It's not Mankell-great, but it's good

books:


	• Jar City: A Reykjavik Thriller Arnaldur Indridason Picador, 2005 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 33 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It's not Mankell-great, but it's good

Chances are this novel will be suggested to you if you're a Henning Mankell fan (and if you're not, then you need to read him NOW). Similarities are obvious: divorced, overweight, aging, somewhat-grumpy male detective with a strained daughter relationship seeking killer in rain-drenched, bleak landscape.

There are even some similarities in style, in characterizations, in plot development. I'm not suggesting Indridason is a Mankell copycat, just that there are many similiarities. If that's what it takes to get you into this book, then fine. As it's own work, Jar City is certainly effective. There are patches where I think it could have been tightened, but it's a well-plotted, intricately woven detective story.

I can't really fault Jar City. Everything you expect is there. Although there's still some indefinable quality about the Mankell novels that keep them above the cut. If a new novel from both these authors was published on the same day, I'd devour the Mankell first, but then attack the Indridason with impatient curiosity.

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Solid Series Debut

One of my major problems with many police procedurals is that the plots often go completely off the deep end and become wildly improbable messes (among Scandinavian authors, I think Henning Mankell is frequently guilty of this). So, it's somewhat refreshing to come across a relatively straightforward story like this award-winning series debut from Iceland. In it, we are introduced to Detective Inspector Erlendur, a classic 50ish, divorced, rumpled, morose, tactless, and running-to-seed character who nonetheless possesses the requisite instinct to be a top detective. Although he lacks some of the perfunctory traits often assigned to such characters (for example, he isn't a gourmand, or jazz aficionado, or anything like that), he's very much in the mold of Sejer, Rebus, Resnick, and other such policemen protagonists.

We meet Erlendur as he is called in to investigate the apparent murder of an elderly man in Reykjavik. It doesn't take long for the police to discover that the old man was a nasty character who had been accused of rape almost 40 years ago. With little to go on, other than the possibility that it was a random break-in gone wrong, Erlendur leads his team deep into the past, to try and uncover who might have had a motive for killing the old man. The further they dig, the more nasty secrets they uncover, and the more they must engage in very uncomfortable interviews that dredge up hidden pain. The plot and solution hinge on an aspect of Icelandic society that is rather unique, and it's nice to see the author taking advantage of this to good effect. Another subplot (which is rather extraneous) involves a runaway bride, and meanwhile, Erlendur must also try to deal with his drug addict daughter who flits in and out of his life. Their relationship is quite interesting, and possibly the most compelling reason to seek out the next book in the series (Silence of the Grave).

In terms of supporting characters, Erlendur's two main colleagues fail to leave much of an impression: there's the yuppie Sigurdur ?li, and El?nborg, whose main trait is that she's a woman. Hopefully they will be developed a good deal more in subsequent books, as will Erlendur's mysterious mentor Marion. Having been to Iceland for a few days several years ago, I certainly recognized the bleak weather and its constant presence in the lives of the characters. However, it would have been nice to get a little more description of Reykjavik, which is a very interesting looking place, and its people. There's not a lot of local color, and the result is a setting that is at times rather anonymous. The overall tone of the book is somewhat sad and bleak, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has lost a child at an early age (this is a key thread in the story). Overall, an solid and interesting debut, but not anything that's going to blow you away.

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Well Told in the Classic Style

Arnaldur Indridason tells the classic tale of mistaken identities and crimes of long ago leading to murder in the present. There's only one reason why an old man, living alone and seldom interacting with others, would be murdered in his home.

Our hero, Inspector Erlendur is on the case; and he rapidly realizes how important the victim's past is in discovering the present-day murderer. Indridason has a nice writing style, and Bernard Scudder's translation is excellent. I was very impressed with the author's economy of speech. Indridason told the tale in a straightforward manner and with very few sidebars into lives of minor characters or bludgeoning the reader with social commentary.

I really liked the novel, and I look forward to reading English translations of Indridason's other Inspector Erlendur cases.

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The death of a beast

Inspector Erlendur has to solve the murder of an elderly man, Holberg, who is found in his house with his skull smashed in. During the investigation it becomes more and more clear that Holberg was a real beast and that his past has finally caught up with him. His search leads Erlendur through pouring Icelandic autumn rains via rapes, heartless policemen, illegal children and past murder to a solution that has everything to do with the present. And meanwhile he has chest pains and tries to convince his daughter Eva Lind that she should stay off drugs.

A book I read in one go, a skillful mixture of a detective novel and literature.

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Nordurmyren

I know where the translator got "jar city" but it isn't the title. The book is called "The North Moor".

Far darker than Mankell, so depressing that it killed (if only temporarily) my long standing desire to visit Iceland. Description of people and place is outstanding, but far less takes place in the mind of police inspector than in a Wallender mystery. I can only say: the author can write!

This review is based on the Norwegian translation "Myren", "The Moor".

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7

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