fredag den 14. maj 2010

Karin Fossum, Den onde vilje (2009)


Bogen er den niende i den norske Konrad Sejer-serie.

Tre gamle venner, Axel, Reilly og Jon, tager på weekendtur sammen. Vennerne vil opmuntre Jon, som brød sammen nogle måneder tidligere og lider af angstanfald.

En måneklar aften sejler de sammen ud på Dødvandet, en lille fjeldsø, men Jon føler sig utryg og kan ikke klare turen i det kolde, blå måneskær, så han rejser sig pludselig og springer over bord for øjnene af de to andre.

Efter Jons selvmord tager Axel straks styringen og beslutter, at han og Reilly skal lægge sig til at sove og vente med at melde Jon savnet til om morgenen, frem for at indrømme, de så ham drukne.

Ligesom Fossums foregående krimi, ”Den som elsker noget andet”, er ”Den onde vilje” andet og mere end en krimi. Den beskæftiger sig i højere grad med moralske dilemmaer og med det psykologiske samspil mennesker imellem: kan mennesket tåle at leve med ubehagelige sandheder, eller er det bedre at skabe sin egen version af livet og døden? Er Axel særlig ked af, at Jon er druknet? Og hvad er det for en sandhed, Jon eventuelt kan have røbet for sin psykiater? Kort sagt, en roman om hvordan helt almindelige mennesker håndterer dilemmaer og beslutninger, rigtige eller forkerte.

I øvrigt spekulerer jeg på, om jeg husker forkert, eller der er mere humor end sædvanligt for Fossum. Jeg lånte bogen på biblioteket.

Karin Fossum, Bad Intentions (2010)
The ninth Konrad Sejer novel should be out in English by July 2010.

Three old friends, Axel, Reilly and Jon, go on a weekend trip together. The friends want to encourage Jon who had a break-down some months earlier and suffers from anxiety attacks.
On a moonlit night they row out on the Dead Water Lake, a small mountain lake, but Jon feels insecure and cannot cope with sailing in the cold, blue light so he suddenly rises and jumps overboard in front of his two friends.

After Jon´s suicide Axel assumes control and decides to go to bed and not report Jon missing until the following morning rather than admit that they watched him drown.

Like Fossum´s former novel, The Water´s Edge, Bad Intentions is more than a crime story. It engages in moral dilemmas and the psychological interaction between people: can human beings live with unpleasant truths, or is it better to create your own version of life and death? Does Axel regret that Jon drowned? And what truth is it Jon may have divulged to his psychiatrist? In short, a novel about how ordinary people handle dilemmas and decisions, be they right or wrong.

Furthermore I wonder whether I just don´t remember it or if there is more humour than in her earlier books.

I borrowed the book at the library.
Scandinavian Reading Challenge 2010 # 4

8 kommentarer:

Elizabeth Spann Craig sagde ...

Oooh...sounds complex. What a terrible time for Jon to have decided to end his life!

I'll have to look for this one. Thanks, Dorte!

Anonym sagde ...

Dorte - Thanks for this review. This does sound like much more than just a crime novel. It sounds like it's got some intriguing questions. I like books that make one think...

Felicity Grace Terry sagde ...

If the book is anywhere neither as sinister as the cover then this should be a great read.

Dorte H sagde ...

Elizabeth: she is a great writer, and she always forces the reader to think.

Margot: sometimes I miss her first novels which were more ´ordinary crime fiction´, but her later works are excellent in other ways.

Tracy: sinister has always been one of the things Karin Fossum does best :D

Louise sagde ...

Is Fossum worth reading? I know, a stupid question for a crime and mystery lover - and obviously also a fan of Fossum, but for me, who read lots of mysteries but also all other kinds of genres, is it worth it to begin reading her novels? Are they very Nordic in the tone?

Dorte H sagde ...

Louise: Fossum is very strong on atmosphere and suspense, but there is more ordinary police work and action in her earlier novels than in the latest which are more about the ethical consequences of crime. So the first ones are probably more ´Nordic´ than the later, and they are great psychological thrillers.

pattinase (abbott) sagde ...

Read one by her and liked it very much.

Dorte H sagde ...

Patti: I am not surprised. It is not just the Swedes who can write crime fiction.