Henning Mankell is at it again. This time it’s a tale of slavery between America and Asia, with the far-reaching ramifications of certain acts only manifesting themselves after a century. A tiny hamlet in Sweden wakes up to find its inhabitants brutally massacred in the middle of the night. The police are called in, but crimes of this sort are exceedingly rare in Sweden. The lead investigator is understandably flummoxed, but she is a stern woman and perseveres against all odds, in the face of this unspeakable bloodletting. All the victims are related, either immediately or distantly, but have little in common beyond that. Unluckily for them, they have a distant descendant, a judge in Scania, who is both horrified and intrigued by the murder of almost her entire clan in one blow. It is this judge’s inquisitiveness that leads to the unraveling of this fantastic, barely-plausible plot.

She finds a diary in one of the houses, detailing the life of a distant relation who emigrated to the States, becoming, of all things, a foreman on the trans-continental railways that spanned the nascent North American nations. Her ancestor was a brutal man, one who killed the slaves who worked on the line mercilessly. We then see the lives of two Chinese peasants on the other side of the Pacific, who are kidnapped and taken across the seas to the US. Promised a land of golden opportunity, they soon see that they have exchanged a brutish and nasty life for one that can only be merciful when short. However, they are tough and survive against all hardships. After being emancipated, one of them dies, but one survives and vows to chronicle his hellish sufferings. His diary is found by his distant descendant, much the same way as the Swedish judge finds the repulsive diary of her racist ancestor.

Though the plot seems a bit far-fetched, it is but a vehicle for a marvellous telling of the next wave of imperialism currently taking place in Africa, vis a vis China. Both sides of the coin are explored: China as a big brother helping the former victims of imperialism come to their feet, and China as the subtle imperial aggressor, taking what she wants with nary a scant glance at the impoverished natives. No prizes for guessing which direction China is heading in. History is littered with the corpses of the defeated and once again, it will be the hapless Africans while the world stands by. The Swedish judge’s disillusionment with China’s changes and current leanings is a metaphor for the disappointment felt by intellectuals as they see the brutal wolf attack again, albeit guised as a red lamb this time. A great look into the foundation of any emerging superpower, i.e. exploitation.

ISBN: 978-0-307-39785-0

Henning Mankell is the doyen of NWOSCF (New Wave of Scandinavian Crime Fiction). How can a two-decade-old wave be new? The same way NWOBHM still stands. In Daniel, Mankell shows us with superb clarity and vision why his writing matters. Hans Bengler goes to Africa on the gossamer wings of an entomologist’s dream: finding new species he can name after himself. He is one of those disconnected souls, who on finding no solace in any of the prescribed paths society lays down for us, decides to strike out on his own.

In the desert in Africa, in the 1880s, Bengler hires a team of Africans to cross the desert. Stopping at a cottage along the way, he finds a young boy left for dead and decides to adopt him and take him back to his native Sweden. The boy has no idea who this man is, but is grateful to be alive. He does not understand why he has to wear these heavy shoes on his feet, nor why he’s going across such a vast expanse of water (he didn’t know such a thing could even exist!). In Sweden, the fiscally and almost-morally destitute Bengler decides to exhibit the boy, now named Daniel, and make some money. He shows off the insects he found in Africa along with the boy the colour of soot. Very few people have seen a real, live African in Sweden and Daniel is subject to immense curiosity. There is no overt racism, since he’s considered more of an oddity than anything. Of course, bringing such a boy from the burning wastes of the Kalahari to the frigid wastes of Sweden dooms him from the get-go.

The story is awash in an over-arching theme of alienation and bewilderment. Bengler is a disconnected Swede, aimless, penniless and only able to find brief carnal solace in the arms of his favorite whore Matilda. His father is dead, leaving him alone in the world. Daniel is awash in a sea of bewilderment and nostalgia, the likes of which we can barely begin to fathom. His unspoken despair and absolutely wretched loneliness is only seen in his simple-minded acts, attempts at escape with deep portent. When Daniel begins the expectoration of bloody sputum as an early sign of consumption, we know the end is not far off. In all his time in Sweden, Daniel has made one friend, another simple-minded soul whose mind has cracked after being raped by her guardian. Together they contrive to escape together, but a small African child and a mentally disturbed girl don’t get very far in Sweden in 1880.

Read this tale for a glimpse into a world most of us may never know. Perhaps this is what it feels like when one is autistic or stricken with Asperger’s. Another powerful stroke of penmanship by Mankell.

ISBN: 978-1-59558-193-8