschine schreiben könnte die Handlung allerdings auch gut im Jetzt spielen.
Wenn einem nicht auffallen würde dass die Protagonisten kein Handy haben und stattdessen Schreibmaschine schreiben könnte die Handlung allerdings auch gut im Jetzt spielen.
deanab's review against another edition
DNF. This book just dragged on. I read 80 pages and the last chapter since it was a book club book. I could not get invested in the characters. It was annoying that they always called the main character, Martin Beck, by his full name. Also, if I didn’t know that this was a series, I would have thought that he died by the end of the book because he was always sick.
briesespieces's review against another edition
2.0
i really liked how this book evoked a sense of a realistic detective procedural where the crime is not solved within a matter of days. here, we get to see the detective(s) slog through the clues or lack of none for months and the frustration as well as triumphs from breaking a lead.
i also liked how fast paced it was however, it did tend to feel like it was still moving too slowly in some parts. this was the first nordic noir i’ve read and for some reason, i expected there to be a twist on who the killer was but there was no such thing and since i do not have any previous nordic noir knowledge to go off on, i am not sure whether my expectations were fair or reasonable.
it was kind of disappointing a bit especially with all the nice buildup and i was just ready for a plot twist. i will say this book definitely made me curious about other nordic noirs and whether there’d be any similarities in terms of plots and structure. i don’t think i’ll be continuing this series though because i didn’t particularly like Martin Beck. he was too average imo and again this could just be me but idk. all in all not bad. the story was just average.
52 Book Club Challenge: A Nordic Noir.
i also liked how fast paced it was however, it did tend to feel like it was still moving too slowly in some parts. this was the first nordic noir i’ve read and for some reason, i expected there to be a twist on who the killer was but there was no such thing and since i do not have any previous nordic noir knowledge to go off on, i am not sure whether my expectations were fair or reasonable.
it was kind of disappointing a bit especially with all the nice buildup and i was just ready for a plot twist. i will say this book definitely made me curious about other nordic noirs and whether there’d be any similarities in terms of plots and structure. i don’t think i’ll be continuing this series though because i didn’t particularly like Martin Beck. he was too average imo and again this could just be me but idk. all in all not bad. the story was just average.
52 Book Club Challenge: A Nordic Noir.
compund_reader's review against another edition
The writing style isn't for me, and I didn't find the story to be particularly gripping.
cametoconquer's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This might feel derivative to a modern reader, but the reality is that this book is 60 years old at the time of this writing. This came before many other books that have taken inspiration from it, including the genre of Nordic noir. Dreary weather? Check. Grumpy unhappy people? Check.
The fact that everyone was sick with something at almost all points of the book was weirdly funny to me, but given that they all spent nights outside staking out their quarry in the middle of Swedish winter would explain that.
The ending felt abrupt, and the plot was a bit moralistic, but overall this is a solid detective book to cleanse the palate.
The fact that everyone was sick with something at almost all points of the book was weirdly funny to me, but given that they all spent nights outside staking out their quarry in the middle of Swedish winter would explain that.
The ending felt abrupt, and the plot was a bit moralistic, but overall this is a solid detective book to cleanse the palate.
georgialamb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cvall96's review against another edition
5.0
Seedy, disturbing, efficently-told yarn on that age-old bugaboo: misogyny and the basic murderousness of a man if a woman so much as vocalizes a soupçon of undesire for him. It's the first of a series of Scandinavian police procedurals I'm now dying to read more of: a mild-mannered and not-terribly-interesting detective, Martin Beck, ignores his wife at home as he becomes obsessively fixated on solving the rape and killing of an unidentified blonde who washes up Laura Palmer-style in a Swedish lake. The problem: any man in the world is a suspect. And just such an Anyman becomes the unremarkable, boring, milquetoast strangler who wants to purify the world of all that sexy girly dirtiness — as much as he wants it, too. This and the rest of the other nine books in the Martin Beck cycle were written by a Marxist Swedish married couple, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö; this must be one of the cleanest, most unemotional detective yarns ever spun. No baroque Chanderlisms here à la "I had to hit the hay and hit it hard"; it's just-the-facts, and the simple reporting of facts and twisted ideological fronts for male inadequacy — "They're disgusting. They sparkle and exult with their decadence, and later they're insolent and offensive" — are baroque in and of themselves. Pair it with Dorothy B. Hughes's IN A LONELY PLACE. I lucked into the entire set for about $30 at the New Haven bookstore, Grey Matter; cannot wait for more of the chill adventures of Martin Beck.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
It’s hard to define why I found this novel so much more enjoyable than some of the more recent Swedish mysteries. It is written in a spare, tight prose. The solution is plausible instead of too convoluted. The characters seem fully defined. The book drew me in, and I was not disappointed.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/roseanna/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/roseanna/
kinklekota's review against another edition
2.0
On the cover it says: "lively," "gripping," "exciting." I found the book to be none of those. The plot picked up a bit toward the end, but the first 50 pages were a real chore. And I have no trouble reading "slow" stories, as long as they're well executed. Here the narration is sprinkled with unnecessary detail, but at the same time it gives precious little detail about what really matters to me as a reader (what are those people ACTUALLY like? What does it REALLY feel like to conduct such an arduous investigation? I still don't know).
I would also like to note that I have absolutely no patience for the type of hero Martin Beck represents: brooding and shallow at the same time, unhappy with the life he has chosen for himself, but unwilling to take any responsibility for it, blaming his wife for not being the woman of his dreams. Details of his daily life do not make me sympathise with him. I do not see him as a tragic hero, if that was intended.
Also, it is impossibly aggravating that Martin Beck is ALWAYS mentioned by his full name, while other characters are mentioned by last names only. Your Martin Beck is not so friggin special. You may call him Beck from time to time, for pete's sake!
I would also like to note that I have absolutely no patience for the type of hero Martin Beck represents: brooding and shallow at the same time, unhappy with the life he has chosen for himself, but unwilling to take any responsibility for it, blaming his wife for not being the woman of his dreams. Details of his daily life do not make me sympathise with him. I do not see him as a tragic hero, if that was intended.
Also, it is impossibly aggravating that Martin Beck is ALWAYS mentioned by his full name, while other characters are mentioned by last names only. Your Martin Beck is not so friggin special. You may call him Beck from time to time, for pete's sake!