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70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The mystery of the new Mankell, April 9, 2009
This review is from: Italian Shoes (Hardcover)
In his 26th novel, Sweden's top crime writer has eschewed the genre that has seen him sell 30 million books. Even so, fans of his Inspector Wallander novels will find much of what they love about the Skåne detective in the narrator of "Italian Shoes"--only given even more depth by the constant focus on a man struggling with guilt and emotional silence.
Fredrik is a surgeon who abandoned his career a decade ago because of a mistake he made during an operation. He refused to acknowledge his error and went to live alone on a remote island. One morning he sees a woman standing on the frozen sea. He discovers that she's the girlfriend he abandoned as a young man.
Harriet's arrival forces Fredrik to meet a series of people from his past. He thought he could cut himself off on his island. As he realizes he can't, he finds the allure of companionship attractive, but struggles to manage these new relationships.
This is a devastatingly honest and keenly personal novel. It ranks with Norwegian Per Petterson's "Out Stealing Horses" for its marvelous portrayal of withdrawal from society--and its consequences. Mankell writes with a measured pace that's in tune with the frozen weather and the slow body of the aging Fredrik.
Though "Italian Shoes" is a departure for Mankell, he examines a topic common to crime novels--death. But he reverses the crime novel's way of looking at death. He's not concerned here with how death occurs. Rather he wants to understand why anyone should care whether they live or die.
Crime writers create a violent death, to show how the remaining characters experience life in extreme circumstances. Here Mankell depicts a man who essentially stopped living and who rediscovers life when faced with the impending death of Harriet.
"Before I die," Fredrik says, "I must know why I've lived." In his dour, bitter way, Mankell has the answer.
More reviews and blog posts at www.mattbeynonrees.com
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Swedish "Remains of the Day", May 20, 2009
This review is from: Italian Shoes (Hardcover)
Not a mystery, Mankell fans! A very good, yet profoundly sad, novel about a man who has isolated himself against the world as much as possible over the past 12 years. The sudden, unexpected appearance of an old lover--the main love of his life, in fact--sets the narrator on a path that forces him to confront his past and himself. Often painful to read--the mistakes, the aversions, the lies, and betrayals common to every life--"Italian Shoes" nonetheless makes the case that it's never too late (the narrator is 66 years old) to atone for one's errors--however embarrassing and discomforting that may be. Only one shocking, unexpected act about 50 or 60 pages before the novel's end felt wrong, felt like a puzzling misstep on Mankell's part. But apart from that, for years Mankell's mysteries have transcended the genre; with "Italian Shoes" he goes headlong into "straight" fiction, albeit with the same fascination in characters troubled and intimidated by intimacy, yet in deep need of connection with others.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Escape from Life, June 11, 2009
This review is from: Italian Shoes (Hardcover)
This standalone (of course it isn't a Wallander mystery) is a sad story and probably an allegory on what the author believes to be the deterioration of Swedish society and culture as well as the world's attitude toward the environment. While such a negative view is predominant, he does hold out some glimmer of hope.
Basically, the novel is the story of Frederick Welin, son of a "lowly" waiter who was able to rise in status through college and medical school and become a surgeon. While a young man, he had a torrid affair with a young woman who he abandoned without explanation. Years later, an error during an operation led to an official reprimand, a decision he could not accept, so he fundamentally quit life retiring to an island offshore where he lived with only a dog and a cat for company. Lethargy ruled his days, exemplified by a growing anthill in his living room, ignored by him as it slowly took over the area.
Then one day, after 11 years on the island, now 66, his former lover is seen standing on the ice, leaning on a walker. She's dying of cancer but forces him to face up to the present (and hopefully the future).
Written by a masterful writer, this is a tale of redemption and renewal. The use of Italian shoes as a symbol of what can be accomplished by painstaking craftsmanship gives rise to optimism in an otherwise sad but poignant tale. Recommended.
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