The Indian Bride

The Indian Bride (2001/2005) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund

This is another Inspector Sejer mystery, and I’ve found these books to be very hit or miss as to whether I enjoyed them.

Luckily, this one was a hit.

Gunder Jomann has spent his life alone, with few friends except for his sister Marie. An unexpected gift from Marie sends Gunder to India, convinced that there he will find a wife.

This is a “For Want of a Nail” story–in so many little ways, things could have turned out differently, and as I read, I hoped against hope things would turn out better, knowing that of course they wouldn’t.

I really like Sejer, as well as Skarre, and the glimpses we get into their lives.

And they are fascinating glimpses. You know that policemen have lives outside their jobs, but you don’t consider the mundane details of those things: a poorly trained dog, for instance.

More common is the dialog between detectives, but even among the expected there was plenty of humor.

“You’re not going straight to his house now, are you?” he said. “I could be quite wrong.”
“By no means,” Skarre said firmly. “We’re grateful for your help. We’ll look into it.” He hung up. They looked at each other.
“We’re going straight there,” Sejer said.

I told him off,” he said.
“You did indeed,” Skarre said. “They heard you all the way down to the cafeteria.”
“My own mother even wagged her finger at me.” Sejer smiled wistfully.
“But your mother’s dead?”
“That gives you some idea of how loud I shouted.

The strongest part of the story however, is Gunder Jomann, a man it seems nearly impossible to dislike, for he is open and can be taken at face value.

I think one of the loveliest bits comes at the end–it’s a tiny bit spoliery, so I’ll ROT-13 it.

SPOILER (rot 13)

“Ohg urer’f gur zbfg vzcbegnag ovg. Cbban jnf ohevrq lrfgreqnl. Vg jnf irel ornhgvshy—lbh fubhyq unir orra gurer. Abg irel znal crbcyr, gehr, naq fbzr pnzr bayl bhg bs phevbfvgl, ohg ab znggre sbe gung. Gjb cbyvpr bssvpref jrer gurer, gbb. Ohg lbh fubhyq unir frra gur puhepu! Gur ivpne cnyrq jura ur znqr uvf fbyrza ragenapr naq fnj gur pbybeshy pbssva. V jrag gb n sybevfg va Bfyb, n zna jub’f n erny negvfg jvgu sybjref. V gubhtug gung bayl gur orfg jnf tbbq rabhtu. V qvqa’g jnag jung crbcyr hfhnyyl beqre sbe sharenyf. Obhdhrgf naq fb ba, va cvax be oyhr. Ohg uhtr tneynaqf znqr sebz lryybj naq benatr sybjref. Fbzrguvat gehyl Vaqvna, vs lbh xabj jung V zrna. Ur jnf ernyyl rkpvgrq naq lbh fubhyq unir frra gur erfhyg. Gur grzcrengher va gur puhepu ebfr ol frireny qrterrf. Vg jnf yvxr qnapvat synzrf ba gur qnex znubtnal pbssva. Jr cynlrq Vaqvna zhfvp.

END SPOILER

That’s just so very lovely.

So I quite enjoyed this story.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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