The novel starts off with a lot of atmosphere: an icy place, a wolf, a dead body.Then it speeds up a bit and you discover many dead bodies. You’re made to feel that the killings were very brutal.
As the novel progresses, we find a central character, a postmenopausal Swedish lady judge who is connected to the events and who discovers this by the veriest chance. From then on she is drawn to investigate on her own, leading the reader through times past and present, places near and far, and through her life and that of people in time past.
Throughout the weather is gloomy and people are all slightly elderly.
Besides the sombre locals, we are offered some glimpses of the outsiders - mostly those of colour. All of these are depicted as criminals. The author is definitely biased.
The premise of the story is entirely extravagant and fitting for one of those olden days novels by White folks where all Asians, Arabs and Africans were people of low and untrustworthy character. In fact, it may be enjoyed by post colonial Indians with their post British hatred of China as Henning Mankell tries to show China in Africa in a bad light. And, in general, all the Chinese as very peculiar persons who harbour vengefulness over generations and who carry out the most sly and fanciful murders. Are we supposed to feel relieved that Mankell, having portrayed them thus, also seeks to condemn the cruelty of the White man towards them?
In terms of style too, it is rather rambling but then I am now much prejudiced in favour of the tight style of Japanese authors!
Grumbling apart, it was a good holiday read, transporting the reader across time and space. The novel begins in Sweden in recent times and travels back to the US in the early days when railroads were being built using a labour force from China. Of course, we thus travel to the China of those times - at least in the way this author imagines it! You also visit London not to mention having a good tour of Sweden.
So do read it on a nice indoors kind of day and enjoy!