of immigrants annually during the 1960s, attempts to organise a transpar- ent society. Already with the cycle of Inspector Martin Beck, started in the mid-1960s, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahl- öö brought into question that social harmony and the capitalist state. The question of what happened with Swe- den also would not bypass Henning Mankell, author of the Inspector Wal- lander series, nor many who followed him in attempting to analyse the series of social phenomena directly related to the investigation of crimes or merely casually. It seems significant that this popular genre has been used to high- light certain political ideas and criti- cally examine models of life – says Pro- fessor Duda. TRAUMATIC IDYLL Bazdulj claims that Larsson “more with stomach and instincts, than know- ingly and intentionally, touched on the traumatic background of the Scandina- vian idyll. He packed a dark and grey social context into a readable and co- herent story, and then pushed his fin- ger into the wound. Misogyny, racism and (neo) fascism are in the focus of his prose,” concludes this writer. Scandinavians, despite being com- fortably nestled in their welfare state, have remained very sensitive to injus- tice and political opportunism, full of understanding for human weakness, open to different customs and hab- its. All this is found in their crime nov- els. Here, instead of rushing to the last page to find the killer, you will find so- cial problems, political views, depres- sive agents who are their own problem, failed marriages, suicidal teenagers and, alongside all of this, a need to par- ticipate in the defence of social values. If you are among the millions who have read these books, by now you al- ready know that the stories within them are far from the popular matrix with a key question – who is the kill- er. This is important, of course, but it is not the most important question. That is actually the leitmotif of the novels of Serbia’s favourite Scan- dinavian, Jo Nesbø. This famous writ- er, whose novels are published in Ser- bia by Laguna, said in an interview for NIN that “regardless of the fact that his novels have a series of scenes of vi-
olence, he has never once pointed a finger at the killer as the only one to blame for such crimes.” Nesbø believes that the key issue that leads him is the inclusion of readers by themselves be- coming, while reading his novels, crit- ics of everything that happens to us. IRRESISTIBLE HARRY However, it would turn out that the essence of the success of the sa- ga about inspector Harry Hole is actu- ally hidden in the colourfulness of his character. Harry possesses that kind of appealing self-destructive charm, be- hind which there are, of course, emo- tionality, loyalty, righteousness. Such a character would go on to be found in dozens of films, all those guys who al- ways do the right thing, and then dis- appear. In Harry there is something of that general, but also dear, place. For example, the fact that it is not easy to fall in love naturally, but still in each novel there is a hint of romance. The relationship towards little Oleg, the son of his only love, Rakel, neutraliz- es everything that you would ever re- sent about him. Loyalty to friends, fa- ther and sister and his sense of justice compels you to almost fall in love with him. He is an ideal movie character, of course. Nesbø long resisted offers, but he could not resist Martin Scorsese’s. And it is not difficult to guess that Har- ry will be portrayed by the irresistible Michael Fassbender. Another who, just like Nesbø, picked up critics’ and readers’ awards is Icelander Arnaldur Indriðason. His middle-aged inspector with de- pressive tendencies, Erlendur, is like the older brother of Harry Hole. In the morning he solves other people’s problems, but in the evening he can- not manage to cope with his own. Par- ticularly popular in Serbia during its time was the novel “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” by Danish writer Peter Høeg. Through a dangerous and courageous search for the truth about the death of a little Eskimo, heroine Smilla Jasper- son discovers the dark secrets of Dan- ish society. The “Scandinavian thriller” has long been a Northern brand just like “Abba” or Ikea. But all of you who im- mediately started reading this article already know that.
Umesto puke jurnjave za ubicom, u ovim knjigama suočićete se s politikom, neofašizmom, depresivnim agentima, samoubistvu sklonim tinejdžerima...
Instead of rushing to find the killer, in these books you will find politics, neo- fascism, depressing agents, suicidal teens...
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