|
The Man from Beijing |  | Author: Henning Mankell
Creator: Laurie Thompson
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $11.49
as of 7/29/2010 17:46 CDT details
You Save: $14.46 (56%)
New (54) Used (36) Collectible (9) from $8.33
Seller: internationalbooks
Rating:  122 reviews
Sales Rank: 3703
Format: Deckle Edge
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0307271862
Dewey Decimal Number: 839.7374
EAN: 9780307271860
ASIN: 0307271862
Publication Date: February 16, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The acclaimed author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries, writing at the height of his powers, now gives us an electrifying stand-alone global thriller.
January 2006. In the Swedish hamlet of Hesjövallen, nineteen people have been massacred. The only clue is a red ribbon found at the scene.
Judge Birgitta Roslin has particular reason to be shocked: Her grandparents, the Andréns, are among the victims, and Birgitta soon learns that an Andrén family in Nevada has also been murdered. She then discovers the nineteenth-century diary of an Andrén ancestor—a gang master on the American transcontinental railway—that describes brutal treatment of Chinese slave workers. The police insist that only a lunatic could have committed the Hesjövallen murders, but Birgitta is determined to uncover what she now suspects is a more complicated truth.
The investigation leads to the highest echelons of power in present-day Beijing, and to Zimbabwe and Mozambique. But the narrative also takes us back 150 years into the depths of the slave trade between China and the United States—a history that will ensnare Birgitta as she draws ever closer to solving the Hesjövallen murders.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 122
 A Dissertation Masquerading as a "Thriller" July 22, 2010
D. R. Jeanclerc (Brunswick, OH USA)
"The Man from Beijing" is a stand-alone novel by acclaimed suspense author Henning Mankell. The plot centers around a brutal mass murder in a remote Swedish village, but travels around the globe and through time to resolve the crime and explain the motivations behind it. Unfortunately, a potentially interesting chain of events throughout history are bogged down by too much expository prose on history, economics, and the nature of global power. Mankell's background as a playwright is unfortunately laid open here, with lengthy sections of ham-handed conversation between characters being used to explain and propel the plot. And in the end, that plot relies (quite suddenly) on a clunky series of borderline-absurd coincidences and hastily-introduced characters to draw itself to conclusion. The reader can almost pinpoint the page at which the editor said "enough is enough; if you want to write a textbook on the development of China post-Mao, I'll get you that deal, but this novel cannot bear anymore. Time to wrap this up!"
Readers familiar with Mankell's other works will likely find this one disappointing. He clearly has taken some subject matters that are interesting to himself and slapdashed a plot around them in order to get published. Given the length of the book, I can't recommend the investment of time for this work that's inadequate as both thriller and commentary.
Not his best July 22, 2010
Stefan Huber
As an avid Mankell reader I was a bit disappointed about this one. The story starts out interestingly enough but then turns into one endless long defense speech for the "Old China's" (and the Western hippies') values and ideals. You'd wish there was more at this time. Also, the story lines digress way too much and in the end, the solution is a bit predictable.
Having said this, Mankell is still far superior than other mystery writers.
 Very Good Read July 18, 2010
AvidRdr
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun summer read. The trips to China and Africa were intriguing. I would recommend reading this book!
Enough With The Sandwiches July 17, 2010
Joel Graber (New York City)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Many mystery/crime-fans have expressed a lot of dissatisfaction, on mostly technical grounds, with this stand-alone Mankell outing which explores an horrendous crime in the Norland from a 150-year, global and cross-cultural perspective. Certainly the concept is expansive, positing murderous revenge (by yet another evil mogul) on account of transgressions against a distant ancestor, perpetrated by a Swedish rugged individualist working from horseback on the Transcontinental Railroad, a peaceful farmer in a socialist Minnesota co-op he was not.
The author, long based in Mozambique, as unlikely as that seems, and not as a Lutheran missionary, was apparently inspired to concoct a travelogue also encompassing his discredited Marxist views. Hatred of Israel might be expected from a privileged Euro Left expat, who purports to honor the oppressed, but reverence, and indeed nostaglia, for Mao Zedong, and strained apologies for Robert Mugabe, are well over the top and amount to a silly screed. But then Mankell appears contrived in both his life and work.
As reviewers have noted, the protagonist, a rather sad and hapless and, as the mystery/crime set say, incompetent, provincial judge (a woman), does and experiences many things quite unlikely in the real world. For some strange reason, the author tries to juice her up by depicting her as pining for an elusive sexual intimacy, yet as written one wonders why, as she's a bloodless character if there ever was one? Well, maybe that's why.
This reviewer, new to Scandanavian crime novels, and looking for something after the Millenium Trilogy, enjoyed this novel more than The Man Who Smiled, with the unsufferably melancholy and solipsistic police detective Kurt Wallender, so traumatized by having had to shoot somebody.
There's a vapidity to Mankell's references to so many sandwiches without one ever learning what they might contain. Coffee and sandwiches (never just one). It doesn't communicate. One wonders how many sandwiches are consumed in Mozambique not to mention Zimbabwe.
Interesting History but Plot Lacking July 12, 2010
Christina
I had high hopes for this book after the opening scene and once the main character was introduced. However, this book jumps around too much and loses its focus as the plot makes an abrupt detour into Chinese history. There are no elements of suspense and the main character tries to piece together the mystery without any excitement or "ah ha" moments. Although I did enjoy learning more about Chinese history, I struggled to get through chapters towards the end that seemed random and disconnected. I also thought the Chinese characters in the book were dull and one-sided.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 122
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. Disclaimer: The products referenced on this site are manufactured and sold by other parties and sold through Amazon.com We make no representations regarding either the products or any information vendors offer about their products. Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be directed to the appropriate manufacturer or vendor, or to Amazon.com. | |
