Tandooriälgen

by Zac O'Yeah

Vi befinner oss några år in i framtiden i Gautampuri, före detta Göteborg.

Klimatförändringar och ekonomiska omvälvningar har förändrat världen helt och hållet. Gautampuri är nu en stad med drygt 20 miljoner invånare i den nordliga delen av den Sydasiatiska Unionen.

Folktjänsteman Herman Barsk, en omplacerad polisdetektiv, verkar i det svårt nedgångna Masthugget bland en socialt problematisk underklass huvudsakligen bestående av etniska svenskar.

En dag gör Barsk ett fasansfullt fynd på sin favoritsylta Restaurang Tandooriälgen när han snubblar över de marinerade och grillade liken av fyra män.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Crime, Swedish Literature

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Zac O’Yeah used to work at a theatre in Gothenburg, Sweden – the harbor town where his detective novel “Once Upon A Time In Scandinavistan” (Hachette India, 2010; originally published in Swedish as “Tandooriälgen” in 2006) is set – and toured with a pop group until he retired early at 25 and came to India.

Since then he has published eleven books in Swedish, many of them important bestsellers – including the Gandhi-biography “Mahatma!” which was short-listed for the August Prize 2008 for best nonfiction book of the year. His most recent book in Swedish is the conspiracy thriller “Summan av kardemumman” (2009; paperback in 2010). He is currently working on a new thriller and a film project.

He is also a literary critic (rather grumpy at that), cultural feature writer and columnist, currently writing on crime fiction in Mint Lounge, the weekend supplement of the Indian edition of Wall Street Journal, and reviewing books in Deccan Herald’s Sunday supplement, and contributing occasionally to the travel magazine Outlook Traveller, plus now and then in major Swedish magazines and newspapers.

Zac O’Yeah is also a translator specializing in introducing selections of Indian writing – such as Pankaj Mishra, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and others – to Swedish readers. He has had a long involvement with theatre in as a playwright, director, designer, producer, and occasional performer.

Furthermore, he has been a cultural consultant for several bilateral exchange projects involving Swedish and Indian writers, translators, theatre workers and many others who toil in the fields of art. These projects have included, for instance, developing theatre for children and young people. Previous jobs include International Secretary of the Swedish Writers’ Union (1998-2000), dance lighting designer (1988-1992) and dish washer in a seedy pizzeria in Kungsportsavenyn (1986-1987).

Reviews

[Srikanth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a dystopian Sweden colonised by India/Nepal, a gumshoe detective tries to find out who boiled four people alive in a tandoori oven. The humour is black and sometimes, quite funny. The novel stages a bit and could have been shorter.

Overall, not a bad read but not something to be recommended.

[Helena Frisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jag gillade denna dystopi! Annorlunda, intressant och spännande med alla indiska inslag :)

[Anders Twetman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag pluggade i Göteborg när den här boken kom ut så jag tyckte konceptet med ett framtida Göteborg verkade väldigt intressant. Jag tyckte själva historien var lite sisådär, men så är jag inte särskilt förtjust i deckare heller. Däremot gillar jag den framtidsvision om ett tropiskt Guatampuri som O'Yeah målar upp.

[Pia Karlsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vi befinner oss några år in i framtiden i Gautampuri, före detta Göteborg, en stad med närmare 20 miljoner invånare i den nordliga delen av den Sydasiatiska Unionen. Folktjänsteman Herman Barsk, en omplacerad polisdetektiv, verkar i det svårt nedgångna Masthugget bland en socialt problematisk underklass huvudsakligen bestående av etniska svenskar.
Barsk är en ensam människa, hans hälsa är sviktande och han har en otrevlig tendens att ta till våld i förebyggande syfte. Sam-tidigt dras han till motsatta ideal han funderar mycket på att gå över till Gandhi-inspirerat ickevåld, buddhism och vegetariska matvanor.
En dag gör Barsk ett fasansfullt fynd på sin favoritsylta Restaurang Tandooriälgen: han snubblar över de tandoorigrillade liken av fyra män. Den chockerande massakern riskerar att leda till explosiva spänningar i en stad där de etniska motsättningarna, trots alla problem, hållits på mattan.
Tandooriälgen är en av de mest originella deckare som skrivits på svenska. En svart, vanvettigt rolig bok om att allt skulle kunna vara annorlunda. Och kanske kommer att bli det.

[Arundhati Subhedar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan is, to put it shortly, brilliant. While it does use dark humour and things that will appall you and possibly make you cringe, this book will also make you throw your head back and laugh on occasion. I understand that it isn't meant for all sorts of readers, but the way O'Yeah entwines mystery and crime into his vivid descriptions of an Indianised Sweden strikes you as something unforgettable. It's a book that you probably won't read annually unlike your favourite novel, but it is a book that will stay with you for a pretty long time because of its simplistic yet dynamic approach to a scenario that, frankly, would hardly come to people's minds. I especially liked the grunge in which this novel was set, along with the rampant corruption and changing future. It makes you realise just how much you miss out on when you live in a shiny world.

It's a definite read, and a book I'd recommend to anyone with a stomach to handle it.

[Pranjali Tatti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains black humour revolving Indianness that only an expat could observe and find odd. The book starts well, a crime set in future Scandinavistan, but gets meandering into descriptive passage after passage on the Swedish and Indian cultural nuances. Find patience to power through, though, and some unexpectedly clever humour and a solid crime mystery unfolds. Worth a read, suggested on a train or flight, for better travel dreams.

[Yahana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to try this author because he held a novel-writing workshop in one of the literary events (despite not being very impressed by the workshop). I ended up picking two of his books - this one and Mr. Majestic.

Well, this book turned out to be quite a disappointment. A nothing-book that is not a pleasant read either.

[P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gross. Anything disgusting you can think of (or that a schoolboy could think of) is in this book and if that floats your boat, this is the book for you. Personally I could have done with a less flippant execution of the very intriguing premise of O'Yeah's novel.

[Per Ambrosiani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onödigt mycket våld för min smak, men annars en bra historia i en ändå trovärdigt skildrad miljö.

[Malay · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Yeah!
No, Seriously. I loved this book. It was genuinely funny. It made fun of the Indian Babugiri, Indian middle aged actors passing of as 20 somethings. But it also had a thrilling mystery.

[Vishal · Rating 3 out of 5]

well, the mystery isn't really a thriller but the dystopic world thought of by the author is quite imaginative.

[Kunal Lal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly original murder mystery/comedy. The pace sags in the middle, but picks up later. A good fun read.