The Troubled Man

The Troubled Man (2009/2011) Henning Mankell translated by Laurie Thompson

I’ve been in a mood lately where I don’t know what I want to read. I have several new releases I have been waiting for, but they just don’t appeal to me for some unknown reason.

So I randomly chose The Troubled Man because I enjoyed The Fifth Woman.

I didn’t realize how late this was in the series.

It takes quite a long time for the actual mystery to start, and the prologue, which give you hints as to where things are going, seems unrelated to anything that happens at the start of the story.

Instead, we spend time with Kurt Wallander, as he is approaching the end of his career. He is fifty-five, and reflects upon what the future might hold.

He looked down into the swirling water and thought about how his life was now centered increasingly on recalling things from the past that he now realized he missed.

What I found so fascinating about this story was how the hints were there from the start as to how things were going to end, but you’re so blinded by everything else, you don’t pay much attention.

SPOILER (rot 13)

Gur obbx raqf jvgu Jnyynaqre’f qvntabfvf bs Nymurvzre’f. Jr’ir frra gur fvtaf sebz gur fgneg bs gur fgbel, ohg guvf vf n zlfgrel frevrf. Ab bar pbafvtaf gurve ureb gb qrzragvn. Lrf, uvf oynpxbhgf ner n pbaprea, ohg ur unf qvnorgrf, naq vf greevoyr nobhg jngpuvat uvf oybbq fhtne, fb fheryl gurfr oynpxbhgf naq yncfrf pna or nggevohgrq gb gung.

Ohg ab. Vafgrnq jr qvfpbire jr unir orra jngpuvat uvz fybjyl ybfr uvf zvaq, fhpphzovat gb gur svefg fgntrf bs qrzragvn.

END SPOILER

I found it incredibly moving, and terribly heart-breaking, all at the same time.

I was also fascinated by the commentary on Russia, considering the present.

“Berntsius maintained it was a big mistake to believe that Russia would always be as peaceful as it is now.”

“Secret police organizations never die. They change names, but they are always there. Anybody who thinks there’s less spying in the world today just doesn’t get it. Don’t forget that quite a few of the old masters are still around.”

When the Russian empire collapsed, a revolution took place that was every bit as shattering as the events of 1917. But according to George it was only a temporary setback. He thinks the current situation confirms that view: Russia is growing stronger and stronger and making ever greater demands on the world around it.

Considering current events, he seems disconcertingly prescient. Yes, I don’t think anyone ever believed that Putin was sunshine and light (except, perhaps, W.) but I also don’t think we expected to return to come so quickly.

But I digress.

The mystery is fascinating, and incredibly complex, but for me that was secondary to the look at Wallander and his life.

Although this is book 10, and I’d only read one other book in this series, I didn’t at all feel lost in the story, or as if I was missing a background, and so I can highly recommend this book to anyone, whether they’ve read any of the series or not.
Rating: 9/10

Published by Vintage

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