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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unlocking the frozen heart,
By
This review is from: Italian Shoes: A Novel (Hardcover)
Mankell is the only author who continuously, effortlessly and unapologetically produces amazing and unique characters that, although not necessarily like-able, insert themselves in the heart of the reader and say, "See, many people struggle with awful things, these people are no different than you, read their story and learn." Italian Shoes could only be created by a mind like Mankell. He illustrates the depth of one man's complete withdrawl from society following an act of professional malpractice. Frederik Welin has a history of disappearing; he deserted his great love Harriet as a young man and he deserted the world at large after a botched surgery. He lives on an isolated island surrounded by ice and even keeps his emotional distance from the only visitor he has, the postman, who tries to engage Welin through a series of medical complaints. He has allowed an anthill to grow uninterrupted in his living room. He has a cat and a dog who he relies on for companionship but isnt averse to kicking them out of the house on frozed nights if his mood is bad. He isnt a particularly likeable character but you cannot resist his story because he at once flawed, miserable, frozen and entirely human. Mankell presents Frederik Welin without apology, trusting the reader to find that aspect of themselves that his intimate protrait of this selfish, frozen, middle aged man will ultimately give many readers the comfort of knowing their secret hearts do not make them a freak, merely human beings who judge themselves more severely than the world ever will and whose sensitivity forces him to retreat inward and outward to an isolated and cold island and sever all connection with society. Mankell has an unimaginable ability to connect through his characters with the souls of all people. Frederik Walin's character is the soul mate of The Depths' Lars Tobiasson-Svartman and the reclusive husband of the heroine of Kennedy's Brain. This recurrent, reclusive character, who comes more to the fore in each successive novel, makes Mankell's true fans wonder if the author is expressing an aspect of himself? Welin finds redemption in the end after his young love Harriet arrives unannounced on his island and demands that he fulfill a promise he once made her. As she is dying, he cannot refuse and this sets Frederik Welin up for a series of surprises, not the least of which is finding his own key to unlocking his frozen heart and rejoining the human race. This is a marvelous book, you cannot put it down and only wish it was much longer.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Misery Loves Company,
By Ian Gordon Malcomson (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Italian Shoes: A Novel (Hardcover)
Talk about lost characters trying to find themselves in a crazy, wacky world where nothing makes sense. The Swedish novelist, Henning Mankell, has composed such a scenario in his recent book, "Italian Shoes". The landscape here is the out-and-beyond where people normally don't go in modern Sweden. It is the coastal wastelands where nobody ventures unless they are hiding from a wretched past. He has taken up a life where memories weigh heavy and inertia rules supreme. Deep down, he leads a very shallow life which is about to change. In the course of this tale that, for once, doesn't involve Wallander, the reader learns about why Fredrik Welin,a haunted individual,has fled to this weird, out-of-the-way patch for refuge. Like Cain in the Bible, he is running away from a former life that threatens to destroy his sense of self-worth. Hiding out in the most primitive conditions will not, however, shield Welin from the inconveniences of a blighted life. He has memories of his days as a surgeon, a husband,and a father to contend with. Mankell has produced a kind of psychological thriller that involves family members, friends and strangers seeking out Welin's whereabouts and forcing him to own up to his own shortcomings. What emerges from his return to his old stomping grounds is a gradual return to a sense of peace that comes from being rconciled to the things most threatening in one's life. To reach that understanding, he will have to surround himself with, and care for those who are more unfulfilled than he is. In order to come to grips with who he really is as an individual with a purpose, Welin is forced to become involved in a life of a suffering community that has suddenly and strangely popped up in his own little sanctuary of self-indulging pity. Enjoy the story and learn how he copes with these new-found versions of old-time problems.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews) 70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The mystery of the new Mankell,
By Matthew B. Rees "Matt Rees" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Italian Shoes: A Novel (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 32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Swedish "Remains of the Day",
By T. Bowden - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Italian Shoes: A Novel (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.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Escape from Life,
By Ted Feit - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Italian Shoes: A Novel (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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