- Hardcover: 392 pages
- Publisher: New Press (22 Sep 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1565849949
- ISBN-13: 978-1565849945
- Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 16.1 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 734,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Pyramid
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
When you spend a lot of time enthusiastically recommending a favourite writer to people unfamiliar with him, it's easy to acquire that cosy feeling that you're one of the initiated, spreading the word to those who aren't. For many, that used to be the case with Henning Mankell; crime aficionados who had discovered the Swedish master could hardly wait to extol the virtues of his wonderfully written novels -- and Mankell’s taciturn copper, Kurt Wallander. But the days when Mankell and his creation were known to just a privileged few are long over. There has already been an acclaimed television series made for the Scandinavian territories, and a major new English-speaking series beckons (starring Kenneth Branagh); even more fame is guaranteed for the writer and his detective.
So the time is probably right for The Pyramid, even though those of us who enjoyed putting out the word about Mankell will have to relinquish their proselytising role. Wallander first appeared in Faceless in 1991, when he was a senior police officer just out of his 30s and with his private life in chaos. The stories here describe his early years: the events, the people and the crimes that forged the man we first met in Faceless. We encounter Wallander as a beat cop attempting to crack a murder in his spare time; we follow him in his tentative first steps with Mona, the woman he has decided to marry (his wife, of course, had left him by the time of the events in that first book), and we are shown why his relationship with his father is quite so fractious. The elements that make the full length Wallander novels so successful are all here in microcosm: a cool, dispassionate treatment of crime, the understated evocation of the Scandinavian locales; and (best of all) the puzzling, fascinating character of the tenacious cop at the centre of the narrative.
Mankell fans may prefer the full-length novels (and not every piece here is vintage Mankell), but they will feel the need to catch up with the insights provided by these striking stories. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Review
`The idea behind this collection of Wallander stories is brilliant but simple'.
--Sunday Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
--Sunday Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great early Wallander,
This review is from: The Pyramid (Hardcover)
It's not the bright sunny, northern summer days, it's the long, dark, dank, cold, sleepless, foggy nights, when Wallander is alone with his fears or in solitary pursuit of a psychotic killer, that creep off the page and take hold of you. At times, Mankell simply wraps us in evil atmosphere.
How did Kurt Wallander become the angry, insecure, single-minded investigator we first encountered in Faceless Killers? Well, The Pyramid and its accompanying short stories finally give us some of that fascinating background. From Wallander's First Case, which shows him as a young beat copper trying to solve a murder in his off-duty hours, these stories track his early career in the latter part of the twentieth century. It must be difficult to backtrack with such an established character, but Mankell has done a good job of unravelling some of Wallander's ingrained traits and taking them back to their origins. We are treated to his early insecurity and confusion in his knife-edge relationships with Mona and his father. Meanwhile we see the development of his rigour and dogged determination to get to the root cause. If you listened to Wallander himself, you would believe he was the slowest, dumbest cop in the force but, of course, he is rising like cream to the top, although he may be closer to the truth when it comes to his personal relationships. These are thrilling stories.
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Introduction to Wallander's World,
By
This review is from: The Pyramid: And Four Other Kurt Wallander Mysteries (Kurt Wallander Mystery) (Hardcover)
This book contains 5 short stories involving the Swedish detective who was recently bought to our screens by the BBC with Kenneth Branagh in the lead role. in 'Wallander's First Case' the young policeman investigates the sudden death of a neighbour. 'The Man with the Mask' is a brilliant example of how a routine call can threaten to turn into a tragedy for a policeman as the now married Wallander walks into a seige situation. 'The Man on the Beach' finds the body of a tourist in the back of a taxi cab and Kurt and his team have to try to recreate the last known movements of the victim. 'The Death of the Photographer' has a seemingly unassuming local business man beaten to death in his studio with no clear motive available. Lastly, 'The Pyramid' sees a light aircraft crash and raises the suspicion of a drug run, whilst Wallander and his colleagues are shocked at the brutul death of two elderly sisters who ran a sewing shop.
Each story details the ordinary work the police do, running down evidence, interviewing friends and neighbours and painstakingly piecing together the reasons behind a crime. The stories are an excellent introduction to the full length novels by Henning Mankell and we get some background on Kurt, his wife (and eventually ex-wife Mona) and daughter Linda - as well as his difficult and demanding artist father whose grip on reality appears to be failing. Hunt down a copy of this book - it will lead you straight on to the others in the series.
55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Kurt Wallander Stories,
By
This review is from: The Pyramid (Hardcover)
These fascinating five stories portray stages in
Wallander's career and life prior to his appearance in 'Faceless Killers'.We see him in Malmo as a keen raw 21 year old policeman in his first case with the criminal investigation unit,and then in another case after he has been made a detective.The last three stories show Wallander after he has moved to Ystad and are Mankell at his best.We learn about his colleagues who feature in the subsequent novels ,and of Wallander's relationship with his wife Mona,his father and his daughter Linda,and discover the roots of his loneliness. For Wallander fans these stories are a must read,but each story stands on its own as a cracking good read.If this is the last we read of Wallander -we are left with a book to savour.
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