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A review by marko68
Mind's Eye by Håkan Nesser
5.0
“He could feel it in the atmosphere, in the damp emptiness. As if this restaurant and this Sunday afternoon had been waiting for him”.
Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, snappish, sardonic, unsentimental, depressed and almost psychic in his ability to solve a crime is everything that is fundamental to Nordic Noir. Håkan Nesser, is undisputedly one of the godfathers of the genre and Mind’s Eye is the first of the Van Veeteren series, authored in 1993 and translated to English in 2008. As a character, Van Veeteren fulfils the somewhat cliched characteristics of classic Nordic Noir protagonists with the need to struggle with and refract their conflict-ridden private lives through their investigation of violent crimes and crumbling societies. Along with Mankell’s Wallander, Sjöwall and Wahlöö’s Martin Beck, Staalesen’s Varg Veum and Nesbø’s Harry Hole, Van Veeteren is the loveable unloveable antihero of Nesser’s classic series. Somewhat misogynistic, non-PC and at times a little questionable, Mind’s Eye is story with a clever plot that wraps around the psyche of characters against the backdrop of the wintery north.
I rarely read any books that are not set in real places as I find a real fascination in the sense of place that comes with dealing deeply into a corner of the world and its geography and history. Mind’s Eye is set in the fictional location of Maardam which I guess could be anywhere across Northern Europe. To be honest, I thought this would be a deal breaker for me, however, the characterisation was strong enough to override this sense of place which Nesser more than made up for in the fictional location anyway.
Mind’s Eye centres around the death of Eva Ringmar and features the classic “I was so drunk I can’t remember anything” plot foundation. Husband Janek Mitter is naturally the primary suspect and before you can say Scandi Noir, Van Veeteren is up to his eyeballs in intrigue.
I love Nesser’s approach to writing this one. It’s very procedural, yet not linear. It’s sequenced, yet not readily predictable. It follows formula, yet allows characterisation to be parallel with plot.
“A novel, a film, a play, Münster - they are nothing but stuffed life. Life that has been captured and stuffed like a taxidermist stuffs a dead animal. They are created so that we can reasonably examine it. Clamber out of reality and look at it from a distance. Are you with me?” P254
I can quite happily give this 5 stars.
Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, snappish, sardonic, unsentimental, depressed and almost psychic in his ability to solve a crime is everything that is fundamental to Nordic Noir. Håkan Nesser, is undisputedly one of the godfathers of the genre and Mind’s Eye is the first of the Van Veeteren series, authored in 1993 and translated to English in 2008. As a character, Van Veeteren fulfils the somewhat cliched characteristics of classic Nordic Noir protagonists with the need to struggle with and refract their conflict-ridden private lives through their investigation of violent crimes and crumbling societies. Along with Mankell’s Wallander, Sjöwall and Wahlöö’s Martin Beck, Staalesen’s Varg Veum and Nesbø’s Harry Hole, Van Veeteren is the loveable unloveable antihero of Nesser’s classic series. Somewhat misogynistic, non-PC and at times a little questionable, Mind’s Eye is story with a clever plot that wraps around the psyche of characters against the backdrop of the wintery north.
I rarely read any books that are not set in real places as I find a real fascination in the sense of place that comes with dealing deeply into a corner of the world and its geography and history. Mind’s Eye is set in the fictional location of Maardam which I guess could be anywhere across Northern Europe. To be honest, I thought this would be a deal breaker for me, however, the characterisation was strong enough to override this sense of place which Nesser more than made up for in the fictional location anyway.
Mind’s Eye centres around the death of Eva Ringmar and features the classic “I was so drunk I can’t remember anything” plot foundation. Husband Janek Mitter is naturally the primary suspect and before you can say Scandi Noir, Van Veeteren is up to his eyeballs in intrigue.
I love Nesser’s approach to writing this one. It’s very procedural, yet not linear. It’s sequenced, yet not readily predictable. It follows formula, yet allows characterisation to be parallel with plot.
“A novel, a film, a play, Münster - they are nothing but stuffed life. Life that has been captured and stuffed like a taxidermist stuffs a dead animal. They are created so that we can reasonably examine it. Clamber out of reality and look at it from a distance. Are you with me?” P254
I can quite happily give this 5 stars.