The Troubled Man

Henning Mankell, “The Troubled Man: A Kurt Wallander novel” Alfred A. Knopf, 2011 English translation of 2009 Swedish novel., 367 pp

First a comment. I seldom read a book without a recommendation from a reputable source and I list that source on an excel sheet which documents what I have read. I failed to do that with this book and have no idea why I read it; it is not my usual genre, and I have no note on my excel sheet. To really understand it, I would have to read it again: I do not have the time. For those who like a mystery and are interested in how a troubled detective solves the case, this is a good book. The troubled man is the police inspector Wallander, the narrator of this story.

Swedish writer Henning Mankella has written many books involving police inspector Kurt Wallander; this is my first exposure to his writing. In this book, a retired naval officer disappears without a trace. This disappearance is of some importance to Inspector Wallander as his daughter is pregnant by this man’s son.
Wallander is in his 60s, living alone (save for a dog) in an isolated house and suffers some episodes that suggest he may be losing his memory.

It soon develops that the missing man had been deeply preoccupied for many years with events from the 1960’s Cold War era when Soviet submarines prowled Scandinavian waters and Swedish officials were frantic to end such incursions (or, conversely, to cover them up). The Americans also had a stake in these matters, as Eastern and Western blocs strove to maintain a balance of power in a shifting global environment. This American involvement is the most interesting part of the book as it is written by a non-American with no American agenda to protect or explain.