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runnerjules's review against another edition
4.0
Een stand-alone thriller van Henning Mankell die bijzonder veel indruk maakt. Niet enkel met een ingenieus uitgewerkt plot, maar ook met een meeslepende schrijfstijl en een waaier aan informatie uit het echte leven, waardoor fictie en feiten in elkaar worden gevlochten.
Het verhaal? Op een koude winterdag ontdekt een fotograaf heel toevallig dat zo goed als de hele bevolking van een dorpje in midden-Zweden op brutale wijze is vermoord. Deze akelige ontdekking is de startschot van een speurtocht naar de dader(s), een tocht die veel verder gaat dan de grenzen van Zweden en van het huidige tijdperk. De actie is immers een gevolg van iets dat meer dan honderd jaar geleden gebeurde, en Mankell neemt op deze manier de lezer mee op een reis door Zweden, China, Amerika, Engeland en zelfs Afrika. Ondanks de vele personages en de verschillende verhaallijnen weet Mankell zijn verhaal op een bijzonder duidelijke en boeiende wijze te brengen. Spannend tot op het einde.
Vier sterren in plaats van vijf, enkel en alleen omdat in bepaalde stukken wel heel uitgebreid wordt uitgeweid over Mao en zijn gedachtegoed. Geschiedenis is nu eenmaal niet mijn ding, ik had het na een tijdje wel gehad. Maar dat is persoonlijk. Deze informatie draagt wel degelijk bij tot het verhaal, al had het voor mij ook "de samenvatting" mogen zijn ;-)
Het verhaal? Op een koude winterdag ontdekt een fotograaf heel toevallig dat zo goed als de hele bevolking van een dorpje in midden-Zweden op brutale wijze is vermoord. Deze akelige ontdekking is de startschot van een speurtocht naar de dader(s), een tocht die veel verder gaat dan de grenzen van Zweden en van het huidige tijdperk. De actie is immers een gevolg van iets dat meer dan honderd jaar geleden gebeurde, en Mankell neemt op deze manier de lezer mee op een reis door Zweden, China, Amerika, Engeland en zelfs Afrika. Ondanks de vele personages en de verschillende verhaallijnen weet Mankell zijn verhaal op een bijzonder duidelijke en boeiende wijze te brengen. Spannend tot op het einde.
Vier sterren in plaats van vijf, enkel en alleen omdat in bepaalde stukken wel heel uitgebreid wordt uitgeweid over Mao en zijn gedachtegoed. Geschiedenis is nu eenmaal niet mijn ding, ik had het na een tijdje wel gehad. Maar dat is persoonlijk. Deze informatie draagt wel degelijk bij tot het verhaal, al had het voor mij ook "de samenvatting" mogen zijn ;-)
matik70's review against another edition
4.0
"Quello che è successo è troppo grande, troppo misterioso."
In un villaggio sperduto della Svezia....qualcuno arriva ed uccide tutti!
Questo è l'inizio sconvolgente del libro di Mankell, una donna Birgitta Roslin inizia a ricostruire ciò che è successo in quel villaggio.
Per riuscire a capire chi ha commesso il fatto torneremo indietro nella storia fino al 1896 in America dove veniva costruita la ferrovia, conosceremo, soprattutto, la storia di tre fratelli cinesi e scopriremo che chi ha commesso la strage in Svezia nel 2006 ha covato dentro di sè rabbia, odio e rancore per discriminazioni e oltraggi subiti dai propri antenati.
Un libro che non è solo un thriller, ma che racchiude in sè tanti concetti legati al mondo di oggi dove vige corrente la corruzione, le tangenti, la giustizia traballa e la voglia di restare al potere a tutti i costi senza scrupoli alcuni.
Un libro che ci farà conoscere la Cina, un mondo lontano e particolare!
In un villaggio sperduto della Svezia....qualcuno arriva ed uccide tutti!
Questo è l'inizio sconvolgente del libro di Mankell, una donna Birgitta Roslin inizia a ricostruire ciò che è successo in quel villaggio.
Per riuscire a capire chi ha commesso il fatto torneremo indietro nella storia fino al 1896 in America dove veniva costruita la ferrovia, conosceremo, soprattutto, la storia di tre fratelli cinesi e scopriremo che chi ha commesso la strage in Svezia nel 2006 ha covato dentro di sè rabbia, odio e rancore per discriminazioni e oltraggi subiti dai propri antenati.
Un libro che non è solo un thriller, ma che racchiude in sè tanti concetti legati al mondo di oggi dove vige corrente la corruzione, le tangenti, la giustizia traballa e la voglia di restare al potere a tutti i costi senza scrupoli alcuni.
Un libro che ci farà conoscere la Cina, un mondo lontano e particolare!
jborst's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Not my favorite Henning Mankell book. While I appreciated the unfolding of why all the horror went down, it was tedious at times.
alanzalot's review against another edition
1.0
This is one of the worst books I've ever read. Maybe I should back up and say that I don't like crime fiction and that the only reason I read this book is that it was given to me as a gift from my in-laws (who I now respect less for recommending this garbage. I kid. Sort of).
Internationally bestselling novelist? This is a joke, right? The author is in serious need of a thesaurus because you can only read the same descriptive phrase so many times in a single page, let alone paragraph (perhaps this frustration would more appropriately be directed at the translator?). There are a million irrelevant and tedious details thrown in, and the dialogue is so poorly written it's just painfully awkward. Here is an excerpt from when the protagonist is in Beijing and is approached by a young man:
"Are you lost? Can I help you?"
"I'm just looking at that handsome building over there. Do you know who owns it?"
He shook his head in surprise.
"I study to be veterinarian. I know nothing of tall buildings. Can I help you? I try to teach me speak better English."
"Your English is very good." She pointed up at the projecting terrace. "I wonder who lives there?"
"Somebody very rich."
"Can you help me?" she said. She took out the photograph of Wang Min Hao. "Can you go over to the guards and ask them if they know this man. If they ask why you want to know, just say somebody asked you to give him a message."
"What message?"
"Tell them you'll fetch it. Come back here. I shall wait by the hospital entrance."
"Why not ask them yourself?" he said.
"I'm too shy. I don't think a Western woman on her own should ask about a Chinese man."
"Do you know him?"
"Yes." ... "One more thing," she said. "Ask them who lives up there, on the top floor. It looks like an apartment with a big terrace."
"My name is Huo," he said. "I will ask."
"My name's Birgitta. Just pretend to be interested."
"Where you from? U.S.A.?"
"Sweden. Ruidian, I think it's called in Chinese."
"I do not know where that is."
"It's almost impossible to explain."
Is it? Is it really? Ever hear of a place called Europe? Well, it's there. In the north. Off the Baltic Sea. All of the dialogue is so unnatural it just made me cringe and laugh in disbelief.
Also, you already have a complete picture of what's happened from the half way point of the book but are forced to go over it all again from someone else's perspective. The climax, therefore, is extremely anticlimactic, and all the loose ends are neatly tied up with this neat explanation: "There were...many details that still weren't explained...There were threads that would continue to hang loose, perhaps forever." Wow, I guess he heard that deadline approaching and had to put things somewhere fast.
Oh, and the whole story revolves around a court judge who consistently exhibits poor judgment in everyday dealings. Come ON!
Internationally bestselling novelist? This is a joke, right? The author is in serious need of a thesaurus because you can only read the same descriptive phrase so many times in a single page, let alone paragraph (perhaps this frustration would more appropriately be directed at the translator?). There are a million irrelevant and tedious details thrown in, and the dialogue is so poorly written it's just painfully awkward. Here is an excerpt from when the protagonist is in Beijing and is approached by a young man:
"Are you lost? Can I help you?"
"I'm just looking at that handsome building over there. Do you know who owns it?"
He shook his head in surprise.
"I study to be veterinarian. I know nothing of tall buildings. Can I help you? I try to teach me speak better English."
"Your English is very good." She pointed up at the projecting terrace. "I wonder who lives there?"
"Somebody very rich."
"Can you help me?" she said. She took out the photograph of Wang Min Hao. "Can you go over to the guards and ask them if they know this man. If they ask why you want to know, just say somebody asked you to give him a message."
"What message?"
"Tell them you'll fetch it. Come back here. I shall wait by the hospital entrance."
"Why not ask them yourself?" he said.
"I'm too shy. I don't think a Western woman on her own should ask about a Chinese man."
"Do you know him?"
"Yes." ... "One more thing," she said. "Ask them who lives up there, on the top floor. It looks like an apartment with a big terrace."
"My name is Huo," he said. "I will ask."
"My name's Birgitta. Just pretend to be interested."
"Where you from? U.S.A.?"
"Sweden. Ruidian, I think it's called in Chinese."
"I do not know where that is."
"It's almost impossible to explain."
Is it? Is it really? Ever hear of a place called Europe? Well, it's there. In the north. Off the Baltic Sea. All of the dialogue is so unnatural it just made me cringe and laugh in disbelief.
Also, you already have a complete picture of what's happened from the half way point of the book but are forced to go over it all again from someone else's perspective. The climax, therefore, is extremely anticlimactic, and all the loose ends are neatly tied up with this neat explanation: "There were...many details that still weren't explained...There were threads that would continue to hang loose, perhaps forever." Wow, I guess he heard that deadline approaching and had to put things somewhere fast.
Oh, and the whole story revolves around a court judge who consistently exhibits poor judgment in everyday dealings. Come ON!
taylorkon123's review against another edition
3.0
i cannot believe this book came from the same culture that created abba…….
schinn4's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting more but got bogged down to the point that I stopped caring and forgot about the historical background to the story.
sternyblossom's review against another edition
3.0
There are definitely slow parts, but the parts in between captured my interest and prevented me from ditching the book. That and the fact that it’s a Henning Mankell book. I’m pretty sure I’m going to read everything he has written.