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marko68 's review for:
The Secret Life of Mr. Roos
by Håkan Nesser
Life never gets any better than this. That was the first thing he would write down, that would be the nub of it all. Perhaps he could add that you had to stop, because if you didn’t stop and slow the pace, as it were, you would never notice the moment when it was at its very best. p122
Håkan Nesser is firmly up there as one of favourite Scandi Crime authors and the Inspector Barbarotti series never fails to disappoint. The Secret Life of Mr. Roos is one of the more unique Nordic Noir novels that I have ever read. It is the third in the series and Nesser plots an intriguing narrative that is less about crime than it is about a seemingly boring and dull 59 year old man whose life trajectory undergoes a serious transformation in a way that seems perfectly obvious and yet so unexpected and inexplicable.
Ante Valdemar Roos (gosh I love that name) seems like a perfectly ordinary man, completely dissatisfied yet somehow unable to change anything when suddenly he is propelled on a pathway that he would hardly be able to fathom yet seems so logical for him. Creating a safe space where he can just exist on his own for even a few hours every day seems wonderful and indeed this secret life is in so many ways. Before he knows it, life is changed forever, seemingly for the worst but actually for the better.
This is a story of life. The story of post mid life for a man. I found myself totally rooting for Mr. Roos and feeling like I understood him in so many ways. In some ways I think men would identify with this book more than women. Not sure if that’s correct or even something I should write. It just seems like there is so much for to Ante Valdemar Roos than meets the eye. Misunderstood to himself and others, yet at an opportunity, seizes the moment to somehow find himself, charting a trajectory that seemed safe and predictable but set a course of events that altered life forever.
I’ve got so much to reflect on with this one. 5 stars from me.
Håkan Nesser is firmly up there as one of favourite Scandi Crime authors and the Inspector Barbarotti series never fails to disappoint. The Secret Life of Mr. Roos is one of the more unique Nordic Noir novels that I have ever read. It is the third in the series and Nesser plots an intriguing narrative that is less about crime than it is about a seemingly boring and dull 59 year old man whose life trajectory undergoes a serious transformation in a way that seems perfectly obvious and yet so unexpected and inexplicable.
Ante Valdemar Roos (gosh I love that name) seems like a perfectly ordinary man, completely dissatisfied yet somehow unable to change anything when suddenly he is propelled on a pathway that he would hardly be able to fathom yet seems so logical for him. Creating a safe space where he can just exist on his own for even a few hours every day seems wonderful and indeed this secret life is in so many ways. Before he knows it, life is changed forever, seemingly for the worst but actually for the better.
This is a story of life. The story of post mid life for a man. I found myself totally rooting for Mr. Roos and feeling like I understood him in so many ways. In some ways I think men would identify with this book more than women. Not sure if that’s correct or even something I should write. It just seems like there is so much for to Ante Valdemar Roos than meets the eye. Misunderstood to himself and others, yet at an opportunity, seizes the moment to somehow find himself, charting a trajectory that seemed safe and predictable but set a course of events that altered life forever.
I’ve got so much to reflect on with this one. 5 stars from me.