The Pyramid: The Origins of Kurt Wallander [Paperback]

Following the phenomenal success of the late Swedish writer Stieg Larsson's three novels, a groundswell of interest rose to read other Swedish crime fiction. Many turned to Hemming Mankell, already successful in selling his Kurt Wallander detective thrillers and the TV movies based on some of them.

Mankell's Wallander crime books were first published in Sweden in 1991 and in English in 1997. His first volume involved a Wallander case in 1990 when Wallander was a senior detective 42 years old. After completing eight full-length Wallander novels, and after receiving requests from his readers, Mankell decided to write short stories telling the early tales of his detective. These five stories were collected in The Pyramid.

The first, Wallander's First Case, begins in 1969 when Wallander is twenty. He takes a job as a patrolman against the strong mocking objections of his eccentric father. He wants to be a detective. He works hard and spends hours learning the ropes to impress his superiors. He has a girl friend who constantly criticizes him for being late, even though she knows that he is late because of his job. He lives in an apartment with thin walls and hears a gun shot. He is told by the detectives that his neighbor committed suicide. He feels that he must investigate to find out what really occurred even though the detective in charge insists that he not do so. Readers read asking themselves many questions. Will his actions stymie his goal to be a detective? Will he solve the case? What strange people will he encounter? Why do people dislike patrolmen? Why is he stabbed?

The second story is The Man with the Mask. It is 1975. Wallander is now a detective and married to his girl friend. She is still complaining that he is always late. When he is leaving to go home, his superior sends him to a store to investigate whether a woman who called the police saying that there is a strange man outside her store is in danger. Wallander finds the woman dead. He is hit on the head and tied up. When he regains consciousness, he sees a man with a hood holding a gun. Why is the man there? Why did he kill the woman? Does he want to kill the detective? How can Wallendar save himself?

The Man on the Beach is the third tale. It is 1987. Wallander is having serious problems with his wife. He expects a divorce. A man takes a taxi from a beach back to town. When the ride is over, the driver discovers that the man is dead. The coroner says he died of poison. When was it administered? Why? Who did it? Why was the man at the beach?

The Death of a Photographer, the fourth story, occurs in 1988 when Wallendar is forty. A photographer, who was estranged from his wife for twenty years, although both lived in the same house, is clubbed to death. He had taken pictures of prominent people, mostly politicians, and distorted them, making the faces recognizable but ugly. One picture is of Wallendar who is revolted at what he sees. Why did the photographer do this? Is he crazy? Why did he garble Wallander's face? Are the distortions related to his murder?

The Pyramid is the longest of the five tales. It is 1989. Wallendar is divorced. He is involved in a case of a small plane crash where two smugglers are killed. Later more people are killed, including two erasable spinster women who run a small sowing shop but have millions in the bank and in stocks. Is there more than one crime? Can Wallendar solve everything?

I'm an odd duck when it comes to mysteries. I'd rather read a mystery where the writer has done tons of work to develop a credible, complex, rich character than a book where the author has built an intricate plot but neglected character. With that preface, I'll admit that I liked these five Kurt Wallender stories a good deal.

Wallender is a likable, and mildly conflicted, guy. We see him age twenty years over the course of these stories, and the reader can't help notice, by the end of the book, that Wallender is suffering middle-age angst, accompanied by doubts about the future of Swedish culture in a world of increasing drug traffic and violence. The character of Kurt Wallender is the best reason for picking this book up, along with interest in northern European culture and day-to-day life. Indeed, these stories are full of Wallender's daily living (e.g., the man has to sign up to do his laundry in his building's only washing machine; remembering to buy toilet paper in the course of a busy investigation is another minor challenge). There's plenty of realism here, and I like that; Wallender and his police work end up seeming real. He's not a super hero.

My one complaint, though, is that the stories frequently seem hurried (perhaps evenly poorly thought out) in their conclusions. Wallender faces physical violence, sometimes almost out of the blue, in the last page or two, followed by a quick explanation of who committed the crime and why. (The worst example of this is found in the final pages of "The Death of the Photographer," where Wallender briefs his police colleagues on how the crime was committed and what motivated the perpetrator. The scene is all too reminiscent of cozy mysteries where the detective shares his wisdom at the very end of the story. An odd way to end a story that is, like the other stories in the book, otherwise a police procedural.)

If you're looking for suspenseful plotting, this might not be the best choice. If, on the other hand, you want to live for a while in the mind of a low-key, hard-working Swedish cop, and you enjoy a book that is strong on atmosphere and setting, you will likely want to pour yourself a good cup of coffee and dig into this collection. (For my part, I plan to pick up Faceless Killers, Mankell's first Wallender novel, in the next week or two.)

Henning Mankell is one of Sweden's most prolific and successful crime novelists. In "The Pyramid" he has provided readers with five stories occurring throughout the illustrious career of Detective Kurt Wallender. The stories vary in length from a few pages to "The Pyramid" which is almost 200 pages. The stories are:
1. Wallander's First Case: The 21 year old Kurt Wallender is a police officer living in Malmo. He is engaged to his future wife Mona. She works as a hairdresser and the couple hope to take a vacation. His father gives him problems since he hate's Kurt's decision to become a police officer. A man is murdered next door and Wallender investigates the thorny case. Wallender's love life is rocky since Mona is upset at the long hours he keeps.
2. The Man With the Mask. It is Christmas Eve 1975 as Wallender leaves police headquarters for an evening of celebration with his family of Mona and daughter Linda. A call comes in to him and he goes to a store where the owner has been murdered. Wallender nearly loses his life as he must face the mank with the mask. The story deals with racial prejudice in South Africa. An excellent story!
3. The Man on the Beach is a story of revenge. A retired lawyer and doctor are involved in this exciting tale.
4. The Death of the Photographer is a fascinating mystery in which a benign photographer is murdered late one night in his studio. The only clue is a dropped Swedish Church hymnbook! A tale of love and revenge in which Mankell is writing at the top of his considerable literary game!
5. The Pryamid is a story in which Kurt's artist father takes a trip to the Pyramids in Egypt! In Egypt he is arrested and Wallender must rescue him from his imprisonment. In Sweden Wallender has to connect the dots linking the crash of a plane and the weird murder by fire of two spinster sisters.
These tales are taut with excitement and we learn more about the personal life of Kurt Wallender. A must for all fans of Mankell, Sweidish detective fiction and murder mysteries. Highly recommended!