A Treacherous Paradise

Posted on 27 October 2018 by Henning Mankell

From the internationally acclaimed author of the Kurt Wallander crime novels, a powerful stand alone novel set in early twentieth century Sweden and Mozambique, whose vividly drawn female protagonist is awoken from her na vet by her exposure to racism and by her own unexpected inner strengths Cold and poverty define Hanna Renstr m s childhood in remote northern Sweden, and in 1904, at nineteen, she boards a ship for Australia in hope of a better life But none of her hopes or fears prepares her for the life she will lead After two brief marriages both leave her widowed, she finds herself the owner of a bordello in Portuguese East Africa, a world where colonialism and white colonists rule, where she is isolated within white society by her profession and her gender, and, among the bordello s black prostitutes, by her color As Hanna s story unfurls over the next several years in this treacherous paradise, she wrestles with a devastating loneliness and with the racism she s meant to unthinkingly adopt And as her life becomes increasingly intertwined with the prostitutes , she moves inexorably toward the moment when she will make a decision that defies all the expectations society has of her and, important, those she has of herself Gripping in its drama, evocative and searing in its portrait of colonial Africa, A Treacherous Paradise is, at its heart, a deeply moving story of a woman who manages to wrench wisdom, empathy, and grace from the most unforgiving circumstances. Read A Treacherous Paradise By Henning Mankell – kino-fada.fr I couldn t read this got about a third of the way through and quit This reads like a particularly dry biography tough slogging At one point there is an incident in which the residents of this small African town, circa 1904 or so, hear that there is an iceberg visible from the harbor ...Henning Mankell is credited for being the first author of Scandinavian crime thrillers to reach an international audience although he has credited Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo for his own inspiration His Kurt Wallander series were notable due to his flawed and all too human detective with an incredibly strong backstory Each novel in the series dispensed with the usual formula, and many had ties to other countries, several of them in Afric...3.5 Stars Henning Mankell writes a first class, character based thriller and I ve read many of those This one has nothing to do with the Swedish detective, Kurt Wallander It was still an interesting historical fiction based in Portuguese Africa Mozambique in the early 1900s A Swedish woman was once the owner of one of the largest brothels in that area according to some tax records The author started with this little known fact and elaborated from there.Henning divides his time betw 3.5 Stars Henning Mankell writes a first class, character based thriller and I ve read many of th...Need to gather my reactions.hard for me as HM is one of my favorite writers for many years and I never had this lack of enthusiasm before This book had such a flat lifelessness to it despite the story I had such a difficult time believing that a dirt poor country girl on the verge of starvation, in the space of very little time, could self educate herself and elevate herself sufficiently from her roots to maid, to cook on a ship, marry, be widowed, jump ship then wake up from an illness a Need to gather my reactions.hard for me as HM is one of my favorite writers for many years and I never had this lack of enthusiasm before This book had such a flat lifelessness to it despite the story I had such a difficult time believing that a dirt poor country girl on the verge of starvation, in the space of very little time, could self educate herself and elevate herself sufficiently from her roots to maid, to cook on a ship, marry, be widowed, jump ship then wake up from an illness and dress up to become a business woman let alone all the other issues at hand Hannah, Anna, Hannahwhatever just never took proper shape for me She was what the author made from a brief bit of story told him thought to have happened and he has made up quite a tale Why I think as with much of Henning Mankell s writing he wants to address the racial issues, political issues, colonization and things he finds troubling and wrong He does bring his politics into Wallander as well I know the author li...I became so bewitched while reading Henning Mankell s novel A Treacherous Paradise I took my time as I neared the end, because I hoped the resolution would be a happy one Based on a real person, the fictional protagonist Hanna Renstrom is a perpetually lost soul in a world full of rejection, prejudice and cruelty Forced out on her own at a young age she endures an arduous journey that leads her from Sweden to Lourenco Marques, Beira and t...Henning Mankell is one of my very favorites authors and I have read all of his Kurt Wallender series and several of his stand alone novels I couldn t wait to read this one translated and copyrighted on 2013, and I was not disappointed This settings for this story are early twentieth century Sweden and Mozambique, where according to Henkell s biography, he divides his time The protagonist is Hanna Renstrom who lives in the harsh environment of northern Sweden When conditins worsen and Hanna t Henning Mankell is one of my very favorites authors and I have read all of his Kurt Wallender series and several of his stand alone novels I couldn t wait to read this one translated and copyrighted on 2013, and I was not disappointed This settings for this story are early twentieth century Sweden and Mozambique, where according to Henkell s biography, he divides his time The protagonist is Hanna Renstrom who lives in the ...I m a pretty big fan of Mankell and I grabbed this expecting existential killers and gloomy detectives None of that here Instead, we get an engaging story of a young Swedish woman and her unlikely adventures in Africa at the turn on the century After getting over the ire of my self generated b...Un libro relativamente tranquilo y pausado, pero que se lee muy bien La historia de una joven campesina sueca que, partiendo de la extrema pobreza, e intentando huir de ella, termina por casualidad siendo la pr spera propietaria de uno de los mayores prost bulos de Mozambique, en la capital Louren o Marques, actual Maputo.Hanna partir de Suecia empleada como cocinera de un barco rumbo a Australia Por el camino se casar con uno de los oficiales de a bordo, s lo para enviudar un mes despu s co Un libro relativamente tranquilo y pausado, pero que se lee muy bien La historia de una joven campesina sueca que, partiendo de la extrema pobreza, e intentando huir de ella, termina por casualidad siendo la pr spera propietaria de uno de los mayores prost bulos de Mozambique, en la capital Louren o Marques, actual Maputo.Hanna partir de Suecia empleada como cocinera de un barco rumbo a Australia Por el camino se casar con uno de los oficiales de a bordo, s lo para enviudar un mes despu s como consecuencia de unas fiebres Rota por el dolor, abandonar el barco en su escala en Mozambique y, tambi n enfer...Very different from the Wallander series, in structure, style, genre, everything Writing seems sometimes childlike, perhaps to emphasize main character s simple view of life based on a limited life experience Perhaps a simple style as a result of translation Story deals with complex morality as seen thru the eyes of an 18 yr old woman from backwater Sweden Each issue she confronts shapes her, as our life challenges shape us Most of us can, I think, be grateful not to have to navigate the ro Very different from the Wallander series, in structure, style, genre, everything Writing seems sometimes childlike, perhaps to emphasize main character s simple view of life based on a limited life experience Perhaps a simple style as a result of translation Story deals with complex morality as seen thru the eyes of an 18 yr old woman from backwater Sweden Each issue she confronts shapes her, as our life challenges shape us Most...Totally unconvincing.

English
27 October 2018

Henning Mankell