The Consorts of Death
Gunnar Staalesen
Arcadia Books (Eurocrime)
ISBN 978-1-906413-38-5
May 2010
$12.95 in Canada

‘I got a telephone call from the past.’

Thus begins the thirteenth (other sources list it as the fifteenth) novel in the series about Bergen detective Varg Veum.

It is September 1995, and Veum is in his office when a telephone conversation takes him back twenty-five years, to a case he was involved in while working as a child protection officer, during the summer of 1970. A small boy was separated from his mother under tragic circumstances. But that had not been the end of it. In 1974 the same boy had surfaced in connection with a sudden death in his new home. And then again ten years later, in connection with yet another case: a dramatic double-murder in Sunnfjord. The small boy is now an adult, and on the run in Oslo, determined to take revenge on those responsible for destroying his life, among them the former child protection officer, now detective Veum.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir makes her first contribution to a group blog with an international flavor and charms everyone with her modesty and humor. She says,

If you are wondering what country I do call home, imagine a tiny island way up north where the only banking institution not humiliated and disgraced is the national blood bank. If this does not help, imagine a country obviously named by someone intent on keeping people out. If still at loss, imagine a war with no prisoners and absolutely no opportunity of placing landmines as it was fought at sea, on fishing boats, over cod. There will be no more clues.

But a commenter adds some additional hints:

It’s also a country with the oldest parliamentary system in western europe–and probably the longest continuous one in the world. It’s a country that keeps adding to its territory without war. And it’s a country with one of the most moving collections of epic literature, poetry and prose.

I’ve tried to create main characters who are drastically different from the types who generally appear in crime novels. Mikael Blomkvist, for instance, doesn’t have ulcers, or booze problems or an anxiety complex. He doesn’t listen to operas, nor does he have an oddball hobby such as making model aeroplanes. He doesn’t have any real problems, and his main characteristic is that he acts like a stereotype ‘slut’, as he admits himself. I’ve also changed the sex roles on purpose: in many ways Blomkvist acts like a typical “bimbo”, while Lisbeth Salander has stereotype ‘male’ characteristics and values…..

The article that Maxine links to by Val McDermid is well worth a read. In “The Man Who Died Too Soon,” she concludes,

It’s a tribute to Larsson’s skill that he never allows his political concerns to dominate his desire to tell a cracking good story packed with dramatic incident and brimming with quirky insights. But without his personal commitment to taking a stand in support of what he believed in, I’m convinced these three novels could never have had so powerful an impact among readers.

Forty years ago, with their Martin Beck novels, the Swedish writers Sjöwall and Wahlöö blazed a trail that proved the crime novel provides the perfect vehicle to write stories that shine a critical light on the society we live in. Stieg Larsson demonstrated that this works just as well for present-day concerns, and his example should give aspiring writers the confidence to put their own beliefs at the heart of their work. Books like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest remind us all that we ignore the wider world at our peril.

Glen Harper at International Noir Fiction reviews Gunnar Staalesen’s The Consorts of Death (and promises to say more about the Norwegian television series):

Staalesen shows great skill in keeping a very complex story coherent: characters and events weave in and out, with personal and metaphorical connections among them all along the way. There are some surpises at the end, as well, when Varg finally discovers what’s been going on in the several murders and in Johnny Boy’s life. Staalesen’s novels take on social issues, but there are many passages in this book that are right out of classic noir (though Varg isn’t the usual noir hero, he has too much hope for his clients’ fates). There’s a lot more Varg Veum in Norwegian, and I for one hope for translators and publishers to fill in the gaps in what has been translated.

There’s an article in The Prospect about the Stieg Larsson phenomenon that seems peculiarly off-base in almost every particular. The author says the Sweden portrayed in crime fiction “is the modern equivalent of the library in the country house of classic English detective stories: the conventional stage in which to find corpses surrounded by a selection of intriguing and sinister eccentrics. . . . The crimes are all solved by amateurs, and usually the punishment is dealt out by amateurs too.” Salander is a witch, and Blomqvist is “Philip Marlowe without the failures or the inner life.” He considers Sjowall and Wahloo as part of the same fantasy genre, and refers (quite snidely) to the “domestic Swedish detective novel, which Scandinavia women journalists in their thirties write instead of chicklit.” My favorite comment on this article comes from a friend at the FriendFeed  Crime and Mystery Fiction room, who feels the author was “jumping on a bandwagon and driving it into the nearest vacant column inches.” Really, it’s difficult to compete with the depth of knowledge and the sheer wit of the residents of this online community.

*The country in question is Iceland, if you haven’t guessed.

Rhapsody in Books reviews The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest and gives it high marks as the best of the trilogy – and gives it a thematic tag: women warriors (which struck me as interesting right after reading a recent installment of Unshelved which is about a book of women warriors who are kind of scary but can provide a leadership lesson of sorts …)

Peter reviews Arnaldur Indridason’s Hypothermia, which he considers “the best novel so far in one of the best modern crime fiction series. A lovely book.”

Maxine’s review of Gunnar Staalesen’s The Consorts of Death has appeared at Eurocrime and says that, though most of the books in the series have not been translated and there are huge gaps between the volumes available in English, this is a fitting introduction to the main character, Varg Veum, since it provides his back story.

Norm has finished reading Hornets’ Nest and has plenty to say about the book and the entire trilogy.

And just as Stieg Larsson’s books are cropping up on “best of” lists, Christopher Hitchens offers a substantial appreciation (if that’s what it is … you can never quite tell with Hitchens) of Stieg Larsson’s Millennnium Trilogy, its author, and the neo-fascist movement in Sweden in the page of Vanity Fair. No, this Sweden is not the pacific and “herbivore” nation we imagine. And these stories are not heroic sagas, but modern and bleak.

Larsson is very much of our own time, setting himself to confront questions such as immigration, “gender,” white-collar crime, and, above all, the Internet. The plot of his first volume does involve a sort of excursion into antiquity—into the book of Leviticus, to be exact—but this is only for the purpose of encrypting a “Bible code.” And he is quite deliberately unromantic, giving us shopping lists, street directions, menus, and other details—often with their Swedish names—in full. The villains are evil, all right, but very stupid and self-thwartingly prone to spend more time (this always irritates me) telling their victims what they will do to them than actually doing it. There is much sex but absolutely no love, a great deal of violence but zero heroism. . . .  Bleakness is all. That could even be the secret—the emotionless efficiency of Swedish technology, paradoxically combined with the wicked allure of the pitiless elfin avenger, plus a dash of paranoia surrounding the author’s demise. If Larsson had died as a brave martyr to a cause, it would have been strangely out of keeping; it’s actually more satisfying that he succumbed to the natural causes that are symptoms of modern life.

Etter fem av sju planlagte album med Gunnar Staalesens Varg Veum må det være lov å spørre: Er dette en av tidenes norske tegneserieflopper?

“Lovende Varg Veum”, skrev jeg om De dødes dal, det første albumet i serien 7 fjell, med Gunnar Staalesens krimhelt Varg Veum. Det skal nok innrømmes at jeg la godviljen til, for jeg ville så gjerne at dette prosjektet skulle fungere. En ambisiøs norsk krimtegneserie, skrevet av en anerkjent forfatter, var nesten for godt til å være sant. Ja, Staalesen skrev til og med et helt nytt manus, og falt ikke for fristelsen å adaptere sine gamle krimromaner.

Men nå som album fem, Død mann sladrer ikke, er her, er det bare å resignere. Serien er basert på romanen Begravde hunder biter ikke, og er fortalt i en fragmentarisk, usammenhengende og forvirrende stil. Det føles mest som å møtte høre på en brisen gubbe som prøver å gjenfortelle en bok han har lest, og som Bergens Tidendes anmelder Walter Wehus presist slår fast: Tegnestilen minner mest om noirparodiene fra Tommy og Tigern.

Med en utsalgspris på drøye 200 kroner og minimal medieinteresse utenfor Bergen, er det vel ingen tvil om at Varg Veum-serien allerede har floppet totalt. Med unntak av Bergens Tidende er det knapt noen aviser som har anmeldt serien siden første album. Spørsmålet er om vi i det hele tatt kommer i mål med mysteriet om Isdalskvinnen, som etter planen skal avsluttes om to album.

Her er uansett min anmeldelse av de to første albumene i serien.

Gunnar Staalesen og Mike Collins
7 fjell bok 1: De dødes dal
Westwind forlag 2004
4/6

Bergen 1970: En ukjent kvinne blir funnet død i Isdalen, mens den unge Varg Veum jobber i barnevernet og fortviler over narkotikaen som strømmer inn over byen. Dette er utgangspunktet for Gunnar Staalesens første tegneserie, De dødes dal, den første av i alt syv nyskrevne Varg Veum-historier i albumserien 7 fjell.

Isdalsmysteriet fra virkeligheten danner bakteppet i alle albumene, og frem til 2010 skal vi følge Veum fra 1970 til 2001. Først i siste album lover Staalesen sin oppklaring av mysteriet om Isdalskvinnen (han har tidligere vært innom temaet i romanen 1999: Aftensang, men lover en alternativ løsning denne gangen).

Staalesen går til tegneserien etter 14 Veum-romaner, og kan være stolt av resultatet. De dødes dal er blitt en vellykket, om enn noe tradisjonell, kriminalserie – som fremstår som “Varg Veum: Year One”. Der Frank Miller tok for seg Bruce Waynes skjebnesvangre barndom og vanskelige valg i Batman: Year One, tar Staalesen fatt i Veum før han velger å bli privatdetektiv.

I romanene har Staalesen henvist til Veums år i barnevernet, men her møter vi for første gang mannen i sin gamle jobb: En rutinemessig jakt på 15 år gamle Maria fører til at Veum vikles inn i en sak der mord og narkotikasmugling er ingrediensene. Og i bakgrunnen lurer Isdalskvinnen.

Staalesen unngår de fleste barnesykdommene i seriemediet. Albumet har god fortellermessig fremdrift, fin dramaturgi, godt samspill mellom tekst og tegning og lite redundans (tekst som beskriver akkurat det vi ser i tegningene). Irsk-walisiske Mike Collins er en profesjonell og effektiv sliter med bred bakgrunn fra angloamerikanske serier, og gir serien en tidløs og internasjonal profil.

Serien er ikke oppsiktsvekkende bra tegnet, men Collins forteller historien nøkternt og medrivende. Veum har fått en tidsriktig 70-tallslook, og minner om franske 70-tallsfigurer som Bruno Brazil og Bernhard Prince (godt kjent for gamle Tempo-lesere).

De dødes dal er en proff krimhistorie, med et underliggende mysterium som pirrer nysgjerrigheten videre. Men serien lykkes ikke med å gi Varg Veum den engasjerende og rørende opprinnelseshistorien han fortjener, og Staalesen kaster dessverre bort en strålende mulighet. Han kunne ha gitt oss historien om den unge og engasjerte barnevernsarbeideren og familiemannen, som mister tilliten til systemet på grunn av sitt håpløse sisyfos-arbeid – og derfor gjør opprør mot systemet ved å bli privatdetektiv.

Istedenfor får vi for mye av den hardkokte Veum vi allerede kjenner, kledd i barnevernsklær – men ellers like tøff og handlingsdyktig som alltid. Når Veum kommer over en myrdet narkolanger, må vi regne med at dette er det første drepte mennesket han ser. Men hvordan reagerer han? Ved høylytt å skjelle ut liket: “Og hva faen er det du glaner på? (…) Lik er sjelden pratsomme”.

Dette er ikke en troverdig skildring av en ung og engasjert barnevernsarbeider, bare en klisjefylt hardkokt privatdetektiv. Derfor blir De dødes dal mest en standard krim, og ikke den engasjerende og menneskelige serien Staalesen nesten har klart å skape.

Gunnar Staalesen og Mike Collins
7 fjell bok 2: Dødelig ekko
Westwind forlag 2005
3/6 (burde ha vært 2, 2009-kommentar)

Varg Veum snubler i logiske brister og slurvete strek.

De dødes dal viste at Gunnar Staalesen taklet overgangen til tegneseriemediet med få skjønnhetsfeil, men Dødelig ekko - det andre av syv planlagte Varg Veum-album – er et stort skritt tilbake.

Vi er nå i 1977, og Varg Veum kontaktes av den norsktyske kvinnen Wilhelmina Müller. Hun vil oppklare mysteriet om sin far, en tysk soldat som deserterte i 1944 og holdt seg skjult i bergensfjellene frem til krigens slutt. Da han vendte tilbake til Bergen i 1971, forsvant han uten et spor. Hva skjedde med Wilhelminas far, hvem var han egentlig og hvordan henger forsvinningsnummeret sammen med lasteskipet som eksploderte i Bergen havn 20. april 1944?

Staalesen fletter som vanlig sammen en spennende og innfløkt intrige, men problemet er at han tar så mange lite troverdige snarveier for å komme i havn. Her har vi altså en kvinne som skal finne faren som forsvant for hele seks år siden, og så vil Staalesen ha oss til å tro at alle med tilknytning til saken tilfeldigvis er samlet på samme pensjonat i beste Agatha Christie-ånd.

Selv Fredrik Smith-Olsen, skurken fra De dødes dal, er på plass – i ferd med å fotografere en Star Wars-inspirert moteserie (med kostymer inspirert av Return of the Jedi fra 1983). Og sannelig har ikke den ene fotomodellen også et personlig motiv for å være til stede, for hun viser seg å være en jødisk kvinne i slutten av 30-årene – som flyktet fra nazistene i 1941. Hun holder seg svært godt for alderen.

De logiske bristene i manuset er ikke det eneste problemet, for Mike Collins’ tegninger kollapser ofte i en skisseaktig grøt, der detaljer og ansiktstrekk forsvinner. Mulig dette er ment å gi serien et røft og spontant preg, men for denne leser er resultatet en tidvis stygg strek som lugger og hindrer leseflyten. Dødelig ekko fremstår som venstrehåndsarbeid, og begge parter må skjerpe seg foran neste album.

Anmeldelsene er opprinnelig publisert i Bergens Tidende.

Les også Walter Wehus’ anmeldelse av 7 fjell bok 3: Vintermassakren, 7 fjell bok 4: Hevneren fra solbris og 7 fjell bok 5: Død mann sladrer ikke.

Still catching up . . .

Marilyn Stasio reviews Box 21 by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom and finds it “a movie trapped in a book” – given the drama as a badly abused woman takes hostages in a hospital – but concludes “for all their cinematic hyperbole, the authors don’t contribute to any further degradation of Lydia, who makes a believably tragic model for all the real women exploited by human traffickers.” She seems as puzzled as I was that no credit is given for the translator.

Michael Carlson’s irresistible target is The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo, not flawless but very good indeed:

Nesbo has created one of the great detectives in Harry Hole, and what is most impressive is the way he’s able to make Hole seem like a different person as he’s reflected in the actions and vision of various characters. He is a sympathetic character who rarely asks for sympathy, a Wallander with a touch of Marlowe’s idealism, and a hidden resevoir of white knight charm. And Nesbo is very happy to work on complicated plots and old-fashioned, if un-traditional clues.

Maxine reviews Inger Frimansson’s Good Night, My Darling at Euro Crime – which she finds atmospheric, gripping, and haunting. She also, in her Petrona incarnation, finds Gunnar Staalesen’s The Consorts of Death, very good indeed. “As with the best of PI and other crime fiction, the appeal of the Varg Veum books is not only their plots and the gradual development through the protagonist’s life and times, but their sadness at the human condition, a strong sense of social justice, and their wonderful sense of place.” The review in the Independent would seem to agree.

The Guardian thinks Jo Nesbo’s The Redeemer is too long. I think the review is too short – barely over 100 words. What’s the point? Why not just tweet your feelings? No wonder book reviewing the “proper” way is going to the dogs.

The Economist reads the Millennium Trilogy and advises that we “don’t mess with her” – the “her,” of course, being Lisbeth Salander, a character who is the “most original heroine in many years.”

The trilogy’s success shows that complex characters, a fast-paced narrative and a dazzling mosaic of challenging plots and sub-plots can keep readers hooked. The books are long and profoundly political. The sinister conspiracy being played out in the dark reaches of the Swedish security services is an important ingredient in the alchemy that has made the books so successful. Swedish writers have extensively explored the frail heart of the Scandinavian social-democratic dream; Stieg Larsson’s cynical realpolitik carries him from the cold war to the present-day murder of inconvenient witnesses. . . .

Larsson’s knowledge of the inner workings of the Swedish police, intelligence service and private security companies bring an extra layer of texture and verisimilitude. There are occasional lapses into didacticism: Blomkvist probes the murky world of female sex-trafficking which readers already know is an evil and sordid business. There are also some wildly dramatic incidents—at the end of the second volume and the start of the third, for instance—that stretch credibility to the limit. But Larsson’s vivid characters, the depth of detail across the three books, the powerfully imaginative plot and the sheer verve of the writing make “The Millennium Trilogy” a masterpiece of its genre.

Glenn Harper of International Noir Fiction on The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – “I’d still argue that the 10-volume Sjöwall/Wahlöö opus remains the pinnacle of Swedish crime, but Larsson puts his very individual stamp on the genre and also brings the form into the 21st century’s criminal, information, and political environment.”

Brought to you by the Letter D: Maxine highlights Danish author Lief Davidsen in her “alphabet in crime fiction.”

And now on to various opinions and thoughts about the genre….

Lots of kerfuffle about Jessica Mann’s decision as a reviewer to avoid misogynistic paint-by-numbers violence, peculiarly reported in the press as a decision to abandon book reviewing altogether or as an indictment of the entire genre – none of which is true, if you actually read her essay.  The F-Word, a British Feminist publication offers a lengthy discussion of why Stieg Larsson, professions of being a feminist notwithstanding, is actually a mysogynist because of “his explicit descriptions of sexual violence, his breast-obsessed heroine and babe-magnet hero.” I’ll grant you the babe-magnet Blomqvist being a bit of wishful projection, perhaps, but writing about violence against women doesn’t mean you actually enjoy it. I think Melanie Newman is off-base to compare the (admittedly somewhat over-the-top) gruesome sex abuse uncovered in the first book with James Patterson’s enormously popular if artless serial killer entertainments. Steve Mosby has a thoughtful (and yes, somewhat irritated) response to Newman’s article, as well as a longer examination of the wider issues which picked up quite a bit of traffic from readers of the New Yorker.

Paul Ames finds that “Sweden has Murder on its Brain.”

Within the 27 nations of the European Union, only Germany, Austria, Malta and Slovenia have lower murder rates than Sweden. In 2006 there were 91 murders registered in Sweden. In the same year, 84 crime novels were published in the country.

Peter Wahlqvist, a Goteborg-based lecturer in crime fiction, said the international success of Swedish thrillers results from a combination of good writing, a taste for the exotic and the contrast between the make-believe mayhem and common foreign perceptions of Sweden as a blond, healthy, welfare state utopia.

“It’s for real, psychologically about real people and about real life, real society,” said Wahlqvist.

Books to the Ceiling, in a series on “mysteries going global,” considers the popularity of Scandinavian crime.

And Glenn, via Petunia, has found a statue of Varg Veum leaning against the wall outside the office in Bergen where the fictional PI hung out his shingle.

av Johan Wopenka © 2009

DECKARKATALOGEN

En av de saker som bekymrat många i samband med deckartidskriften Jurys nedläggning är ”Deckarkatalogen”. Jurys gamla redaktion fortsätter dock med den, och den kommer att publiceras på Svenska Deckarakademins hemsida. Årets katalog är planerad att läggas ut i månadsskiftet november-december. Katalogen kommer i princip att ha samma utformning som i Jury, med undantag för att den endast listar nyutgåvor i urval: sådant som har speciellt intresse, som nya upplagor av klassiker eller andra äldre verk, reviderade nyutgåvor etc.
Redaktionen är givetvis oerhört tacksamma för alla tips, inte minst då det gäller utgåvor från pod-förlag och andra småförlag, som det är svårt att ha koll på. Bara maila bjw-forlaget@comhem.se

ÅRETS SVENSKA DECKARE

Några fakta vad det gäller utgivningen av svensk kriminallitteratur i år kan redan nu avslöjas. Det publiceras cirka 90 nya titlar, och av dessa kommer runt 35 (alltså mer än en tredjedel) från pod-förlag, egenförlag, hobbyförlag och andra förlag med starkt begränsat utgivning. Av de 90 titlarna kommer inte mindre än 40 från genredebutanter. Uppgifter om att intresset för kriminallitteratur är på väg att minska i Sverige förfaller alltså felaktig, åtminstone vad utgivningen beträffar. Lägg till ett par finlandssvenska böcker samt hittills cirka 115 översatta deckare… så handlar det om fler än 200 nya deckartitlar i år! I månadsskiftet oktober-november kommer Svenska Deckarakademin att nominera böcker till sina ”stora priser” (bästa svenska och bästa till svenska översatta deckare i år). Uppgifter kommer att läggas ut på Svenska Deckarakademins hemsida.

SORGLIGT – OCH GLÄDJANDE

Om 200 titlar låter mycket finns det ändå vissa sorgliga svagheter. En är att novellsamlingarna lyser med sin frånvaro: vad det gäller det svenskproducerade sådana finns bara en annonserad ny juldeckarantologi från Semic. En annan är bristen på facklitteratur om deckare – det kommer av allt att döma endast tre titlar. Två är BTJ Förlags 13 svenska deckardamer, samt Lars Strands “Dr W & Mr H” om Sherlock Holmes. Den tredje är en positiv överraskning: Laura Thompsons Agatha Christie – An English Mystery kommer på svenska i översättning av Ulla Trenter som Agatha Christie – ett engelskt mysterium. Det är Sandelins förlag, som nyligen döptes om till Deckarförlaget Pussel, som publicerar boken i höst – provexemplar fanns tillgängliga på bokmässan i september. Pussel har också kommit med ett par översättningar av engelska deckare, och i planerna finns nyutgåvor av Stieg Trenters romaner. Först ut är Farlig fåfänga, som också den presenterades i form av provtryck på bokmässan.

FLER PRISER TILL LARSSON

Den 15–18 augusti arrangerades årets Bouchercon i Indianapolis i USA, och man delade där också ut sina Tony Awards. Stieg Larsson kunde i sin himmel glädja sig åt att The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fick pris som bästa debutdeckare. Dessutom fick Peter Mendelsund pris för bästa omslag för The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Tony-priset för bästa roman gick till The Brass Verdict av Michael Connelly. Och som bästa referensbok belönades (kanske inte helt oväntat) Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography av Jeffrey Marks. Men det räcker inte med detta. The Mystery Readers International har delat ut sina Macavity-priser, och även här gick debutpriset till Larsson och The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Lite mer märkligt är ett tredje pris, nämligen Barry-priset, som delas ut av Mystery News och Deadly Pleasures. Där fick nämligen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo pris som ”Best British Novel”, hur nu det gick till. Och som bästa roman belönades minsann The Draining Lake av Arnaldur Indridason.

IN MEMORIAM

Det verkar inte klokt, men hur man än letar i Libris kan man inte hitta en översättning av någon av Stuart M(elvin) Kaminskys böcker. Blir det någon framöver är det för sent för honom att glädja sig åt den: Kaminsky (f. 1934) avled den 9 oktober. Han smittades med hepatit B då han tjänstgjorde i de amerikanska sjukvårdstrupperna i Frankrike på 1950-talet. I mars i år blev det äntligen klart att han skulle genomgå en levertransplantation i St. Louis – men bara några dagar innan den skulle ske drabbades han av den stroke som i oktober tog hans liv. Kaminsky var en av de stora i amerikansk kriminallitteratur. Han var utnämnd till Grand Master av MWA, och han fick 1989 en Edgar för 1988 bästa roman, A Cold Red Sunrise. Han fick ta emot flera priser och hedersutmärkelse under årens lopp, inte bara för sina kriminalhistorier, utan också för bl.a. essäer och biografier om välkända filmnamn som Clint Eastwood, John Houston, Don Siegel, Gary Cooper – samt Ingmar Bergman. Och Sara Paretsky dedicerade sin första Warshawski-roman till honom … Kaminsky debuterade med Bullet for a Star (1977), den första i en 24 titlar lång lovordad romansvit om Toby Peters, som är verksam som privatdetektiv i 1940-talets Hollywood. Senare introducerade Kaminsky flera andra ”seriefigurer”, däribland den sovjetiske polismannen Rostnikov, som gjorde entré i Rostnikov’s Corpse (1981; även som Death of a Dissident 1981), och som är huvudperson i ovan nämnda A Cold Red Sunrise. Så sent som i år kom Bright Futures, den sjätte romanen i en serie om Lew Fonesca.

LYFT PÅ DEERSTALKERN

Slutligen skall nämnas en av det sena 1900-talets främsta nordiska deckarskapare: Gunnar Staalesen från norska Bergen. Den 15 oktober firade han jubileum som författare: det är nämligen precis 40 år sedan han romandebuterade med Uskyldstider. Den är dock ingen kriminalhistoria, i deckarbranschen gjorde han romanentré först 1975 med Rygg i rand, to i spann, den första delen i en trilogi om polismännen Henrik Abel ”Dumbo” Olsen och Kristian ”Maskefjes” Jensen. Två år senare kom Bukken till havresekken som introducerade Varg Veum … and the rest is history, som man säger.

New edition:

The Writing on the Wall
Gunnar Staalesen
Arcadia Books (Eurocrime)
ISBN 978-1-906413-19-4
October 2009
$13.95 in Canada

Winner of The Golden Pistol Award (Best Norwegian Crime Novel)

It was one of those days in February of which there are far too many, despite its being the shortest month of the year. February is the year’s parenthesis. The tax forms have already been sent in and the tourist season has not yet started: there is nothing on the schedule. Greyish-brown slush lay in the gutters and the hills around the city were barely visible through the fog. Like the golden buttons on the waistcoat of a forgotten snowman, you could just make out the lights of the funicular up the hillside and the street lamps were lit even in the middle of the day…

In this crime drama detective Varg Veum’s adventures lead him into a dark world of privileged teenage girls who have been drawn into drugs and prostitution. The situation worsens when the local judge is discovered in a luxury hotel, dead and clad only in women’s lingerie. Called in by anxious parents to look for a missing daughter and explain the judge’s death, Varg finds clues that lead him only deeper into Bergen’s criminal underworld.

Les chiens enterrés ne mordent pas
Gunnar Staalesen
Gaïa Éditions, « Polar »
ISBN 978-2-84720-146-8
26 octobre 2009
38,50 $ au Canada

En mission à Oslo, Varg Veum met la main sur une vieille photo représentant quatre hommes attablés devant café et cognac. Quatre convives qui ne sont rien moins qu’un entrepreneur norvégien en vogue, un éminent financier, un magnat de l’industrie d’armement suédois et un encaisseur corrompu. Or, les têtes de ces derniers semblent destinées à tomber aussi vite que dans une partie de Qui est-ce ? mal engagée.

Veum, dans une forme éblouissante, se saisit de cette affaire et, en marathonien chevronné, allonge la foulée. Il court les rues de la capitale, plus ou moins bien accompagné, happé au passage par les souvenirs d’un temps où il faisait bon faire mine d’étudier à Oslo et se promener au bras de jeunes filles chantant Bob Dylan.

Édition spéciale avec CD :

Fleurs amères
Gunnar Staalesen
Gaïa Éditions, « Polar »
ISBN 978-2-84720-129-1
8 octobre 2008 (France)*
38,50 $ au Canada

Un cadavre au fond de la piscine, ça n’est pas courant. C’est pourtant ce que découvre Varg Veum dans une villa près de Bergen.

Très vite, les pistes convergent vers l’usine des Schrøder-Olsen, une riche famille d’industriels, dont le siège est pris d’assaut par une armada d’écologistes bon teint, alarmés par un projet de traitement de déchets toxiques. Une douloureuse affaire non élucidée refait aussi surface : celle de la petite Camilla, disparue il y a huit ans…

Un retour vertigineux à la réalité pour notre détective qui sort tout juste d’une cure de désintoxication.

Cette nouvelle enquête est loin d’être aussi limpide que l’eau minérale des bouteilles de Farris que consomme désormais Varg Veum à grand frais.

* Malheureusement, nos « amis » de chez Leméac ne sont pas en mesure de nous fournir une date de parution pour le Canada.

Maintenant disponible en format poche :

Brebis galeuses
Gunnar Staalesen
L’Aube, « Poche »
ISBN 978-2-7526-0504-7
14 octobre 2008
21,95 $ au Canada

«Les éditions de l’Aube sont allées pêcher en Norvège Gunnar Staalesen et ses Brebis galeuses. Où l’on retrouve le héros traversant la plupart de ses romans, Varg Veum, un privé taillé dans le même bois que Marlowe. Sauf qu’il reste entièrement norvégien. Affligé de quelques vertus rares, telles la compassion et la sollicitude, V.V. tombe sur un os…»

Gérard Oestreicher, Le Républicain lorrain

Maintenant disponible en format poche :

Anges déchus
Gunnar Staalesen
Gallimard, « Folio policier »
ISBN 978-2-07-033725-5
22 juillet 2008
17,95 $ au Canada

Est-ce vraiment les meilleurs qui s’en vont les premiers ? Veum, à l’enterrement d’un proche tué dans un accident, retrouve des amis d’enfance de son quartier. Des gens perdus de vue. Tout un pan de sa mémoire. À faire la tournée des bars avec eux, il se remémore le bon temps de l’insouciance et des premiers amours. Jakob, Johnny, Jan Petter et d’autres faisaient déjà partie du célèbre groupe de rock des Harpers par la suite mystérieusement dissous. Disparu en pleine gloire. Veum n’avait jamais compris. Jamais vraiment cherché non plus. La vie, le temps qui passe… Un deuxième accident pourtant, trop proche pour être fortuit, et d’étranges silences des survivants mettent peu à peu le privé de Bergen sur une piste bien loin des charmes de la nostalgie…

Le roman de Bergen 3 : 1999. Le crépuscule
Gunnar Staalesen
Gaïa Éditions
ISBN 978-2-84720-107-9 (tome 1)
ISBN 978-2-84720-108-6 (tome 2)
29 janvier 2008
36,95 $ x 2 au Canada

Au début des années 1960, la disparition de la jeune Veslemøy Heggøy, 11 ans, met en émoi toute la ville de Bergen. S’agit il d’une fugue, ou pire, d’un kidnapping ? Svend Atle Moland et ses nouveaux coéquipiers de la police ne peuvent que constater une profonde évolution de la société, quelque quinze ans après la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

Dans cette période turbulente et tourbillonnante, les « enfants de la paix » continuent de remettre peu à peu sur pieds la nation norvégienne. La jeunesse s’exalte sur fond de musique américaine et s’engage pleinement en politique étrangère et intérieure, et aussi dans l’amour libre. Tandis que leurs parents et grands parents finissent par dévoiler des zones d’ombre, des non dits de leur histoire personnelle, avec en filigrane, la mystérieuse affaire du meurtre du consul Frimann.

Gunnar Staalesen poursuit sa fresque de Bergen, émaillée de personnages dont les histoires individuelles finissent par composer la grande Histoire de la Norvège et par là tout un pan de l’humanité. Les années 1960 et 1970 marquent aussi l’ouverture de la Norvège au monde et son inscription singulière dans la construction européenne.

1999 Le crépuscule, tome 1, marque une entrée virevoltante dans la modernité et les progrès qui y sont associés. Mais les fantômes du passé ne sont jamais très loin.

Les Berguénois vivent encore sous le choc du drame off shore de la plate forme pétrolière, l’Alexander Kielland, et du tragique sauvetage qui s’est ensuivi, une funeste nuit de 1980. Ragnar Moland, le « prêtre à vélo », le sait bien, lui qui a accueilli les familles des victimes et les rescapés.

Le tumulte des années 1980 voit les convictions politiques, morales, religieuses de certains, ébranlées et engendre des conflits autour des problèmes liés à l’immigration, à l’IVG, etc.

Le meurtre, en 1983, du Premier ministre suédois, Olof Palme, ne laisse pas la Norvège voisine indifférente.

La manne pétrolière teinte également de couleur argent ces années 1980. Et de nombreuses entreprises cotées en bourse engendrent d’inextricables spéculations menées de main de maître par les yuppies norvégiens.

Et l’on voit apparaître, comme un clin d’oeil, un certain détective privé nommé Varg Veum… qui ne sera peut être pas pour rien dans la résolution finale du meurtre du consul Frimann.

Gunnar Staalesen dresse le portrait de descendants des premiers protagonistes, qui vont choisir à un moment donné leur propre destin. Quant aux témoins muets du passé, ils œuvrent aux côtés des vivants pour que les mystères non élucidés trouvent enfin le chemin de la lumière.

Cet ultime tome du Roman de Bergen achève avec brio une magnifique saga qui aura brassé un siècle de passions humaines et qui nous rend à jamais citoyen de Bergen.

Le roman de Bergen 2 : 1950. Le zénith
Gunnar Staalesen
Gaïa Éditions
ISBN 978-2-84720-092-8 (tome 1)
ISBN 978-2-84720-093-5 (tome 2)
29 août 2007
36,95 $ x 2 au Canada

Pendant les années 1930, les Berguénois s’ouvrent aux nouvelles idéologies politiques. Le dramaturge Hjalmar Brandt séjourne une année dans l’Union soviétique de Staline. Wilhelm Helgesen, entraîné par son épouse Sigrid, assiste aux Jeux olympiques de Berlin en 1936. Les deux époux sont fascinés par l’avènement du nazisme en Allemagne. Le retour à Bergen verra la confrontation des idéaux, communistes et nazis.

À l’orée des années 1940, l’Europe s’assombrit sous le chaos de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Déclarée neutre, la Norvège est pourtant occupée dès le 9 avril 1940. À Bergen comme ailleurs, c’est le temps du ralliement des uns à l’occupant, mais aussi l’entrée dans la résistance civile pour certains, ou l’exil pour d’autres.

Gunnar Staalesen dépeint un pan méconnu de l’histoire norvégienne, à l’heure de l’occupation par les forces allemandes, des exécutions et des déportations. L’auteur éclaire en particulier la réalité de la condition des Juifs norvégiens au travers du destin de la famille Liebermann. La première partie de 1950 Le Zénith, véritable axe central de la saga Le roman de Bergen, entraîne ses personnages dans le tournant tragique de l’Histoire du XXe siècle, qui fera que désormais rien ne sera plus jamais comme avant.

De nouveaux quartiers émergent de toutes parts. Des théâtres et des cinémas flambant neuf accueillent les dernières productions venues des États-Unis : les westerns et le rock’n'roll sauvage qui exalte la jeunesse berguénoise.

Dans le tome 2 de 1950 Le Zénith, les petits-enfants de la génération de 1900 prennent à bras le corps leur destinée. Il leur faut tourner les sombres pages de la guerre pour tracer leur propre chemin dans le tourbillon des années 50 et 60.

Quant à leurs parents à l’apogée de leur vie, que regrettent-ils de leur jeunesse passée et de leurs récents engagements ? Certains auront brûlé les ailes de leurs propres désirs, et vivront d’insondables exils intérieurs.

Dans ce 4^e volume du Roman de Bergen, Gunnar Staalesen continue patiemment de tisser une kyrielle de fils entre ses personnages. Et de ces multiples histoires singulières, l’auteur compose un tableau foisonnant de l’Histoire norvégienne des années 50 et 60.

Le roman de Bergen 1 : 1900. L’aube
Gunnar Staalesen
Gaïa Éditions
ISBN 978-2-84720-084-3 (tome 1)
ISBN 978-2-84720-085-0 (tome 2)
9 mai 2007
36,95 $ x 2 au Canada

À l’aube du 1^er janvier 1900, l’inspecteur Moland est réveillé par des coups frappés à sa porte. Ce jour de congés qu’il aurait dû passer avec femme et enfants va bouleverser sa vie. Un notable de Bergen, le consul Frimann, a été assassiné après avoir passé la nuit en compagnie non pas de son épouse, mais d’une fort jolie et très sensuelle personne, bien connue de beaucoup d’hommes de la ville. Une dénommée Maren Kristine Pedersen.

Plutôt que d’importuner la bonne bourgeoisie berguénoise, Moland oriente l’enquête vers un suspect d’origine plus modeste qui, interpellé, se suicide. L’affaire est close. Officiellement.

En ce début de XXe siècle, nombre de solides gaillards comme Torleif Nesbø vont proposer leurs bras sur les chantiers de la ligne de chemin de fer qui doit relier Bergen à la capitale, Kristiania. Pour ce fils de ferme, creuser les tunnels dans la montagne est un bon boulot. D’autant que c’est là-bas, au baraquement, qu’il rencontre Trine. Elle aide à la cuisine et au service pour le repas des ouvriers.

Les rumeurs disent qu’elle revient de la ville, où elle était domestique. Chez le consul Frimann.

Le tome 1 de 1900 L’aube, débute sur le tournant du siècle, un siècle en route vers la révolution industrielle, la Grande Guerre , les épidémies. L’auteur peint le tableau chaleureux et vivant d’individus aux destins à la fois ordinaires et universels, riches de drames et de passions.

Car un terrible conflit social éclate en 1926: les conducteurs et techniciens des tramways entrent en grève pour protester contre les bas salaires. La direction embauche des briseurs de grève, et confie leur sécurité à la police.

Le chef de file des grévistes, Torleif Nesbø, est un ardent militant du parti communiste, tandis que sa fille adoptive sera parmi les premières à revendiquer son indépendance et à vivre en femme libre…

Et bientôt, très bientôt, il y aura prescription : cela va faire 25 ans que le consul Frimann a été assassiné. L’occasion d’un dernier sursaut pour rouvrir l’enquête ?

Le tome 2 de 1900 L’aube voit l’avènement de la lutte entre bolcheviks et nationalistes libéraux, le krach boursier de 1929, la montée terrifiante du fascisme en Europe. Les protagonistes du tome 1 ont vieilli: ils passent le relais à leurs enfants qui vont construire la société à venir, faire évoluer les mœurs. Et se déchirer.