The late Henning Mankell was best known for the Kurt Wallander series. I was curious about his other works, which led me to After the Fire. This first-person account follows retired physician Fredrik Welin and his experience after his home is lost in a fire.
The 70-year-old Fredrik, asleep and wearing only his pajamas, barely makes it out alive. The house, the solitary one on a small island in the Sweden archipelago, had been in his family for generations. Evidence of arson raises suspicion that Fredrik is responsible.
References to a backstory surface but are never fully explained. His only friend, Jansson, is a retired postal carrier who made his deliveries by boat from one island to another. Fredrik is often dismissive of Jansson’s good intentions and offers of help. Fredrik’s estranged daughter arrives; it’s unclear whether she’s meant to help or annoy her father.
Fredrik is not a likeable, engaging character, which often makes it difficult to sympathize with his loss. He is impatient and selfish. When he meets Lisa Modin, a local journalist who is much younger than he is, Fredrik imagines a relationship could develop.
Mankell crafted a storyline focusing more on Fredrik, his loss and his outlook on life than on the mystery of who started the fire. In fact, when that is eventually revealed, it’s anticlimactic. Fredrik does undergo a mild transformation from an island recluse to someone who looks beyond himself. Yet, this offers little in the way of a satisfying outcome to the narrative.
After the Fire
Henning Mankell
Three bookmarks
Vintage Books, 2017
399 pages
The Blue Page Special 