After the Fire Paperback – October 31, 2017

It began as a not too promising read, but as the story unfolded it drew me in and left me anticipating what was to come.His relationships with people were sometimes familiar, as I grew up in a Swedish community and felt as if I'd known this person.I loved the characters and thought the ending was not a surprise, but inevitable.

This book was hard to put down. Not because of the mystery, which seemed almost beside the point, but because of Mankell's sharp, incisive observations about human nature, the toll of aging, and the inherent loneliness of the our earthly condition. Except for the narrator himself (whose name you do not even find out until more than halfway through the book) his characters are not in the least believable, and their actions make no sense, but somehow it just doesn't matter. It's really a character study of a man coming to terms with mortality and the other characters he must interact with are just props, they are never real, but serve to illuminate the thinking of the main character. I could not help but think that Mankell's own illness was what he was grappling with through this fictional character. There is much wisdom in it for everyone, though. since we all must grapple with our mortality. I also found the description of the year on an island off the coast of Sweden to be quite beautiful and vivid. I have lived through all those seasons in Sweden myself and he captured them so well it was like being back there.

IT SEEMED TO BE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL OF AN OLD MAN WIDOWED AND ESTRANGED FROM HIS only and strange — DAUGHTER LIVING ALONE ON AN ISLAND AND HARDLY INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE BUT has many interesting comments about the villagers he meets when he takes his boat to the village, his house is set afire in the night but he escapes. He visits his daughter in Stockholm to help get her out of jail. realizes that though she is a thief , she has a relationship to a decent Arab immigrant with a disabled younger brother they both care for. Granddaughter is born. A villager is known to have set the fire to his and other houses.

Mankell is a captivating raconteur. He is similar to Stephen King in that they could make growing grass sound interesting.I recommend this light read.

It was pleasing to learn, after consuming all of Mankell’s novels s several years ago,that a sequel to Italian Shoes was available. Mankell fans know that he sprinkles littleshiny bits of nuance along as he writes and one does not want to miss these rewardsso I chose to purchase and re-read Italian Shoes before starting to read After The Fire.Sure enough, he continues the story like on to next day and one re-connects with manyof the characters, circumstances and symbolism, which includes the Italian shoes.Mankell’s character development skills shine as the hero’s unknown adult daughter isintroduced and her occupation is revealed (pick-pocket). This is not Wallender-land,but what’s a Mankell book without the bleak Nordic setting and a mystery (the fire)to be solved in the last few pages. My only regret is he’s no longer with us.

I love Mankell’s writing and have purchased a number of novels written by him, and I don’t regret buying this one. The writer appears to create characters who are somewhat isolated from other people; much like his Wallander character. It’s hard to feel close to them and even harder to defend their natural leaning away from the rest of the world. Fredrick Welin was difficult to know and no excuses are available for the times he lied about something or someone. Then, he finds the answer to the crimes committed and . . . Well, I don’t want to say too much about that. I’m not too sure what I walk away with from this reading except that humans truly need others because isolation can drive one to become much worse than we might otherwise have been.

I have read all of the Kurt Wallander series. This one is not a police procedural. This one is much different. It is the story of a 70 year old man. living alone on a small island next to a small town. He awakens in the middle of the night to find his home in flames, and narrowly escapes. The house completely burns to the ground. The home of his grandparents and all of his memories. The story is about his life - who he turns to in this devastating time, his thoughts. It is melancholy and very detailed. If you like fast paced action-packed novels - do not read this one. It is full of minutiae, and rambling thoughts. Many times I find myself bored by this kind of book, but I found this one very interesting

I liked this book because there were believable characters with a believable story. The unusual, isolated, water community was interesting and the end had a nice twist as to the perpetrator of the crime of arson. I’ve read all the Mankell books enjoying them all. So sad that Mankell has passed away and there will be no more novels from him

Mankell is famous for his Wallander series but in this book he writes a unique story. The story opens with a catastrophic fire on a small islet in Sweden where the main character escapes with only his pyjamas and mismatched boots. As the story progresses the symbolism of events becomes clear as an old man, a retired doctor, relearns how to live. The lead character is initially a rather unpleasant fellow, but as he sheds his concepts of his previous life, he emerges through what is truly a trial by fire. This was a very different book from the Wallander series but one very much worth reading. The story will linger with you as you realize how well written it is.

５月初めにAmazonのページで偶然見つけ、急ぎ購入して一読した。 Italian Shoes (2010)の続編でマンケル最後の長編小説。ストックホルム沖合の孤島に独り住む引退した医師フレデリック・ヴェリンは、深夜ふと目覚め、燃え上がるわが家から命からがら逃げだした。失火のはずはなく、放火に違いない。だが、警察からは放火犯だと疑われる。その後、ヴェリンが島にいないときにたてつづけに近隣の２軒の旧家が放火で焼け落ち、その疑いは晴れるのだが……。物語は娘ルイーズとの入り組んだ関係を軸に展開して行き、終盤、ついに最も身近な間柄だった人物が放火犯であることを突きとめる。放火犯はもとより自身を含め、登場人物たちには誰一人として見かけどおりの人間はいない。ヴェリンは犯人を前にして、I had never had any suspicion that a terrifying figure was hidden behind the ordinary person…Did he himself know who he was? Do any of us really know who we are? と思う。この作品の主題は、Do any of us really know who we are? という深い自問ではなかったか。　マンケルの死が惜しまれてならない。

I had a hard time getting through this. It was interesting enough but a bit long winded. I couldn't understand why the police weren't notified.

７０歳を目前にした元医師のフレドリック・ヴェリンはスウエーデン本島からボートで行き来する小島のたった一人の住民として静かに暮らしていた。秋深い夜中に物音で飛び起きると家中が火の海で、身一つで逃げ出したが、祖父が建てた大事な家は灰になってしまった。古い付き合いの元郵便配達のヤンソンがなにかと役に立ってくれ、幸い焼け残ったボートハウスとトレーラーハウスで夜露を凌いだが、警察は保険金目当ての放火じゃないかと疑いをかけてきて怒りに震える。地方紙の若い女性記者リサ・モディンが頻繁に訪ねてき始め、フレドリックは年甲斐もなく胸がときめき、やたら触りたがっては邪険にされるが、リサも同じベッドに寝たりで気を持たせる。全編フレドリックの一人称「私」で進むがこのあたりの老人？の心の動きは痛々しい。一方、私の子でありながら永年音信がなかったパリ在住の４０歳のルウイースに連絡すると、同棲相手がいて妊娠しているという。そのうちに同じような火災が続いて自宅放火の疑いが晴れるも、いったい犯人はどこのだれなのだろうか？数少ないご近所の人たちとの触れ合いと、若い女性の色気と娘の乱行に振り回される日々が淡々と語られ、作者の齢を映し出しているのかなあ、とも思わせる出来栄えで、いつもの刑事ものと一味違った小説を堪能した。

J'ai découvert cet auteur en lisant les chaussures italiennes.J'ai été conquise et je vous recommande fortement ce roman mais il faut lire les chaussures italiennes d'abord.Un véritable bonheur!