pelargonia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
albertmarti's review against another edition
3.0
Probably the worst book of the quartet, but a must read for those who enjoyed the fantastic first three books. If it wasn't for the charming main character, Gerlof, I would even give it two stars. What a great idea to write 4 crime novels all set in the island of Öland in Sweden, one for each season in the year. Outstanding how the Island itself becomes a character more. It reminds me a lot about Peter Mayr's trilogy set in the island of Lewis in Scoltland, also a great read.
juniperusxx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Olen vähän ymmälläni, kun tämän piti olla sarjan päätösosa, mutta huomasin juuri, että syksyllä ilmestyy kuitenkin suomennos sarjan 5. osasta, Viimeinen ranta. No, mielelläni luen Gerlof Davidssonista vielä lisääkin.
Öölanti-sarjan aiempien osien lukemisesta on aikaa, mutta se ei ollenkaan haitannut tähän kirjaan uppoutumista. Kirjan tahti on rauhallinen, mutta tiiliskivi tuli luettua nopeasti, koska kappaleet ovat lyhyitä ja miellyttävän väljästi aseteltuja. Teksti herätti vahvoja visuaalisia mielikuvia sekä Öölannista että -30-luvun vankileiristä Neuvostoliitosta, jonne välillä takauduttiin. Välillä ajattelin, että tarinaa olisi voinut tiivistää, mutta henkilöhahmoihin tutustuminen pintaa syvemmältä toimi ehkä juuri siksi, että joistain heistä - ja heidän suvuistaan - kerrottiin vuosikymmeniä ylittävältä ajalta.
Öölanti-sarjan aiempien osien lukemisesta on aikaa, mutta se ei ollenkaan haitannut tähän kirjaan uppoutumista. Kirjan tahti on rauhallinen, mutta tiiliskivi tuli luettua nopeasti, koska kappaleet ovat lyhyitä ja miellyttävän väljästi aseteltuja. Teksti herätti vahvoja visuaalisia mielikuvia sekä Öölannista että -30-luvun vankileiristä Neuvostoliitosta, jonne välillä takauduttiin. Välillä ajattelin, että tarinaa olisi voinut tiivistää, mutta henkilöhahmoihin tutustuminen pintaa syvemmältä toimi ehkä juuri siksi, että joistain heistä - ja heidän suvuistaan - kerrottiin vuosikymmeniä ylittävältä ajalta.
jmatkinson1's review
5.0
Oland is a sleepy island off the Baltic coast of Sweden. Most of the year the locals survive through agriculture and fishing but the island comes alive in the summer as the tourists invade. Eager to make the most of this bonanza the powerful Kloss family have developed a luxury resort on their land. Young Jonas Kloss is visiting his father on a working holiday and one evening he goes out in a small boat, however disaster strikes and his dinghy is mown down by a large ship that appears out of the gloom. The boat, its zombie-like crew and it's illegal cargo are linked to the Kloss family but also to the Homecomer, a man bent on revenge, and Gerlof, a retired seafarer who knows Oland and its people very well.
Starting off in simple and sleepy way, this book ratchets up the excitement and tension all the way to the excellent denouement and epilogue. Oland is old-fashioned and deceptively quiet and that's how the story starts, with an old tale about a burial and with the influx of people to the island for the summer. The backstories of the characters are beautifully handled, some are very explicit such as the Homecomer's life during his exile, some are merely hinted at such as the relationship between Gerlof and John or the reason that Lisa has to steal. By the time that Jonas has encountered the ghost ship, the reader is hooked and the strands begin to come together. This is a beautifully written book that also manages to offer an original take on Scandic-Noir.
Starting off in simple and sleepy way, this book ratchets up the excitement and tension all the way to the excellent denouement and epilogue. Oland is old-fashioned and deceptively quiet and that's how the story starts, with an old tale about a burial and with the influx of people to the island for the summer. The backstories of the characters are beautifully handled, some are very explicit such as the Homecomer's life during his exile, some are merely hinted at such as the relationship between Gerlof and John or the reason that Lisa has to steal. By the time that Jonas has encountered the ghost ship, the reader is hooked and the strands begin to come together. This is a beautifully written book that also manages to offer an original take on Scandic-Noir.
cassiehelen's review
5.0
Brilliantly and beautifully written, I would recommend this book to everyone. It is the first I have read of Theorins, but he is incredibly talented at storytelling. I was hooked throughout, and I loved all the characters. What made it so great was how each chapter was told from the view of a different character, the flashbacks were harrowing, powerful and relevant to the story and right up to the very end I really cared for the characters and what happened to them. Read this book! It's amazing!
shafigullin's review against another edition
5.0
Наверное не слукавлю, если скажу, что этот роман понравился мне больше всего у Теорина. Во-первых, он сам по себе очень и очень захватывающий. Во-вторых, вплетение в сюжет СССР добавило интереса, потому как удалось избежать при этом падения в пошлость (по крайней мере я не увидел в этом откровенной клюквы) и затронуть острую всегда тему НКВД и лагерей. Может быть эта часть сюжета где-то шаблонна, местами неправдоподобна, но... даже в ИСТОРИЧЕСКИХ романах есть выдуманные куски.
Я считаю, что это больше триллер, чем детектив. Но это не умаляет достоинств. Как всегда краткие ёмкие главы, у каждого героя своя. Как всегда отсылки в прошлое, тесное переплетение его с настоящим. И этот сплошной клубок разматывается как всегда ближе к концу. Читаем легко и не отрываясь.
Если переходить к персонажам, то Арон, одно из главных действующих лиц, открывается по ходу книги. Так же как и Клоссы - Вероника и её брат. И они меняются местами. Если Арон в начале казался абсолютно отрицательным персонажем, злодеем, то ближе к концу он хоть и не перестаёт быть тем же злодеем (хотя бы за его прошлые "заслуги" и работу в органах), но как минимум читатель начинает понимать его, видеть в его мотивации мести черты восстановления справедливости. Чего не скажешь о его противниках, они-то уж падают так падают. Интересно.
Ну и не обошлось без старика Герлофа, как и в прошлых книгах. Этот доморощенный детектив и является главным героем Теорина от книги к книге. При этом всё не строится вокруг него, он не разворачивает ситуацию и события радикально, он лишь участник, разматывающий запутанные клубки преступлений и иногда, в самые нужные моменты, вклинивающийся в этот водоворот.
Я считаю, что это больше триллер, чем детектив. Но это не умаляет достоинств. Как всегда краткие ёмкие главы, у каждого героя своя. Как всегда отсылки в прошлое, тесное переплетение его с настоящим. И этот сплошной клубок разматывается как всегда ближе к концу. Читаем легко и не отрываясь.
Если переходить к персонажам, то Арон, одно из главных действующих лиц, открывается по ходу книги. Так же как и Клоссы - Вероника и её брат. И они меняются местами. Если Арон в начале казался абсолютно отрицательным персонажем, злодеем, то ближе к концу он хоть и не перестаёт быть тем же злодеем (хотя бы за его прошлые "заслуги" и работу в органах), но как минимум читатель начинает понимать его, видеть в его мотивации мести черты восстановления справедливости. Чего не скажешь о его противниках, они-то уж падают так падают. Интересно.
Ну и не обошлось без старика Герлофа, как и в прошлых книгах. Этот доморощенный детектив и является главным героем Теорина от книги к книге. При этом всё не строится вокруг него, он не разворачивает ситуацию и события радикально, он лишь участник, разматывающий запутанные клубки преступлений и иногда, в самые нужные моменты, вклинивающийся в этот водоворот.
fictionfan's review
5.0
Back in the USSR...
Young Jonas is spending the summer on the island of Öland at the resort owned by his family, the Klosses. One night, he takes his dingy out onto the sea. Drifting in the darkness, a sudden shaft of moonlight shows a boat approaching and he doesn't have time to get out of the way. He manages to climb aboard the boat before his dingy is sunk, but what awaits him there is the stuff of nightmares – dying men (or are they already dead?) on the deck stalking towards him and calling out in a language he doesn't understand. Terrified, Jonas jumps overboard and manages eventually to swim to shore. He makes for the first lighted dwelling he sees – the boathouse of old Gerlof, who's back staying in Öland for the summer months. Something odd happened to Gerlof too when he was young, so despite the strangeness of Jonas' story, Gerlof believes him - and so is sucked into a mystery that will get darker as the summer wears on...
This will undoubtedly appear in my best of the year list this year. The first two chapters – the one on the boat, and the one about the spooky experience in Gerlof's youth – are brilliantly atmospheric, hooking the reader right from the beginning. And the rest of the book pretty much maintains that high standard all the way through. The next few chapters introduce the various characters, giving a bit of back-story for each and then bringing them all to the island in time for the Midsummer celebrations in 1999. At this point it can be a bit confusing as to how they will all fit into the story but Theorin gives just the right amount of information at each stage to keep the story flowing.
The characterisation is particularly strong. There are several main characters, and the chapters rotate amongst them, all in the third person – Gerlof, a life-long resident of the island, elderly now but still with a curiosity about life that means he gets himself involved in other people's problems; Jonas, visiting the island for the summer and feeling a bit isolated as his brother and cousins consider him to be too young to take along with them; Lisa – a musician and DJ who's working at the resort for the summer; and Aron, who left Öland for the 'new country' as a child and has now come home, though we don't learn why till later. Gerlof is both well drawn and likeable – as a man of 86, Theorin never makes the mistake of having him be some kind of physical hero. Rather he is someone who is good at listening and believing, and at persuading people to talk to him. Aron is enigmatic – it's clear from his first appearance that he's plotting something bad and has a grudge against the Kloss family, but as his story is gradually revealed, it's hard not to find some empathy or, at least, pity for him – some understanding of why he has become who he is.
The bulk of the book is set in the present day, but there's another strand that takes the reader back to time of the Great Terror in the Stalinist USSR, and it is this strand that lifts the book so far above average. I'm not going to say any more about this part of the plot, because the way that Theorin gradually reveals the story is the real strength of the book. But this time of horrors is brilliantly depicted – no punches are pulled, and there are some scenes that are grim and dark indeed. Theorin doesn't wallow, though, and at all times he puts a great deal of humanity into the story which, while it doesn't mitigate the horrors, softens the edges a little, making it very moving at times.
Back in the present, all the various strands are gradually pulled together in the lead up to an explosive thriller finish – well foreshadowed, but still surprising and shocking when it comes. And just to finish off one of the most perfect crime/thrillers I've read in a while, the epilogue is as compelling as the first couple of chapters were. Though this works perfectly well as a standalone, it's the fourth in Theorin's Öland Quartet, with Gerlof as the recurring character who links them. I shall promptly be seeking out the other three. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Transworld.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Young Jonas is spending the summer on the island of Öland at the resort owned by his family, the Klosses. One night, he takes his dingy out onto the sea. Drifting in the darkness, a sudden shaft of moonlight shows a boat approaching and he doesn't have time to get out of the way. He manages to climb aboard the boat before his dingy is sunk, but what awaits him there is the stuff of nightmares – dying men (or are they already dead?) on the deck stalking towards him and calling out in a language he doesn't understand. Terrified, Jonas jumps overboard and manages eventually to swim to shore. He makes for the first lighted dwelling he sees – the boathouse of old Gerlof, who's back staying in Öland for the summer months. Something odd happened to Gerlof too when he was young, so despite the strangeness of Jonas' story, Gerlof believes him - and so is sucked into a mystery that will get darker as the summer wears on...
This will undoubtedly appear in my best of the year list this year. The first two chapters – the one on the boat, and the one about the spooky experience in Gerlof's youth – are brilliantly atmospheric, hooking the reader right from the beginning. And the rest of the book pretty much maintains that high standard all the way through. The next few chapters introduce the various characters, giving a bit of back-story for each and then bringing them all to the island in time for the Midsummer celebrations in 1999. At this point it can be a bit confusing as to how they will all fit into the story but Theorin gives just the right amount of information at each stage to keep the story flowing.
The characterisation is particularly strong. There are several main characters, and the chapters rotate amongst them, all in the third person – Gerlof, a life-long resident of the island, elderly now but still with a curiosity about life that means he gets himself involved in other people's problems; Jonas, visiting the island for the summer and feeling a bit isolated as his brother and cousins consider him to be too young to take along with them; Lisa – a musician and DJ who's working at the resort for the summer; and Aron, who left Öland for the 'new country' as a child and has now come home, though we don't learn why till later. Gerlof is both well drawn and likeable – as a man of 86, Theorin never makes the mistake of having him be some kind of physical hero. Rather he is someone who is good at listening and believing, and at persuading people to talk to him. Aron is enigmatic – it's clear from his first appearance that he's plotting something bad and has a grudge against the Kloss family, but as his story is gradually revealed, it's hard not to find some empathy or, at least, pity for him – some understanding of why he has become who he is.
The bulk of the book is set in the present day, but there's another strand that takes the reader back to time of the Great Terror in the Stalinist USSR, and it is this strand that lifts the book so far above average. I'm not going to say any more about this part of the plot, because the way that Theorin gradually reveals the story is the real strength of the book. But this time of horrors is brilliantly depicted – no punches are pulled, and there are some scenes that are grim and dark indeed. Theorin doesn't wallow, though, and at all times he puts a great deal of humanity into the story which, while it doesn't mitigate the horrors, softens the edges a little, making it very moving at times.
Back in the present, all the various strands are gradually pulled together in the lead up to an explosive thriller finish – well foreshadowed, but still surprising and shocking when it comes. And just to finish off one of the most perfect crime/thrillers I've read in a while, the epilogue is as compelling as the first couple of chapters were. Though this works perfectly well as a standalone, it's the fourth in Theorin's Öland Quartet, with Gerlof as the recurring character who links them. I shall promptly be seeking out the other three. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Transworld.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
eskimonika's review
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
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