- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: The Harvill Press (19 May 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843431483
- ISBN-13: 978-1843431480
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 450,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
'I asked you to write a story about love, not a story about crime!' he yelled, and I answered, 'I'm sorry, but in my mind they've become inseparable.'In the middle of the night, a man makes a phone call to his best friend. He needs help, he says - and the loan of a heavy-duty shovel. The story of Christian Lang is one of obsession both physical and emotional. A famous novelist and television chat-show host, Lang wants to keep his affair with the enchanting Sarita a secret, but she has her own reasons for keeping it quiet too. Lang finds himself caught up in a sinister love triangle with Sarita and her violent ex-husband. He knows that his life is in danger but so great is Lang's passion for his lover that he is unable to stay away. As Lang is drawn further into a spiral of lust, lies and violence his judgement becomes increasingly irrational. This is a compelling story about love, hatred and obsession and of how these can override the emotion of intense fear. West- has produced a superbly crafted tale of the terrifying lengths to which a man will go to fuel his addiction to a woman.
About the Author
Kjell Westo was born in 1961 in Finland. Since his literary debut in 1986 he has published three collections of poetry, two books of short stories and three novels. He is one of the leading Swedish-language authors in Finland today.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
memorable characters that haunt you even when you are not sure if you enjoyed or loved the story,
By John "Notes of a Bookdreamer" (Bristol,UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lang (Paperback)
Lang by Kjell Westö was published in 2005 for English readers and his is first crime/suspend novel. Kjell is a Swedish speaking Finlander author of several novels and books of poetry since 1986. Lang is psychological mystery with its polar opposite being Roseanna which is a Police Procedural story by the husband-and-wife writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. In Lang a crime is committed but the focus is on the why and its consequences rather then on its detection. The story is driven by the question what redemption is possible if your life is driven by fame and success rather then by love.
Lang is the host of Finland's premier chat show-think Michael Parkinson crossed with Jeremy Paxman and started his rise to the top of the cultural heights by being a successful highbrow novelist. But his second marriage has just failed, and his son from his first is on drugs. He hasn't written in over ten years and his TV ratings are slipping as viewers switch to new Friday night formats such as Big Brother and How to be a Millionaire. Worse still, he is in is 40's going grey and fading physically. A chance encounter with Sarita in a bar starts an obsessive lust affair complicated further which it becomes clear that she is equally locked in an unhealthy relationship with the violent father of her son. Yet it's like a drug that initially gives the high of a revitalised career but then destroys it as the addicts needs to have more of what he craves leads to murder...but also redemption. The story is not told by Lang but his best friend who is contacted in the opening scene for a spade to burry the body. Lang browbeats him to get the spade but when arrested keeps his friends involvement secret. The story then unfolds with the friend trying to discuss and write up Lang's version which we gradually see is more his then Lang's. We lean more about their friendship and Lang's abuse of it and how he neglects his mentally ill sister. It also becomes clear that whilst Lang is clearly a charming but nasty piece of work, his friend and Sarita are not merely victims as they are playing their own games. Even Saritia's violent drug-seller ex husband has more redeeming qualities then first appearances would suggest. So does it work? Well don't expect a nice simple bad-guy versus good-guy as nothing is easy or simply resolved and you are left with perhaps more questions then answers. It rings psychologically true and the writing and structure works well with memorable characters that haunt you even when you are not sure if you enjoyed or loved the story. Strongly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
bleak,
By
This review is from: Lang (Paperback)
Lang allows himself to get stuck in a situation and the results are horrible. His sort of friend tells the story from what Lang has said and written to him in letters. We may wonder how differently Lang would have told it himself, and in particular we may wonder about the degree of complicity of the woman he loves. Tense, gripping, and leaving an appropriate degree of mystery over human motivation and the ability of others to understand what is going on. This book is a real gem.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nordic thriller without too many thrills,
By
This review is from: Lang (Paperback)
'Lang' is more of a melodrama than a murder mystery, a thriller or a crime novel. It's centred around a fading television talk show host and is told in flashback by a friend who is writing the story of his fall from grace. There are some moments of tension, but for me, characterisation was just a little too sketched, and the main positives in this short novel were the Finnish locations.This is mildly recommended for those of us interested in all things nordic, but is not an earth shattering read.
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