Bookish thoughts on The Scandal by Fredrik Backman

The Scandal by Fredrick Backman, translated from the Swedish by Neil Smith.

Synopsis from Goodreads ..

'Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else's forehead and pulled the trigger. This is the story of how we got there.' 

Beartown is a small town in a large Swedish forest.

For most of the year it is under a thick blanket of snow, experiencing the kind of cold and dark that brings people closer together - or pulls them apart.

Its isolation means that Beartown has been slowly shrinking with each passing year. But now the town is on the verge of an astonishing revival. Everyone can feel the excitement. Change is in the air and a bright new future is just around the corner.

Until the day it is all put in jeopardy by a single, brutal act. It divides the town into those who think it should be hushed up and forgotten, and those who'll risk the future to see justice done. At last, it falls to one young man to find the courage to speak the truth that it seems no one else wants to hear.

No one can stand by or stay silent. You're on one side or another.

Which side will you find yourself on?

________


'So the first thing that happens in a conflict is that we choose a side, because that's easier than trying to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time. The second thing that happens is that we seek out facts that confirm what we want to believe - comforting facts, ones that permit life to go on as normal. The third is that we dehumanize our enemy.'

I find Fredrik Backman a very insightful writer when it comes to observations of human behaviour. I've read a few of his novels now, I really enjoyed A Man Called Ove in particular, but with The Scandal he has done something a bit different to his previous stories. I think all the others, however they might have touched upon serious or important matters, had a lighter side or tone to them on the whole, but here there is much more of an exploration of the darkness within families, friendships and communities, the buried secrets, the suspicion, the mistrust, sadness at tragic losses, regret at unfulfilled potential. That's not to suggest the world within this novel is without hope though; there are moments of joy in there too, and touching humour, but it felt heavy at times with the pervading rather gloomy and oppressive atmosphere. 

The enclosed, limited, cold and bleak world of this small town in Sweden, Beartown, is really successfully conveyed by Backman, I think the reader gets a full sense of the claustrophobia and limitations that many of the characters experience, the isolation in this rural place surrounded by forest. This is the backdrop against which the story builds. There seems little to celebrate or shout about there, and what matters to the majority of the people there is ice-hockey and the possibility of renewed success of their team would bring about such a lift in spirits, as it did in the past. That's why, when something absolutely terrible happens, so many of the inhabitants are thrown into a moral conflict and the way they emerge from it will show their true colours.

It's a difficult read at times, with the criminal act of rape that is the turning point of the story being very upsetting and shocking. But I found it a very convincing portrayal of a community and of so many different characters, young, middle-aged and older, all drawn so vividly and roundly, all with their own problems, anxieties and passions. The narration jumps around a fair bit to show different reactions and points of view to the unfolding events, and I really liked the variety of characters we come to know. I admit to knowing little about ice-hockey before reading, and although it is intrinsic to the life of the town and the backdrop of the plot, it doesn't matter if it doesn't overly interest you as it is the characters - their actions and motivations, thoughts and secrets - and the themes - friendship, loyalty, honesty, being a parent, bereavement - that really stand out in this tale. 

These characters in The Scandal felt so alive to me as I read, and I kept thinking about some of them whilst I wasn't reading, as well as after I had finished the book. It was certainly a thought-provoking read, and caused a bit of a 'book hangover' for me afterwards, as it didn't feel like anything else was going to capture my thoughts as this had. I borrowed this book from the library so must get a keeper copy one day. 

I was excited to see that there is another novel coming out from the author with the same setting, Us Against You, (Beartown Two) - the title of The Scandal in some versions is Beartown, a direct translation of the original Swedish title I believe.

________

Some wonderful quotes that stood out for me...

'Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole lifetime or a single heartbeat, depending on who you spend it with.'

'When I was little, my dad used to hit me if I spilled my milk, Leo. That didn't teach me not to spell things. It just made me scared of milk. Remember that.'

'So the first thing that happens in a conflict is that we choose a side, because that's easier than trying to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time. The second thing that happens is that we seek out facts that confirm what we want to believe - comforting facts, ones that permit life to go on as normal. The third is that we dehumanize our enemy.'

'...Ana creeps into the house and wakes the dogs, then takes them as far out into the forest as she can. Then she sits there with her face buried in their fur and cries. They breathe on her neck, lick her ear, nudge her with their noses. She will never understand how some people can prefer other people to animals.'

'If only she hadn't existed, the none of this would have happened, why didn't she think of that?'

'She does what she has done a thousand times in her childhood when the house stank of alcohol and her parents were screaming at each other. She sleeps with the animals. Because the animals have never done her any harm.'

'All men have different fears that drive them, and Peter's biggest one is that he isn't good enough.'

The Invisible Man from Salem - Christoffer Carlsson - Extract - Blog Tour

I'm taking part in the blog tour for The Invisible Man from Salem by Christoffer Carlsson today!

This is the first book in the Leo Junker series. 

It's published in the UK by Scribe Books and is translated by Michael Gallagher.

I'm featuring an extract from the book. Do visit the other stops on the tour too - see the picture above!

~~~~~

Extract from The Invisible Man from Salem...

I’m outside, standing under the overcast sky. I take several deep breaths. My head’s spinning, and I feel sick; it’s hard to breathe. It’s been so long since I thought about her. She’s been there sometimes, like a ghost. Some nights.

Julia Grimberg’s necklace was in Rebecca Salomonsson’s hand. They couldn’t have known each other. It must have been put there by whoever killed her.

And, as if I’m being watched, my phone buzzes.

not going to have a guess? writes the anonymous sender.

guess what? I write, looking over my shoulder, looking around for anyone who might be sticking out from the crowd. 

guess who i am, comes the reply.

are you the one who killed her?

no it wasn’t me

do you know who did it? 

maybe

who was it?

I can see you, Leo

~~~~~

About the novel...

When a woman in his building is killed, Leo cannot stay away. Despite being on suspension from the force, he bluffs his way onto the crime scene and examines the body. When he notices that the woman is clasping a cheap necklace in her hand – a necklace he instantly recognises – he knows he must investigate, even though he has been warned to stay away. As a series of frightening connections emerge linking the murder to his own troubled youth in Salem, Leo is forced to finally confront a long-ago incident that changed his life forever. 

Selling over 70,000 in its first year in print in Carlsson's native Sweden and netting the coveted Swedish Crime Academy's Award for Best Crime Novel, The Invisible Man from Salem has earned comparisons to Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo from critics. Still in his 20s, Carlsson – who has a PhD in criminology – has become one of the country's most in-demand authors, acclaimed for his ability to combine page-turning prose and razor-sharp social realism.

About the author...

Christoffer Carlsson was born in 1986. The author of two previous novels, he has a PhD in criminology, and is a university lecturer in the subject. The Invisible Man from Salem has been a bestseller in Sweden, and won the Swedish Crime Academy’s 2013 Best Crime Novel of the Year award. 

It is the first in a series starring a young police officer called Leo Junker, and will shortly be developed into a three-season TV

drama by StellaNova Film. 

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules - Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg - Guest Book Review

Translated from the Swedish by Rod Bradbury

Published by Pan Macmillan

Guest book review by Tracy Terry

At last an 'international best seller' that I've actually enjoyed. 

A story about a pensioner (and her friends), The League Of Pensioners, behaving badly. Whilst I can understand comparisons being made between this novel and The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson I'm personally loathe to do so except to say that in my opinion this is a far superior read.

Far-fetched? Without a doubt and yet unlike the afore mentioned One hundred Year Old Man the author never strays into the absurd. But more than anything else The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules is a wonderfully quirky alternative crime novel that takes many of the stereotypes about elderly people and turns them upside down.

A more or less constantly funny novel (I did think certain bits fell slightly flat) full of memorable characters that I readily took to heart. Whilst written by a Swedish author (The English translation is extremely well done by Rod Bradbury) the almost farcical nature of some of the scrapes Martha and her fellow conspirators (also known as the League of Pensioners) found themselves in put me in mind of one of those old Ealing Comedies.

And yet very much up to date. The social commentary on topics such as the potential vulnerability of the elderly in residential institutes more concerned with their profit margins is exemplary.

Many thanks to Tracy for reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library! Tracy blogs at Pen and Paper - do pay a visit there and read her brilliant book blog!

Hour of the Wolf - Hakan Nesser

Translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson

This is the seventh book in the Inspector Van Veeteren series, set in an unnamed Scandinavian country which bears resemblance to Sweden. Van Veeteren himself has retired to enjoy part ownership of a rare books shop. The rest of his former team are busy but missing him until his son becomes a murder victim in a case with few clues. They were partially estranged but Van Veeteren is shattered by the news and determined to take a close interest in the case.

In this story, the reader is told at the beginning the circumstances of the murders (though the first is a tragic but unreported accident), for the case escalates, and much about the murderer though not his name or occupation. We are therefore well ahead of the police as they struggle to find connections between three deaths, while the Chief of Police, while having little input himself, is pressing them to find a solution to the death of Van Veeteren's son. Soon blackmail enters the equation and clues are found that eventually point to the truth – or do they?

This series does not rely on constant action; the relationships between the police officers occupies a fair amount of the story and did make me care about the people concerned. At times the translation does feel a bit clunky, but somehow for me that does not really matter, just accentuates the rather quirky feel of the whole. The ending did not surprise me, but it was fitting.

I was left feeling involved and sorry for a good many people mixed up in the case. A good read.

Reviewed by Penny Waugh

Guest reviewer Penny Waugh has kindly reviewed this novel for The Little Reader Library - huge thanks to Penny for the review of this book and her thoughts on this series. Penny is a very keen reader whose reviews I always enjoy reading on amazon, and she is part of the ReadItSwapIt website.

Published by Mantle

Thank you very much to Sophie at Mantle for the opportunity to read and review a proof copy of this novel. 

Vanished - Liza Marklund

'Our circumstances shape us, but the choice is always our own.'

Another installment of the Swedish crime series by Liza Marklund and featuring 'Evening Post' reporter Annika Bengtzon. In this novel, Annika is actually just working in the capacity of copy-editor, her past having had a bearing on her current role at the newspaper. As the novel commences, two bodies have been found out at a Stockholm port and a woman is on the run from a gunman. At the newspaper, Annika takes a call from a mysterious woman wanting the newspaper to run a story about her organisation, the 'Paradise Foundation', which, she claims, exists to help people disappear, to escape from troubled pasts. Annika starts to look into the woman and the organisation, and realises that things aren't all as they first seemed. Our heroine has worries of her own, as her beloved Grandmother is taken ill, and her uneasy relationship with her mother is placed under greater strain.

Alongside these storylines, there is also the ongoing daily activities at the newspaper, much of which is seen through the eyes of both Annika and also the editor, who is often mulling over the internal politics and who is aware that change is needed in the near future to keep the newspaper up to standard and at the forefront of the market. As well as this, there are further murders and links to serious international crime. The author also highlights social issues within Sweden, primarily through the character of Thomas Samuelsson who works at a local authority. 

This is a fast-paced crime novel. I really enjoyed reading it, I like this author's style of writing, and felt like the plot carried me along. It’s one of those reads where I kept thinking, I'll read just one more chapter. I read 'The Bomber' last year, another novel by this author featuring Annika, and the events recounted in that novel are actually further on in Annika's career than the ones in 'Vanished'. But I think the story is strong enough for anyone to read this as a stand-alone book. Having said that, it’s always nice to read a series in order to see the main character develop. For me, it’s kind of interesting to see what Annika was like before, as in this novel she is much less confident I think, and dealing with personal problems and her own demons, as well as uncovering scandal and finding herself in risky situations. I love the newsroom setting and feel that this is authentic, given the author's background in newspaper reporting.

Another top read from this author for me with an engrossing storyline and compelling characters, very well translated by Neil Smith, and I look forward to reading the rest of the novels featuring Annika very soon.

Thank you very much to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

Published by Corgi on 16th February 2012 ~ available now in paperback, e-book and audio formats.


My review of The Bomber by Liza Marklund.

The Bomber - Liza Marklund

This novel is set in Stockholm and the plot centres around newly promoted chief crime reporter Annika Bengtzon, working at the Evening Post newspaper, who hits upon a massive story. In the fictional events of the novel, Sweden is due to be hosting the next Olympic Games, and there has been a large explosion at the main Victoria Stadium. Annika is straight into finding the facts underneath all the talk about the explosion, wanting the best story and the best picture, first. She has recently been made head of the crime team at the newspaper, and is worrying about being a boss, and dealing with the team around her, some ace reporters working with her, and some other male journalists who refuse to accept her as their chief. Additionally, now that such a big story has broken, she is working a lot of extra hours and seeing little of her husband Thomas and children Kalle and Ellen. Using her sources and her skill and eye for a story and a good picture, Annika finds out who the victim of the bomb blast was, and begins to piece together the truth.  Then a second blast occurs, and the investigation is on as to the link with the first. When a further, third event happens, it becomes a personal attack which leaves everyone at the Evening Post deep in shock.

I found this an exciting, pacy read with a gripping storyline, and intriguing personality clashes between the journalists and editors at the newspaper. I liked the exploration of these conflicts. I also enjoyed the tension towards the end of the novel and the dramatic closing chapters. It's interesting reading about the views of the print journalists, and their opinions of the radio and tv reporting on the same incidents. Also how the newspaper tries to be first with the exclusive stories and increase their circulation figures, but without resorting to the sordid or excessively personal details about the people involved. The author also intelligently deals with the demands of modern working life and children and overcoming prejudices in the workplace for women. It did put me in mind a little of Stieg Larsson's novels with Annika being an intelligent journalist and some of the issues regarding women. I will definitely be reading more of Liza Marklund's novels featuring Annika Bengtzon. Great, compelling read.

This is the fourth and final reading choice of mine as part of the Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge 2011. I have read four different and very interesting titles as part of this challenge and have been very glad to have taken part.