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markhoh's review against another edition
5.0
Håkan Nesser is a Scandinavian author I have been keen to delve into for quite some time but somehow haven’t managed to read any of his books until now. And wow... touted as the godfather of Swedish crime, ‘The Darkest Day’ is evidence of such a claim.
The Darkest Day is the first in Nesser’s Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti series and epitomises everything that is quintessentially Nordic Noir. Dark, broody, deeply delving into the shadows of every character, exposing those inner most thoughts that are rarely surfaced with a plot that is equally driven by the characters as the reader gets to know them intimately.
Nesser’s style of writing appeals immensely to me. He digs deep in every sentence, building pictures, atmosphere and revealing all that is not spoken but indeed exists beneath the surface of seemingly average people. I loved every page and found the writing like some sort of melodious prose.
Essentially, The Darkest Day is a deep family saga and much of the first section of the book is devoted to unpacking the dynamics of the Hermansson family on the occasion of Karl-Erik and daughter Ebba’s mutual birthdays. It is a family with deep seated tension, division and unspoken difference. When black sheep of the family, Robert and golden haired grandson, Henrik go missing over two consecutive days in seemingly similar yet different circumstances the family is thrown into even further disarray.
Feeling very pleased to have finally opened one of Nesser’s books and looking forward to reading more in this series and his other series with Inspector van Veeteren. 5 big fat stars.
The Darkest Day is the first in Nesser’s Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti series and epitomises everything that is quintessentially Nordic Noir. Dark, broody, deeply delving into the shadows of every character, exposing those inner most thoughts that are rarely surfaced with a plot that is equally driven by the characters as the reader gets to know them intimately.
Nesser’s style of writing appeals immensely to me. He digs deep in every sentence, building pictures, atmosphere and revealing all that is not spoken but indeed exists beneath the surface of seemingly average people. I loved every page and found the writing like some sort of melodious prose.
Essentially, The Darkest Day is a deep family saga and much of the first section of the book is devoted to unpacking the dynamics of the Hermansson family on the occasion of Karl-Erik and daughter Ebba’s mutual birthdays. It is a family with deep seated tension, division and unspoken difference. When black sheep of the family, Robert and golden haired grandson, Henrik go missing over two consecutive days in seemingly similar yet different circumstances the family is thrown into even further disarray.
Feeling very pleased to have finally opened one of Nesser’s books and looking forward to reading more in this series and his other series with Inspector van Veeteren. 5 big fat stars.
hal_banks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
niinjah's review against another edition
5.0
Dette var en forfriskende annerledes spenningsroman. Morsomme metaforer, gode karakter-beskrivelser krydret med spenning. Meir kan en ikkje forlange fra ei bok.
tardesentrelibros's review against another edition
1.0
100 primeras páginas soporíferas. Para quien le gusten los thrillers pausados... No tengo tiempo para leer estas cosas.
juniperusxx's review against another edition
5.0
Kirjan tiiliskivimäinen ulkomuoto sai minut lykkäämään lukemisen aloittamista kauan, ihan turhaan! Hurjan koukuttava tarina, jossa pääpaino on ihmisten mielenliikkeiden tutkailussa ja keskinäisten suhteiden kuvailussa, ei dekkari ihan perinteisessä mielessä. Valheiden verkko tiivistyi niin mielenkiintoisella tavalla, että kirjaa ei olisi halunnut laskea käsistään. Barbarotti-sarjan kakkososa piti laittaa toivelistalle jo ennen kuin olin saanut tätä aloitusosaa loppuun. Vahva suositus!
leeloovoncaster's review against another edition
3.0
3,5/5
Más que novela negra, esto es un drama familiar. No va de descubrir que ha pasado con la desaparición de un tío y su sobrino en plena reunión familiar, va de ver como estas desapariciones afectan a los diferentes miembros de la familia.
Al principio me dio vibras de Agatha Christie: te presenta una el lugar donde ocurrirán los hechos, te presenta a los diferentes personajes y después ocurre el asesinato/desaparición… lo que sea que desencadena la trama. Pero hasta ahí las similitudes. El inspector apenas pinta nada para el espectador (siempre sabemos todo mucho antes que él) y todas las pistas claves las sabemos desde el principio, ni siquiera hay un esfuerzo para esconder ni tergiversar la información para que dudemos de alguien.
Qué le pasó a uno es tan obvio que ofende, y lo que le pasó al otro se lo saca tan de la manga que creo que ofende aún más. Es como si el autor se hubiera arrepentido de poner a dos personajes en usa situación y se sacara a uno de encima rápido.
Por otro lado la resolución de todo es demasiado tibia, hay muchos huecos e información a medio decir. El final es bastante decepcionante. Como novela negra no vale mucho, como drama familiar se deja leer.
Más que novela negra, esto es un drama familiar. No va de descubrir que ha pasado con la desaparición de un tío y su sobrino en plena reunión familiar, va de ver como estas desapariciones afectan a los diferentes miembros de la familia.
Al principio me dio vibras de Agatha Christie: te presenta una el lugar donde ocurrirán los hechos, te presenta a los diferentes personajes y después ocurre el asesinato/desaparición… lo que sea que desencadena la trama. Pero hasta ahí las similitudes. El inspector apenas pinta nada para el espectador (siempre sabemos todo mucho antes que él) y todas las pistas claves las sabemos desde el principio, ni siquiera hay un esfuerzo para esconder ni tergiversar la información para que dudemos de alguien.
Qué le pasó a uno es tan obvio que ofende, y lo que le pasó al otro se lo saca tan de la manga que creo que ofende aún más. Es como si el autor se hubiera arrepentido de poner a dos personajes en usa situación y se sacara a uno de encima rápido.
Por otro lado la resolución de todo es demasiado tibia, hay muchos huecos e información a medio decir. El final es bastante decepcionante. Como novela negra no vale mucho, como drama familiar se deja leer.
nataliya_x's review against another edition
4.0
Just like with Tana French, this was quite different than what I’d expect from a supposed crime novel. It’s really not a whodunit in a traditional sense (that part is obvious pretty early on) but rather a family drama, a story of a pretty screwed up family to begin with that gets torn up entirely by a double disappearance/murder on the darkest days of already grim Swedish winter.
It’s like watching a trainwreck in slow motion — and it’s strangely fascinating.
And there’s also a police inspector Gunnar Barbarotti who hilariously makes deals with God to prove his existence in a very transactional manner, and who pretty realistically works on the case for months and months, and depends on lucky breaks rather than superior inhuman intelligence, like a regular person. This story would actually hold up without any police involvement, but he adds quite a colorful personality to the book.
It has a bit of an odd style that may not work for everyone and may take a few pages to get used to. There’s a weird combination of acerbic and almost clinical narration with matter-of-fact undercurrent that is odd enough to somehow work. It has enough darkness, but at times it’s almost comical. It has a slightly off-kilter sense of humor that I can see rubbing some readers the wrong way, but it worked well for me.
And it’s not at all about the investigation, really. As I mentioned above, the inspectors are not quite necessary to the plot, and there’s little of an actual police procedural here. Instead it’s character-driven drama more than anything else, rooted in the tangled and very messed-up lives of mostly unlikable people.
It was a slow burn, and yet I did not mind. There was just something fascinating in seeing a whole bunch of dysfunctionality unravel, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Barbarotti odd quirkiness in the sequels.
3.5 stars rounding to 4.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
“So the brainteaser ran as follows: We have two individuals, an uncle and a nephew. Along with a number of other relatives, they gather a few days before Christmas for a special occasion. The first night, the uncle vanishes into thin air. The second night, the nephew vanishes into thin air. Explain!”This family already barely holds together as they all pretty much detest one another (“It’s not just that I can’t locate my feelings for them, thought Rosemarie. They don’t like each other, either.”), and the double disappearance of good-for-nothing Wanker Rob (“You weren’t supposed to speak ill of the dead, and he had nothing to complain of personally, but if you got pissed and then wanked in full view on TV, and went on to get yourself murdered and chopped into little bits, well, your life probably hadn’t been up to much.”) and a young law student with a secret Henrik shatters everything pretty quickly.
It’s like watching a trainwreck in slow motion — and it’s strangely fascinating.
And there’s also a police inspector Gunnar Barbarotti who hilariously makes deals with God to prove his existence in a very transactional manner, and who pretty realistically works on the case for months and months, and depends on lucky breaks rather than superior inhuman intelligence, like a regular person. This story would actually hold up without any police involvement, but he adds quite a colorful personality to the book.
“Their son Kelvin was three houses along the street, with the childminder he shared with various other children, but as he was not yet two, Gunnar Barbarotti decided to forego the questions in his case.”
It has a bit of an odd style that may not work for everyone and may take a few pages to get used to. There’s a weird combination of acerbic and almost clinical narration with matter-of-fact undercurrent that is odd enough to somehow work. It has enough darkness, but at times it’s almost comical. It has a slightly off-kilter sense of humor that I can see rubbing some readers the wrong way, but it worked well for me.
“Interesting way of putting it, thought Gunnar Barbarotti. But fine, if you went and masturbated on television, you were presumably not quite yourself.”
And it’s not at all about the investigation, really. As I mentioned above, the inspectors are not quite necessary to the plot, and there’s little of an actual police procedural here. Instead it’s character-driven drama more than anything else, rooted in the tangled and very messed-up lives of mostly unlikable people.
It was a slow burn, and yet I did not mind. There was just something fascinating in seeing a whole bunch of dysfunctionality unravel, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Barbarotti odd quirkiness in the sequels.
3.5 stars rounding to 4.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
innashtakser's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good book about the destructiveness of families. A couple of retired teachers invited their children to visit them in their small city. The visit ended with two murders - one of a son who embarrassed himself on national TV and was desperate enough to accept an invitation of an unknown woman - a woman who was crazy and who held a grudge against him. The other of a boy who was embarrassed enough by the notion of his parents discovering he was a homosexual that he agreed to sleep with his aunt who tried to prove to him he was not. The boy was murdered by the aunt's husband. Overall - very well written and thoughtful book, though rather depressing.
andrea_k's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alisonp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75