Book #31 Man's Search For Meaning

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This 1946 memoir by Viktor E. Frankl is set against a backdrop of one of human history’s cruelest and most horrific chapters and yet it argues that the key to finding happiness begins with letting go of your pursuit of happiness. This powerful, psychological memoir and meditation on the author’s experience at Auschwitz, argues that meaning, not success or happiness, is the driving pursuit of human life. The book presents Frankl’s theory of logotherapy, which holds that man’s fundamental drive is to find life’s “potential meaning under any conditions.” As Frankl wrote, “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” American psychologist Carl Rogers called the work “one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought in the last 50 years.”

It is a timeless formula for survival, profoundly honest and an inspiring document.

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Book #30 Quicksand by Henning Mankell

Quicksand by Henning Mankell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In January 2014 Henning Mankell was informed that he had cancer. However, Quicksand is not a book about death and destruction but about what it means to be human. Despite the depressing background this is a beautiful and moving document, related over 67 short chapters. Mankell was “a good man” endorsed by the University of St. Andrews in 2008 when they gave him an honorary doctorate of letters. In Quicksand, published in English less than four months after his death, the Swedish novelist gives us an insight into how he reacted to his diagnosis of cancer and reflected on his mortality. The result is an extraordinarily moving book that tells us a great deal about Mankell’s life and, incidentally, a lot about our lives, too.

Mankell is best known for his crime novels. The Wallander series stands high in the pantheon of “Nordic noir”, that flowering of fiction that has dominated the recent ­detective novel. Mankell was also a political activist whose position on issues such as the Palestinian question was widely reported. In sub-Saharan Africa, with which he had a long and profound association, he put his money to good use. Not only did he endow an orphanage but he gave considerable sums to support drama and literature in countries where funding of the arts is not a high priority. He established and managed an important theatre in Mozambique. He helped people in numerous ways. So it was an engaged life that received notice of impending termination when that diagnosis of cancer was made. How did he react? What happened in his case is that he was prompted to compose what is surely one of the most moving and intriguing farewell notes ever written. Mankell does not deny that death is approaching. He writes in detail about his treatment but his main concern is not so much himself as the world he has seen and engaged with in a remarkably full life.

A theme that runs through the book is an environmental one, in particular the disposal of radioactive waste. Mankell’s approach is very personal and tied to concrete examples of human unconcern over what present stupidity and selfishness will do to people who are yet to be born. “Our legacy is nuclear waste. Our most important task is to try to send a warning to people who might succeed us after future ice ages have passed”. “Do we still have time to think sensible thoughts? Or is nuclear waste another step along the road leading deeper down into the abyss?” For all that and throughout Quicksand, there are scenes of joy and triumph in the midst of suffering and loss. This grave book, intensely beautiful in its spirit, takes us to these places in the thoughtful company of a great soul.


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England's last Golden Eagle feared dead

 England's last remaining Golden Eagle has failed to appear this spring, leading RSPB staff and volunteers at its Lake District home to fear the worst.

The Golden Eagle had been resident at Riggindale at Haweswater in Cumbria since 2001/02 and had been alone since the death of his mate in 2004.

RSPB staff at Haweswater, who operate a special eagle viewpoint at the site, haven’t seen the bird since last November but only became concerned last month when it still hadn’t appeared. The bird isn’t always sighted during the winter but in spring it would normally have been seen nest building and displaying to attract a mate around its territory in Riggindale.

Lee Schofield, Site Manager at RSPB Haweswater, said: “When the eagle didn’t appear last month we thought there was a chance he might be hunting in a nearby valley but over the past few weeks we’ve been gradually losing hope.

“We will probably never find out what happened to him but as he was around 19-20 years old, an advanced age for an eagle, it’s quite possible that he died of natural causes.

“His disappearance marks the end of an era as he has been an iconic part of the Haweswater landscape for the past 15 years. During this time, thousands of visitors have travelled from across the country hoping to catch a glimpse of him at the Riggindale Eagle Viewpoint. With him gone, the Lake District has just got a bit less wild.”

Book #29 Darkside

Darkside by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has taken me over a week to read Darkside. Not because I did not enjoy the book, more to do with time taken up with garden maintenance and replacing fence panels. This thriller deserves better as I did struggle somewhat to remember who the various characters were. And that is a shame because this is my third read from Belinda Bauer - it's compelling, original and brilliant. Wonderful subliminal nods to her previous book Blacklands, characters turning up in cameo rôles. A great touch, although I understand that Darkside is the 2nd book in a trilogy known as Exmoor. The location is the same - the close-knit village of Shipcott and local policeman Jonas Holly is faced with his first murder investigation. This is handled however by detectives from Taunton under SIO Detective Chief Inspector Marvel, a nasty piece of work, an abrasive bully and a borderline alcoholic. He hates the village, he hates the locals and most of all he hates Jonas, despises him for what he sees as ineptitude. Jonas is soon distracted by an anonymous letter, accusing him of failing to do his job. Trying to cope with this and caring for his wife Lucy who suffers from MS is a strain that at times becomes unbearable. Bauer's use of counting down the days to the final denouement is relentless and if you guess the final outcome you are a better detective than me!

If you have read Blacklands you will enjoy this; if you haven't do read Blacklands first.

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Book #28 An Event In Autumn

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In May 2014 I finished reading The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell, the last in the wonderful Wallander series that had gripped me since the 90s. Mankell said in October 2012: “There are no more stories about Kurt Wallander”. And I reluctantly had to believe him, made all the more sad by Mankell’s early demise in 2015 from cancer.

It was by pure happenstance then that I came across this novella entitled An Event In Autumn. The story was written many years ago for a reading campaign in the Netherlands. Everybody who bought a crime novel in a certain month would receive a free book. This was one of them. Years later the BBC discovered the story (I thought it rang a bell) and made it the basis of a manuscript of a TV episode in which Kenneth Branagh played the part of Wallander. Subsequently the book was translated into English and published in 2015 by Vintage.

Chronologically it dates to the period just before The Troubled Man and once again I have had the absolute pleasure of following Kurt in a short thriller, beautifully crafted. Wallander wants to move to the country from the apartment in Ystad that he shares with his daughter Linda. His police colleague, Martinson, tells him of a property owned by his wife’s cousin, that is for sale. It appears to be just what Wallander is looking for; the location is perfect. What he finds buried in the garden though, isn’t. A human hand poking through the soil leads to the discovery of a skeleton of a middle-aged woman, buried long ago. What follows is a perfect, frustrating investigation. A perfect ‘Wallander’. Something for any fan of Wallander to luxuriate in - for one last time.

Don’t miss it.

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Book #27 Dark Places

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dark Places left me cold. A mother and two of her daughters slaughtered in shocking fashion. The youngest daughter, Libby Day, survived this act of violence and her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother Ben behind bars, guilty of the mass murder of his own family. Or was he? Twenty four years later Libby is contacted by a group calling themselves The Kill Club, all convinced of Ben's innocence. And if Ben wasn't guilty who did massacre the Day family?

There is not one character to like in this seedy tale of small-town America - Kinnakee, Kansas. The manipulative, alcoholic father, who leaves his wife and family to fend for themselves and cope with a run down farm; and they don't. The downtrodden mother, drowning in debt - doles out a meal of sandwiches that consist of a slice of bread spread with mustard. Ben's girlfriend Diondra - well, I won't go there - don't want to give too much of the plot away. And our 'heroine' the light-fingered Libby Day has few redeeming qualities. After contact from the group, headed by the enthusiastic Lyle Wirth, Libby begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day.... Was she mistaken with what she thought she heard as a seven-year-old?

In the latter half of the book there is one chapter that contains scenes of such depravity that left me reeling with shock. Gratuitous and unnecessary.

In some defence of Dark Places the plot is well constructed, switching chapter by chapter between the events of 1985 and the present, which helps to maintain a relentless pace. I finished the book relatively quickly, to be done with it. I so enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; I cannot say the same for Dark Places.

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Book #26 A Whole Life

A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Whole Life is a gentle, tender work devoid of sentimentality yet so evocative and moving in its slim 149 pages. Vienna born Robert Seethaler grew up in Germany and moved to Berlin in 1998. His candidly, simple work has been sensitively translated into English by Charlotte Collins and published within a year of its German publication.

I won't dwell on the story line; its physical evocation of the remote mountain village setting and understated melancholy touched me deeply. The whole life story of Andreas Eggar, a solemn man of few words but deep, complex feeling that he seldom articulates. The daunting beauty of A Whole Life lingers in my mind. It is a profound, wise and humane novel that I will not forget.

Highly recommended.

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Book #25 The Ice Child

The Ice Child by Camilla Läckberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I need time to recover! Review to follow....

I spotted this book in Waterstones. the blurb on the cover sounded good and so I bought it, not realising that I was jumping into a long running series at number 9. A series featuring Detective Patrik Hedström and his wife Erica Falck, from No. 1 international bestseller and Swedish crime writer Camilla Lackberg. It was of no matter as the book is excellent as a stand alone read. It is a perfect piece of Scandinavian noir, a slow burner, with an horrific plot.

It opens in January, in Fjällbacka. A semi-naked girl wanders through the woods in freezing cold weather. When she finally reaches the road, a car comes out of nowhere. It doesn’t manage to stop. By the time Detective Patrik Hedström receives word of the accident, the girl has already been identified. Four months ago she disappeared on her way home from the local riding school, and no one has seen her since. It quickly becomes clear that she has been subjected to unimaginably brutal treatment. And it’s likely she’s not the only one. It is a harrowing account, what this girl has suffered beggars belief.

Meanwhile, Patrik’s wife, crime writer Erica Falck, is looking into an old case – a family tragedy that led to a man’s death. His wife was convicted of murder, but Erica senses that something isn’t right. What is the woman hiding? As Erica digs deeper, the past starts to cast a shadow over the present and Patrik is forced to see his investigation in a whole new light.

Throughout the story scenes of domestic cosiness are mixed with scenes of intense horror, almost nauseating at times. And at times I wondered if the police would ever make progress with their investigation. I really felt the frustration of Hedström and his colleagues and his wife, who was researching events for her new book. A possible link between the two cases becomes intriguing.

This is a masterclass in crime writing, certainly on a par with Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. I will certainly read more by Camilla Lackberg.

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