Archive for the ‘Iceland’ Tag
Kalmann An Icelandic Mystery
by Joachim B. Schmidt
Kalmann Odinsson, 33, is a man with special needs man: mentally he hasn’t progressed beyond that of a six-year-old; he’s uncoordinated and socially awkward. He lives alone in the small town of Raufarhofn, Iceland, nearly 400 miles from the country’s capital.
Fishing is the primary industry and because of the small population, everyone knows everybody. Most are sympathetic to Kalmann who considers himself the town sheriff. He wears a cowboy hat and has a badge to prove it. He also carries an antique Mauser pistol.
For most of Kalmann’s life, his Grandfather was his constant companion, but the elder man was moved to a senior care facility in another town. Kalmann’s mother also moved away, but frequently checks in on her son.
The best times of his life were those times spent with his Grandfather, which helps explains why Kalmann is as self-sufficient as he is. Although he visits his Grandfather weekly, his absence is deeply felt.
The novel is told from Kalmann’s perspective which is both humorous and, at times, heartbreaking. When he discovers blood while hunting for an Arctic fox, a mystery unfolds. First, whose blood and where is the body?
Despite his limitations, Kalmann is often insightful; and perhaps because of them, he is also frustrated. This is similar to my reaction while reading. This is due largely to the novel’s pacing, which is, at times, laborious. In developing Kalmann’s character in such tedious detail, the author, unfortunately, lets the mystery at hand take the back seat.
Kalmann: An Icelandic Mystery
Bitter Lemon Press, 2022
301 pages
Three bookmarks
Once again, Ragnar Jonasson kept me in suspense throughout Nightblind. It picks up five years after Snowblind, the first in the Ari Thor Arason series set in a small town in northern Iceland.
Ari Thor’s new commander has just been murdered and Tomas, his old chief, is called in to investigate. Ari Thor was off duty thanks to being home sick. Part of the thrill is his feeling that had he been on duty, he would have been the victim.
Tomas has relocated to Reykjavik and doesn’t appear to mind being called back to his former stomping grounds. It’s apparent that Ari Thor is pleased to have his old boss around.
Of course, there’s more than just the murder to investigate. A new mayor, his assistant and an alleged drug ring in town arouse Ari Thor’s curiosity. Interspersed among the chapters focusing on the murder are excerpts from a journal written by an unnamed young man in a psychiatric ward. The reason for his presence there is only alluded to and never made entirely clear. It’s a tandem story: both mysteries with only the insinuation of a common thread.
Although Ari Thor is not officially part of the investigation since he’s a member of the local police, he still manages to keep busy following leads and trying to fit pieces together. Meanwhile, another murder and an uneasy feeling about the new mayor make for a fast-paced narrative.
Deceit, family secrets and small-town politics all figure into this engaging, satisfying mystery.
Nighblind
Four-and-half Bookmarks
Minotaur Books, 2015
206 pages
I get on book kicks and my latest has been mysteries; they’re my reading guilty pleasure. It’s especially satisfying to come across something as well-written and intriguing as Snow Blind by Ragnar Jonasson.
Set in a small town in northern Iceland, Jonasson’s novel is dark –thanks to the limited hours of daylight so close to the Arctic Circle – and is filled with intelligent characters with plenty of positive traits and foibles – like most of us.
Ari Thor is in the process of completing his exams at the Reykjavik police academy when he’s offered a job in a small, but once-thriving fishing community on the other side of the country. Without consulting his live-in girlfriend, he accepts the position and leaves her behind.
What he initially encounters is the difficulty of fitting in where most of the residents have lived, if not all at least most, of their lives. He’s an outsider. He’s repeatedly told by his captain “Nothing ever happens here.”
The narrative is told in two different parts: one beginning in spring 2008 and ending in January 2009; the other, set off in separate chapters and in italics, describing a murder. The reader knows the two will intersect, but the question is not just when but how. Jonasson deftly teases curiosity while leaving very few clues along the way.
In the place where nothing happens, Ari Thor deals first with an accidental death and then the brutal beating of a woman. Yet, these are only part of the plot.
Snow Blind
Four-and-a-half Bookmarks
Minotaur Books, 2010
302 pages
It should come as no surprise from the title of Hannah Kent’s debut novel, Burial Rites, that death plays a major role since it overshadows the entire plot. It is also obvious from the onset who will die and why. What is less clear is the unexpected empathy that develops for the condemned.
Kent creates an unlikely protagonist in Agnes Magnusdottir, charged with the brutal murder of her former lover. While awaiting her execution, Agnes is sent to live with a farmer’s family apprehensive of have a murderess in their home. Like the harsh, cold Icelandic setting in which the story occurs, warmth toward to Agnes is slow to kindle.
The beauty of Kent’s writing lies in her ability to develop an emotional response in readers in much the same way the host family members relinquish their reluctance, revulsion and fear of having Agnes in their midst. The transformation is hard won.
Told in part from Agnes’s perspective, a few official letters, and an omniscient narrator, each character is skillfully portrayed through personality quirks, physical descriptions, and overt reactions. It’s easy to envision the pompous, narrow-minded District Commissioner who inflicts his will. Kent is equally successful in developing Toti, the young assistant reverend Agnes has requested as her spiritual advisor. This uncertain young man, and his faith, evolves as Agnes grows more comfortable sharing details of her life.
The novel, a fictional account of actual events, demonstrates hardened hearts can be softened by honesty, profound interaction, and a good storyteller.
Burial Rites
Four-and-half Bookmarks
Little, Brown and Company, 2013
322 pages
The Blue Page Special 