Sidetracked (Villospår)
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season420 pages, about 8 hours: the length of 1.3 typical books on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbWallander is called out to a rapeseed field on a summer day in Skåne.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesKirkus compares Mankell’s handling of mortality to P. D. James’s.
The case for it
on the peripheral characters
“the novel stands out for its nuanced evocation of even the peripheral characters”
Unsigned review · Publishers Weekly, 1999 on the cast
“an interesting and varied cast of characters, and terrific writing.”
five stars · Audible on the pace
“There’s something about the Kurt Wallander novels that grips me. I whizzed through this one.”
a Substack review on Wallander’s thought process
“Wallander’s thought process and what makes him one of the top detectives in Skåne.”
a book blog
The case against
on the length and pace
“punishing length and glacial pace”
Unsigned review · Kirkus Reviews, 1999 on Wallander’s mood
“it makes me depressed just to read about him.”
a book blog on Wallander’s habits
“the usual collection of delineating tics or habits, aside from occasionally playing opera tapes”
a book blog on the dated technology
“so dated and tedious to have to wait while characters copy down people’s phone numbers”
a book blog
