Inspector-Wallander.org News Archive

Inspector-Wallander.org
The Site for English-Speaking Fans of Henning Mankell's Detective Series
Featuring Kurt Wallander of Ystad, Sweden,
A small town outside of Malmö in the southern province of Skåne.

News Archive

Mankell interview and review in the Washington Post

Posted 9 March 2005

A new article about Henning Mankell from Washington Post writer Linton Weeks is available online, entitled "Winter Lit, For Novelist Henning Mankell, 'The End' Is Just the Beginning". This article follows Mankell's Feb/Mar 2005 Before the Frost publicity tour in Washington DC.

Here's an excerpt:

Mankell learned right and wrong from [his father] the judge, he says, and "a fierce sense of the seriousness of the system of justice." You can feel that passion in his pages. The family lived in the northern village of Sveg. Mankell's father served all of Harjedalen province -- population 2,000. In 24 years on the bench, the judge presided over no murder cases and only one manslaughter trial. Mostly folks ended up in court for hunting out of season and having children out of wedlock. There were lots of paternity suits, Mankell says.

The judge also taught his son that "in order to do anything, you have to understand the person." And Mankell was able to see that many human stories have beginnings, middles and ends.

Read the full article here.

The Washington Post follows up on their interview with a short review of Before the Frost called "Father-Daughter Act" from fellow author Richard Lipez.

Thanks to Chris for posting these to our mailing list.