Friday, April 29, 2016

The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo

Title: The Laughing Policeman
Author: Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Publisher: P.A. Norstedt & Soners Forlag (1968)
English Translation: Alan Blair (Vintage Books)


Here we are, back to our translations and still riding the international theme train. However, this is a first for me in that I've previously not read any "scandy" crime fiction. Yeah, that's right, I'm already in with the lingo which I learned from my local second hand bookseller. When I called up to ask about this title he said, "No sorry I don't have that one. The scandy crime is so popular these days I can't keep the titles in." If you're a scandy crime lover, feel free to comment below with your favorite.

For those that are new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted from a book which gets a review here.


Click here for Michael's film review of The Laughing Policeman 
at It Rains... You Get Wet


Premise:
On a rainy night in Stockholm a protest has descended into riot when the police over-police. At the same time, a gunman kills nine people on a bus. When one of those victims turns out to be a cop, his fellow detectives aren't convinced the standard random act of a madman explanation will serve to solve this crime.

Unlike us, the American psychologists have no lack of material to work on.
 
Title:
The title, much like the novel, is a piss-take while, at the same time, it's clear the authors never lose sight of the fact that they are taking pokes at a genre they love.

He held out his hand with some hesitation and for safety's sake kept his glove on. 

What works:
The tone, the jibes, the POV, the dialogue, the character descriptions, it all works. Despite the gruesome nature of what is definitely a procedural, humor rolls off the page. I laughed out loud multiple times, and up through the very end. There's no point at which a corner is turned and the authors are like: ok, time to get serious. It's all serious. It's just that it's all funny, too. I don't want to imply that this is in any way the masterpiece that Galaxy Quest is but it's obvious that the authors have full love and appreciation for the genre which has granted them the expertise to highlight the foibles of the genre (and this is easily picked up by me, a lightweight in the detective genre so I assume seasoned readers will get even more).

Sadly, it must be described as unfortunate that another spot-on aspect of the book is its topicality. It's not exactly contemporary with a 1968 pub date (no cell phones, no computers finding faces, no PCR, no digital records to cross-check, no CCTV) but it was chilling that some lines seemed word for word from the mouths of many citizens and police forces currently grappling with community policing and gun violence. Let's hope it doesn't take another 50 years to solve some of these problems.

But even to someone with Ronn's uncomplicated outlook, this Ullholm stood out as a monster of nagging tedium and reactionary stupidity. 

And while I don't have any specific comment to make in regards to crime psychology I love how it seems to be a universal feature of detective novels of the late 60s and 70s.  

What doesn't:
It's actually a bit boring. Once the crime is established not much happens until almost the halfway point. While not a long book it's not short either at 250+ pages so having what felt like a third of it meander along revealing not much got a bit boring. Thankfully there were still some laughs in that part.

For all the beautifully executed satire it was sorely lacking in any subversion of the role of women in detective novels. The women were almost wholly used as naggers and receptacles. Bit of a missed opportunity there I would say. 

And don't get me started on how we ended up here:

...born at some unpronounceable place the name of which I've forgotten.

While seemingly business as usual with the other jokes, it's not actually. I'm reading a translation and am not familiar at all with the Swedish language so while I see all the Swedish names as unpronounceable babble the above line and attitude isn't a joke for the book's original audience. 

And, finally, a nitpicky PSA for authors everywhere: it's easier for dogs to track scents in wet environments. I happen to know this because I have a friend who trains tracking dogs but also it's easy to find on the internet (and probably would have been easy to find with a little research in a library back in 1968). I see the raining = dogs-no-good mistake all the time. Why doesn't anyone look this up? 

Overall: 
Solid plot and loads of laughs for detective novel fans but a few things that'll make you go hmmm.

(format h/t: AW)



Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out Michael's post. 

 
rating: 3 of 5 stars
 


Coming up next:  
Deliverance by James Dickey


Sunday, April 24, 2016

Science is Cool!


The seething star forming this nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun. Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a "stellar wind" moving at over 4 million miles per hour. This outflow sweeps up the cold, interstellar gas in front of it, forming the outer edge of the bubble much like a snowplow piles up snow in front of it as it moves forward.

Read more and see the amazing video here.

The seething star forming this nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun. Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a "stellar wind" moving at over 4 million miles per hour. This outflow sweeps up the cold, interstellar gas in front of it, forming the outer edge of the bubble much like a snowplow piles up snow in front of it as it moves forward.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-hubble-star-inflating-giant.html#jCp
The seething star forming this nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun. Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a "stellar wind" moving at over 4 million miles per hour. This outflow sweeps up the cold, interstellar gas in front of it, forming the outer edge of the bubble much like a snowplow piles up snow in front of it as it moves forward.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-hubble-star-inflating-giant.html#jCp
The seething star forming this nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun. Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a "stellar wind" moving at over 4 million miles per hour. This outflow sweeps up the cold, interstellar gas in front of it, forming the outer edge of the bubble much like a snowplow piles up snow in front of it as it moves forward.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-hubble-star-inflating-giant.html#jCp

Sunday, April 17, 2016

There is no gene for the human spirit

One way to think about this is simply as a reflection of the fact that, to date, we have found no limitations to the improvements that can be made with particular types of practice. As training techniques are improved and new heights of achievement are discovered, people in every area of human endeavor are constantly finding ways to get better, to raise the bar on what was thought to be possible, and there is no sign that this will stop. The horizons of human potential are expanding with each new generation.

Full article here.


Strangely, rather than making me want to go out and get my practice on it just makes me want to watch Gattaca again. ;-) 

Thursday, April 14, 2016

A Kate Elliott Unboxing

I had some inkling of the glorious and shiny awesomeness in store for me as my mom was kind enough to not only act as my international postal service (read: enabler) but she also did a wee Skype session with me before forwarding on my books. However, nothing can compare to having gorgeous, beloved books in your own two hands. Thus, a photographic love letter.



Behold, the Unboxed!


When you realize getting them singly from the library does not at all do justice to the sheer amount of BOOK!


Never fear, Volume 3, one day I will find you!


Found consolation almost immediately when I discovered...



omg, omg, omg easter eggs on the signed title pages?!?!?!?!?




Joy, joy, joy, more easter eggs!



And then, of course, further consolation in gazing at what I would argue is the best cover set of all time:


btw, the outer seeming matches the inner heart, best trilogy ever!



Speaking of covers, my faves from CoS:


Where can I get that shield?


My mom, continuing her reign as best mom ever, flipped through The Secret Journal of Beatrice Hassi Barahal via Skype for me and, besides loving the artwork, made this comment: There sure is a lot of kissing! I about fell over when I saw this on closer inspection:

My mom agrees with Cat


And is anything better than new books settled into their new home?