NORDIC FRIENDS LOUNGE 23
[ Nordic
point of view ]
Suspense from the far north
Beautiful landscapes, gruesome crimes and edgy investigators – the Nordic noir crime genre has captivated readers worldwide for decades. What is this trend about? And what makes the novels so popular?
It all began with the novel series Roman om ett brott ( Novel about a Crime ) by Swedish authors Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, published between 1965 and 1975. The novels centre on the police- man Martin Beck, who investigates a series of murder cases that shake the country. Sjöwall and Wahlöö, both trained investigative journalists, chose the popular genre of the crime novel to draw the attention of a wide audience to griev- ances in Swedish society. By adding a socially critical component to the otherwise more enter- tainment-oriented crime novel, the duo created a new genre: Nordic noir. Kurt Wallander enters the scene Other series of a similar nature followed. How- ever, it took until the 1990s for Henning Mankell to cause a particularly big stir with his novels about Kurt Wallander. Mördare utan ansikte ( Murderer Without a Face , 1991) marks the beginning of the series, which quickly conquered bestseller lists in numerous countries. Several par- allels can be drawn between Kurt Wallander and Martin Beck. Both are detectives with thorough- ly human traits and with private lives that are anything but intact, which allows the reader to identify with them. While Beck lives in the big city of Stockholm, Wallander is at home in the small Swedish town of Ystad. This contrast between the rural idyll and the brutal murders happening there contributes to the suspense. Like their literary role model, Mankell’s novels are characterised by precise descriptions of the investigative work and a critical attitude to the events. And most importantly, they, too, aim to stimulate a discourse about social topics. Blomkvist and Salander investigate The success of the Wallander novels was sur- passed a few years later by a new series. The Millennium Trilogy by the Swede Stieg Larsson is often regarded as the series that marked the international breakthrough of the Nordic crime novel. In it, Mikael Blomkvist, editor of the mag- azine Millennium, and hacker Lisbeth Salander investigate cases of violence against women and criminal practices in the Swedish state system.
Deceptive idyll: descriptions of peaceful Nordic landscapes are a typical feature of novels in the Nordic noir tradition. But all too often, dark secrets lurk behind the beautiful façade.
Larsson paints a very critical picture of Swedish society and state. A country that is considered a role model in areas such as equality and welfare is accused of massive failure in certain areas. The success of the series was overwhelming: not only was it translated into more than 40 languages, it topped bestseller lists in numerous countries (including the US) and even made it onto the big screen. The murdering continues Nordic noir continues to thrill readers around the globe. Characteristic of all texts in this genre is the tension between the cruelty of the crimes, the disturbed living conditions of the investiga- tor, marked by everyday worries, and a detailed description of a mostly peaceful, idyllic Nordic landscape. Social criticism is an important element of the novels. While “Who did it?” is the classic question of crime fiction worldwide, Nordic noir asks it differently: “How did it come to this?” Un- like other forms of entertainment literature, Nordic noir broaches social issues, providing food for thought. Which is precisely why the genre always finds its readership.
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