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The Öland Series #2
Nattfåk
' The dead are our neighbours everywhere on the island, and you have to get used to it .'It is bitter mid-winter on the Swedish island of Oland, and Katrine and Joakim Westin have moved with their children to the boarded-up manor house at Eel Point. But their remote idyll is soon shattered when Katrine is found drowned off the rocks nearby. As Joakim struggles to keep his sanity in the wake of the tragedy, the old house begins to exert a strange hold over him.Joakim has never been in the least superstitious, but from where are those whispering noises coming? To whom does his daughter call out in the night? And why is the barn door for ever ajar?As the end of the year approaches, and the infamous winter storm moves in across Oland, Joakim begins to fear that the most spine-chilling story he's heard about Eel Point might indeed be that every Christmas the dead return...
386 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
89 people are currently reading
3097 people want to read
About the author
Johan Theorin
47 books457 followersThroughout his life, Johan Theorin has been a regular visitor to the Baltic island of Öland. His mother’s family – sailors, fishermen and farmers - have lived there for centuries, nurturing the island’s rich legacy of strange tales and folklore. A journalist by profession, Johan now lives in Gothenburg.
Echoes from the Dead (originally published in Sweden as Skumtimmen) is Johan’s first novel. In 2007 it was voted Best First Mystery Novel by the authors and critics of the Swedish Academy of Crime, and it has been translated into twelve languages.
Echoes from the Dead (originally published in Sweden as Skumtimmen) is Johan’s first novel. In 2007 it was voted Best First Mystery Novel by the authors and critics of the Swedish Academy of Crime, and it has been translated into twelve languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 445 reviews
February 19, 2025
El primer libro de esta saga me gustó mucho, pero me quedo con este. A priori uno puede decir "Ah, historias de fantasmas... hay muchas como estas y son aburridas". En el papel: sí. En la práctica: no. El principio del libro, quizás las primeras 50-60 páginas es muy bueno ya que describe los 3 contextos principales (De Henrik, Tilda y Joakim) y todos por separado. Debo decir que me gusta mucho cuando hay más de 1 solo punto de vista en un libro, así se puede analizar la historia desde más de 1 ángulo y también hace que te intrigues más en la historia. El medio del libro cae casi en un limbo describiendo el sufrimiento de Joakim, pero los últimos capítulos, quizás las últimas 100 páginas, todo cobra vida y la historia evoluciona muy rápidamente y con bastante misterio. Me devoré las últimas páginas en tiempo record. Me gustó como Theorin mezcló muy bien la fantasía con las leyendas populares y todo lo relativo al género criminal.
Mención aparte para la aparición de Gerlof. Me hizo muy feliz verlo aunque sea en un rol menor en esta parte, ya que lo amé desde el primer libro. Su presencia me hizo muy feliz.
Recomiendo absolutamente este libro.
Mención aparte para la aparición de Gerlof. Me hizo muy feliz verlo aunque sea en un rol menor en esta parte, ya que lo amé desde el primer libro. Su presencia me hizo muy feliz.
Recomiendo absolutamente este libro.
June 25, 2017
"The dead came up out of the bog.. lots of them, clawing at me, ripping and tearing... they were cold, so cold. They wanted my warmth."
This book turned out better than i expected. I was about to DNF it because of the slow as hell start but i continued reading it. And it was totally worth it. It's written in third person. It follows three characters: Henrik jansson (the theif), Tilda davidsson: a police officer, Joakim westin a father of a family. The westin family moved into this big haunted house, and then strange things start to happen. Also the book contains «notes or passages from katrine's mother (Mirja Rambe) diaries».
i went into this thinking it's paranormal/mystery murder. But it wasn't heavy on the Paranormal stuff. it focused on the burglars, and the everyday life of Joakim and Tilda, and some ghost stories from Gerlof. We start seeing some actions and paranormal activities about 350 pages into this book.
The ending was so terrifying, i got a bit anxious, I realised I was holding my breath with anticipation.
i highly recommened.
This book turned out better than i expected. I was about to DNF it because of the slow as hell start but i continued reading it. And it was totally worth it. It's written in third person. It follows three characters: Henrik jansson (the theif), Tilda davidsson: a police officer, Joakim westin a father of a family. The westin family moved into this big haunted house, and then strange things start to happen. Also the book contains «notes or passages from katrine's mother (Mirja Rambe) diaries».
i went into this thinking it's paranormal/mystery murder. But it wasn't heavy on the Paranormal stuff. it focused on the burglars, and the everyday life of Joakim and Tilda, and some ghost stories from Gerlof. We start seeing some actions and paranormal activities about 350 pages into this book.
The ending was so terrifying, i got a bit anxious, I realised I was holding my breath with anticipation.
i highly recommened.
June 1, 2017
The first book in "The Öland Quartet", Skumtimmen ("Echoes from the Dead") was a pre-Goodreads read for me, so a few years ago. I enjoyed it very much and certainly enough to collect more books by Theorin, including two of the other three in this quartet. For some reason though, I haven't gotten around to reading any of the others until now - but I'm certainly going to redeem that mistake.
Nattfåk ("Natt" meaning night-time and "Fåk" being the Öland name for an especially nasty snow/sleet/ice storm that some years plague the island) really blew me away - I talked about it so much that I had to lend it to a co-worker the minute I was done with it.
Following a death in the family Katrine and Joakim Westin, with their two children, move from a Stockholm suburb to a remote area of the Baltic island Öland, taking up residence in an uncharacteristically large lighthouse keeper's house. The back story is that during construction of the twin lighthouses, a large boat carrying timber shipwrecked nearby, leaving no survivors. Making use of the timber (on the island where it's not abundant), the house was constructed.
Katrine has family ties to the island and some, foremost her mother's, history are told in between chapters, giving both richness and depth to the story evolving.
The rest of the cast is a young police woman (she's also the niece of Gerlof - one recurring character), opening up the - for some time unmanned - police station in the area; and a small band of burglars, plundering the summer residences.
A second tragic event in the Westin family starts a chain of events that leaves Joakim doubting his sanity and later his reality and the house affects him - surely the ghost stories can't be true? And how is the death of his sister tied to Öland at all?
As the "Fåk" draws near, the parts start to come together - as are the contenders - for a final culmination.
Part crime mystery, part ghost(ly) story - expertly told and just on the right side of believable without being predicable. And with an exemplary tight but suspenseful ending. What's not to love? Oh, and the parts are stand alone stories and need not be read in order as far as I can tell.
Nattfåk ("Natt" meaning night-time and "Fåk" being the Öland name for an especially nasty snow/sleet/ice storm that some years plague the island) really blew me away - I talked about it so much that I had to lend it to a co-worker the minute I was done with it.
Following a death in the family Katrine and Joakim Westin, with their two children, move from a Stockholm suburb to a remote area of the Baltic island Öland, taking up residence in an uncharacteristically large lighthouse keeper's house. The back story is that during construction of the twin lighthouses, a large boat carrying timber shipwrecked nearby, leaving no survivors. Making use of the timber (on the island where it's not abundant), the house was constructed.
Katrine has family ties to the island and some, foremost her mother's, history are told in between chapters, giving both richness and depth to the story evolving.
The rest of the cast is a young police woman (she's also the niece of Gerlof - one recurring character), opening up the - for some time unmanned - police station in the area; and a small band of burglars, plundering the summer residences.
A second tragic event in the Westin family starts a chain of events that leaves Joakim doubting his sanity and later his reality and the house affects him - surely the ghost stories can't be true? And how is the death of his sister tied to Öland at all?
As the "Fåk" draws near, the parts start to come together - as are the contenders - for a final culmination.
Part crime mystery, part ghost(ly) story - expertly told and just on the right side of believable without being predicable. And with an exemplary tight but suspenseful ending. What's not to love? Oh, and the parts are stand alone stories and need not be read in order as far as I can tell.
November 1, 2015
Δεν είμαι γνώστης του συγκεκριμένου είδους λογοτεχνίας αλλά "Το πιο σκοτεινό δωμάτιο" μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ. Γκρίζα ατμόσφαιρα σε σκοτεινό απόμερο τοπίο, με ψηλά κύματα, χιόνι και ένα πολύ παλιό στοιχειωμένο αρχοντικό! Υπέροχο δέσιμο του μεταφυσικού στοιχείου με το αστυνομικό. Και φυσικά εκπληκτική η αφήγηση για όλα τα στάδια της θλίψης και του θρήνου του ήρωα, δεν ήταν δυνατόν να μην συμπάσχεις ακόμα κ όταν το μυαλό του τα έχανε.
October 31, 2021
Happy Halloween! :)
In fiecare an de 31 octombrie aleg sa sarbatoresc Halloweenul refugiindu-ma pe canapea, cu cartofi prajiti langa mine, uitandu-ma toata noaptea la filme de groaza vintage si citind neaparat macar o carte horror.
Anul acesta m-am delectat cu cel de-al doilea roman al lui Johan Theorin, care face parte din seria Oland si care mi-a placut foarte mult, avand o atmosfera intunecata si o enigma de elucidat pe masura.
Romanul incepe cu o foarte interesanta povestire folclorica suedeza din secolul al XIX-lea despre mortii care se intorc sa celebreze Craciunul in fiecare an. Este prezentata intamplarea unei fete batrane care uita sa-si potriveasca ceasul si astfel se duce mai repede la biserica, pe care o gaseste plina de oameni. Toti care sunt acolo insa sunt morti.
Cartea este foarte interesanta deoarece intriga politista se incruciseaza cu o poveste cu fantome dar si cu o groaznica drama de familie. Si ca totul sa fie desavarsit avem si descrieri gotice ale tinutului intunecat din insula Oland. Gasim aici o atmosfera apasatoare si dark alcatuita din imaginea marii involburate si furioase, a vantului care sopteste malefic sau a farului care se aprinde doar ca sa anunte moartea iminenta a cuiva. Iata asadar toate ingredientele pentru o carte reusita.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, ii avem in prim plan pe Katrine si Joakim Westin, un cuplu cu doi copii mici care decide sa se mute din Stockholm si sa cumpere conacul de la Eel Point de pe insula Oland. Acesta este imens si are o infatisare gotica si infricosatoare, fiind flancat de doua faruri si de un promontoriu mai mereu inghetat ce strajuieste valurile furioase ale marii. Casa ascunde multe secrete in interiorul ei dar si in hambarul din apropiere, unde fantomele isi fac veacul nestingherite.
Atunci cand sotia sa Katrine este gasita moarta, zdrobita printre stancile alunecoase de langa far, Joakim se refugiaza in interiorul conacului si acesta pune stapanire pe el din ce in ce mai mult.
Politista Tilda Davidsson este cea care va incerca sa elucideze aparenta sinucidere a Katrinei, ajutata de un batranel simpatic, pe numele lui Gerlof. Gandirea sa logica si experienta de capitan de vas vor contribui mult la rezolvarea anchetei. Acesta este protagonistul primei parti a seriei "Ecouri de dincolo de moarte" apartinand aceluiasi autor.
M-a amuzat ca exista o banda de hoti care fura din casele de vacanta de pe insula Oland si inainte de a trece la treaba se folosesc de o tabla Ouija pentru a intreba spiritul unui filosof daca prada va fi consistenta. De asemenea m-a facut sa zambesc faptul ca la inceptul romanului avem anexata si o harta a insulei Oland, ceea ce in cazul meu este de prisos, deoarece eu m-as pierde chiar si cu ea in mana.
In incheiere va recomand aceasta carte atat pentru misterul cu iz politist pe care ni-l propune, cat si pentru atmosfera si descrierile intunecate de care abunda. Iar daca va plac povestile cu fantome nu aveti cum sa o ratati. Iata si cateva citate care sa va deschida apetitul pentru aceasta poveste:
"I-am auzit pe morti cum soptesc in pereti. Au atat de multe de spus."
"Nu uita, atunci cand preiei controlul asupra unei case vechi, si ea preia controlul asupra ta in acelasi timp."
"Poate ca pe vremuri oamenii nu gandeau prea departe in viitor. Dar cel putin gandeau."
In fiecare an de 31 octombrie aleg sa sarbatoresc Halloweenul refugiindu-ma pe canapea, cu cartofi prajiti langa mine, uitandu-ma toata noaptea la filme de groaza vintage si citind neaparat macar o carte horror.
Anul acesta m-am delectat cu cel de-al doilea roman al lui Johan Theorin, care face parte din seria Oland si care mi-a placut foarte mult, avand o atmosfera intunecata si o enigma de elucidat pe masura.
Romanul incepe cu o foarte interesanta povestire folclorica suedeza din secolul al XIX-lea despre mortii care se intorc sa celebreze Craciunul in fiecare an. Este prezentata intamplarea unei fete batrane care uita sa-si potriveasca ceasul si astfel se duce mai repede la biserica, pe care o gaseste plina de oameni. Toti care sunt acolo insa sunt morti.
Cartea este foarte interesanta deoarece intriga politista se incruciseaza cu o poveste cu fantome dar si cu o groaznica drama de familie. Si ca totul sa fie desavarsit avem si descrieri gotice ale tinutului intunecat din insula Oland. Gasim aici o atmosfera apasatoare si dark alcatuita din imaginea marii involburate si furioase, a vantului care sopteste malefic sau a farului care se aprinde doar ca sa anunte moartea iminenta a cuiva. Iata asadar toate ingredientele pentru o carte reusita.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, ii avem in prim plan pe Katrine si Joakim Westin, un cuplu cu doi copii mici care decide sa se mute din Stockholm si sa cumpere conacul de la Eel Point de pe insula Oland. Acesta este imens si are o infatisare gotica si infricosatoare, fiind flancat de doua faruri si de un promontoriu mai mereu inghetat ce strajuieste valurile furioase ale marii. Casa ascunde multe secrete in interiorul ei dar si in hambarul din apropiere, unde fantomele isi fac veacul nestingherite.
Atunci cand sotia sa Katrine este gasita moarta, zdrobita printre stancile alunecoase de langa far, Joakim se refugiaza in interiorul conacului si acesta pune stapanire pe el din ce in ce mai mult.
Politista Tilda Davidsson este cea care va incerca sa elucideze aparenta sinucidere a Katrinei, ajutata de un batranel simpatic, pe numele lui Gerlof. Gandirea sa logica si experienta de capitan de vas vor contribui mult la rezolvarea anchetei. Acesta este protagonistul primei parti a seriei "Ecouri de dincolo de moarte" apartinand aceluiasi autor.
M-a amuzat ca exista o banda de hoti care fura din casele de vacanta de pe insula Oland si inainte de a trece la treaba se folosesc de o tabla Ouija pentru a intreba spiritul unui filosof daca prada va fi consistenta. De asemenea m-a facut sa zambesc faptul ca la inceptul romanului avem anexata si o harta a insulei Oland, ceea ce in cazul meu este de prisos, deoarece eu m-as pierde chiar si cu ea in mana.
In incheiere va recomand aceasta carte atat pentru misterul cu iz politist pe care ni-l propune, cat si pentru atmosfera si descrierile intunecate de care abunda. Iar daca va plac povestile cu fantome nu aveti cum sa o ratati. Iata si cateva citate care sa va deschida apetitul pentru aceasta poveste:
"I-am auzit pe morti cum soptesc in pereti. Au atat de multe de spus."
"Nu uita, atunci cand preiei controlul asupra unei case vechi, si ea preia controlul asupra ta in acelasi timp."
"Poate ca pe vremuri oamenii nu gandeau prea departe in viitor. Dar cel putin gandeau."
May 25, 2023
Who ya gonna call?
Joakim and Katrine Westin have come to live on Öland with their two young children, in a house built at Eel Point where twin lighthouses stand, one still operational, the other now deserted. The house was built long ago by the man responsible for the construction of the lighthouses, and he used the timbers from a deadly shipwreck. This is seen as bad luck, and the house has its own history of tragedies which will slowly be revealed to us through a journal Katrine’s mother has sent her. She too had once lived in the house at Eel Point with her own mother, whose paintings of the blizzards that afflict the coast in winter have become posthumously famous and valuable. When Joakim returns from a final trip to their old house in Stockholm to pick up the last of their stuff, he learns that Katrine has drowned, having apparently slipped from the rocks below the lighthouses. Meantime, there are three men who are systematically burgling the houses left empty for the winter by summer visitors, but they’ve now decided that the pickings will be better from inhabited houses…
I’ve loved two of the four books in this quartet, The Voices Beyond and Echoes from the Dead. (The first four books are still being listed as a quartet, even though Theorin seems to have added a fifth now.) One of Theorin’s main strengths is his ability to use the harsh weather conditions and isolation of the island to create a creepy, tense atmosphere, and he certainly does that again in this one. There are parts that truly deserve to be called spine-tingling. However in this one, unlike the other two, he introduces the supernatural – Eel Point is full of ghosts, and not metaphorical ones. You’re either a person who can go along with the idea of ghosts existing, or you’re not. I’m not, not in contemporary fiction anyway, so sadly this book didn’t work for me as well as the others did.
It’s as much about Joakim’s grief as it is a mystery about Katrine’s death, though the mystery element does come more to the fore towards the end. It’s well written, and gives a real sense of the bleakness of life here during the harshest months of winter, even today with modern heating and communication methods. The flashbacks via the journal show how much harder things were when the winters led to almost complete isolation. The almost total darkness that lasts for months and the occasional severe blizzards have taken their toll in human life, and shipwrecks have left their mark on the coast and its people.
The grief motif is never my favourite – I prefer rather more cheerful murder mysteries! But it’s done credibly, and the book takes place over a long enough timescale for us to see Joakim and the kids begin the process of healing. The solution happily is grounded in reality, and the motivations of the dark crime at the heart are fully human, if perhaps a little over the credibility line. Gerlof is the character who links the quartet – an old man now living in an assisted living facility who has lived all his life on the island, and knows some of the dark secrets of its history. This one also features his great-niece, Tilda, who has come to the island as a rookie cop, and we see the particular challenges of that task in such a bleak, isolated spot. The two strands – Katrine’s death and the burglaries – will eventually come together in a rather over-dramatic thriller finale. Overall, though, there’s plenty to enjoy, especially the setting and the descriptions of the harsh conditions.
But those ghosts! Nope! When the solution of a mystery comes about through hints given by ghosts, I fear it loses me. I stuck with it to the end, although it was touch and go for the latter half. And I will probably go on to read the fourth (which is actually the third since as usual I’m reading them out of order). But I’ll check reviews first to be sure that it stays firmly in the real world. As always, my middling rating is a subjective measure of my lukewarm enjoyment, not an objective measure of quality – this is a simple case of wrong reader, wrong book. I’d happily recommend it to the many readers who don’t mind a ghostly element in crime fiction.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Joakim and Katrine Westin have come to live on Öland with their two young children, in a house built at Eel Point where twin lighthouses stand, one still operational, the other now deserted. The house was built long ago by the man responsible for the construction of the lighthouses, and he used the timbers from a deadly shipwreck. This is seen as bad luck, and the house has its own history of tragedies which will slowly be revealed to us through a journal Katrine’s mother has sent her. She too had once lived in the house at Eel Point with her own mother, whose paintings of the blizzards that afflict the coast in winter have become posthumously famous and valuable. When Joakim returns from a final trip to their old house in Stockholm to pick up the last of their stuff, he learns that Katrine has drowned, having apparently slipped from the rocks below the lighthouses. Meantime, there are three men who are systematically burgling the houses left empty for the winter by summer visitors, but they’ve now decided that the pickings will be better from inhabited houses…
I’ve loved two of the four books in this quartet, The Voices Beyond and Echoes from the Dead. (The first four books are still being listed as a quartet, even though Theorin seems to have added a fifth now.) One of Theorin’s main strengths is his ability to use the harsh weather conditions and isolation of the island to create a creepy, tense atmosphere, and he certainly does that again in this one. There are parts that truly deserve to be called spine-tingling. However in this one, unlike the other two, he introduces the supernatural – Eel Point is full of ghosts, and not metaphorical ones. You’re either a person who can go along with the idea of ghosts existing, or you’re not. I’m not, not in contemporary fiction anyway, so sadly this book didn’t work for me as well as the others did.
It’s as much about Joakim’s grief as it is a mystery about Katrine’s death, though the mystery element does come more to the fore towards the end. It’s well written, and gives a real sense of the bleakness of life here during the harshest months of winter, even today with modern heating and communication methods. The flashbacks via the journal show how much harder things were when the winters led to almost complete isolation. The almost total darkness that lasts for months and the occasional severe blizzards have taken their toll in human life, and shipwrecks have left their mark on the coast and its people.
The grief motif is never my favourite – I prefer rather more cheerful murder mysteries! But it’s done credibly, and the book takes place over a long enough timescale for us to see Joakim and the kids begin the process of healing. The solution happily is grounded in reality, and the motivations of the dark crime at the heart are fully human, if perhaps a little over the credibility line. Gerlof is the character who links the quartet – an old man now living in an assisted living facility who has lived all his life on the island, and knows some of the dark secrets of its history. This one also features his great-niece, Tilda, who has come to the island as a rookie cop, and we see the particular challenges of that task in such a bleak, isolated spot. The two strands – Katrine’s death and the burglaries – will eventually come together in a rather over-dramatic thriller finale. Overall, though, there’s plenty to enjoy, especially the setting and the descriptions of the harsh conditions.
But those ghosts! Nope! When the solution of a mystery comes about through hints given by ghosts, I fear it loses me. I stuck with it to the end, although it was touch and go for the latter half. And I will probably go on to read the fourth (which is actually the third since as usual I’m reading them out of order). But I’ll check reviews first to be sure that it stays firmly in the real world. As always, my middling rating is a subjective measure of my lukewarm enjoyment, not an objective measure of quality – this is a simple case of wrong reader, wrong book. I’d happily recommend it to the many readers who don’t mind a ghostly element in crime fiction.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
May 5, 2019
<< Έρχεται και με τα χρόνια, καθώς αποκτάς όλο και περισσότερο παρελθόν, το οποίο κάθεσαι και αναπολείς. Αρχίζεις να ενδιαφέρεσαι για την καταγωγή σου >>
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<< Όμως η ενέργεια των παιδιών θα εξαφανιζόταν με την πάροδο του χρόνου, θα γερνούσαν και τα πρόσωπα τους θα έχαναν τη φρεσκάδα τους και θα γέμιζαν βαθουλώματα. Πίσω από αυτά τα χαρούμενα προσωπάκια βρίσκονται χλωμά κρανία με άδειες κόγχες. Κούνησε το κεφάλι του για ν’ αποδιώξει τη σκέψη >>
<< Τα κύματα ήταν σαν αργές ανάσες μες στο σκοτάδι απόψε. Σαν την Κατρίνε όταν έκαναν έρωτα – τον τραβούσε πάνω της στο κρεβάτι, κρατώντας τον σφιχτά και ανασαίνοντας στο αυτί του. Ήταν πιο δυνατή από εκείνον >>
Ο τρόπος που ο συγγραφέας αποτυπώνει την αλληλουχία σκέψεων – συναισθημάτων που σα δίνη περνούν για τη φθαρτή φύση των πολύ δικών μας ανθρώπων, μόλις για πρώτη φορά έρθουμε αντιμέτωποι με το νεκρό σώμα, ενός άλλου ανθρώπου που αγαπήσαμε – αυτή η αδυσώπητα ορμητική, ψυχαναγκαστική δύναμη που πρέπει να σφίξεις τα μάτια για να φύγει η σκέψη πως απέναντι σου δεν βρίσκονται άνθρωποι αιώνιοι, η σάρκα λιώνει κάθε στιγμή, τα οστά σπάνε, τα μάτια χάνονται, προκαλεί αμηχανία με τη γνησιότητα της, όση αμηχανία προκαλεί κι η αυθεντικότητα του ανθρώπου που μαζί με τον αγαπημένο του χάνει ένα μέρος απ’ το κουράγιο του να συνεχίσει, ενώ την ίδια στιγμή τίποτα δε σταματά, καμιά ανιαρή κι ανίερη γραφειοκρατία και ίσως ακριβώς γι’ αυτό νομιμοποιείται η κανονικότητα της, γιατί γίνεται η επίθεση που χρειαζόμαστε.
Ο συγγραφέας χρησιμοποιεί ένα πολύ δυνατό ‘’τρικ’’ που καταφέρνει όχι μόνο να μας γεμίσει συμπόνια, αλλά να προκαλέσει και αμηχανία – αν όχι δυσφορία, όταν ηθελημένα ή μη, μπαίνουμε στη θέση του Γιοακίμ: λείπει σε ταξίδι, μαθαίνει ενώ διασχίζει δρόμους με ένα βαρυφορτωμένο όχημα και μεγάλη ταχύτητα, τη νύχτα, πως πέθανε η κόρη του, αντιμετωπίζει στη σιωπή και στην αναγκασμένη αυτάρκεια, ένα πόνο που εμπεριέχει όσα μπορούμε να καταλάβουμε κι όλα εκείνα που μπορεί να μάθουμε αργότερα ή όχι και φτάνοντας συναντά την κόρη του ολοζώντανη κι αγουροξυπνημένη και το στήριγμα του, το αποκούμπι, τη γυναίκα που ήθελε να στηρίξει και να στηριχτεί, νεκρή. Μια απώλεια που πέθανε νωρίς αντικαθίσταται από μια απώλεια που δε γεννήθηκε ακόμα.
<< Κάθε φορά που την ξεχνούσε – ακόμα και για ένα μόνο λεπτό – ο πόνος ξαναγυρνούσε αδυσώπητα μόλις ξαναθυμόταν ξαφνικά ότι η γυναίκα του δε ζούσε πια. Για τον λόγο αυτό προσπαθούσε να την κρατά στον λογισμό του όλη την ώρα – έχοντας τη διαρκώς παρούσα στη σκέψη του, ακριβώς στο όριο μετά το οποίο άρχιζε ο πόνος της απώλειας >>
Αναμφίβολα, πρόκειται για ένα πολύ ικανό διαχειριστή του χρόνου και των λέξεων που χρησιμοποιεί και πολύ καλό σκηνογράφο κι αρκετά καλό σκηνοθέτη. Αισθανόμουν πως οι χαρακτήρες, το σπίτι, η ατμόσφαιρα ήταν απτά. Σε κάποια σημεία είχα την αίσθηση πως με ανάγκαζε να αντιληφθώ τους ανθρώπους και τα αντικείμενα, όπως ίσως αντιλαμβανόταν αυτό που μετά θα απεικόνιζε, ο Άλβαρ Άαλτο. Τα ‘’τρικ’’ του δεν είναι φτηνιάρικα, ούτε προκάτ, ή έστω σε οσμή, κονσερβαρισμένα.
Όμως σε ορισμένα σημεία γίνεται παντελώς άοσμος και αυτά –ευτυχώς- δεν είναι σε επίπεδο διαπροσωπικών αλληλεπιδράσεων κι αισθημάτων απώλειας, ή, πόνου. Μάλλον φλέρταρε περισσότερο απ’ όσο ίσως κατάλαβε κι ο ίδιος με την ιδέα του κοινωνικού μυθιστορήματος. Αδίκως δεν το προχώρησε έτσι. Όχι πως είναι κακό μυστηριάκι, κάθε άλλο. Ορισμένως μόνο, άοσμο και κάπως λιγότερο, άχρωμο, ή αν όχι άχρωμο, ‘’αραιό’’.
<< - Μου τηλεφώνησε η κόρη μου χτες βράδυ, είπε μία από τις ηλικιωμένες γυναίκες στον καναπέ.
- Αλήθεια και τι σου είπε;
- Ήθελε να ξεκαθαρίσουμε τα πράγματα.
- Να ξεκαθαρίσετε τα πράγματα;
- Ναι. Μια και καλή. Λέει ότι ποτέ μου δεν τη στήριξα. ‘’Μόνο τον εαυτό σου και τον μπαμπά σκεφτόσουν. Συνέχεια! Εμείς τα παιδιά ερχόμασταν πάντα σε δεύτερη μοίρα’’
- Τα ίδια λέει κι ο γιος μου. Αν και για ‘κεινον ισχύει το ακριβώς αντίθετο. Μου τηλεφωνεί κάθε χρόνο πριν από τα Χριστούγεννα για να μου παραπονεθεί και να μου πει ότι τον έπνιξα με την αγάπη μου. Του κατέστρεψα τα παιδικά του χρόνια, έτσι λέει >>
<< - Συχνά βρίσκαμε παλιά κομμάτια, τα οποία μετά αναπαλαιώναμε.
- Καλή προσέγγιση. Σπάνια εκτιμά ο κόσμος τα υπάρχοντα του. Δεν επιδιορθώνει ό,τι σπάει – απλώς το πετάει. Το ν’ αγοράζεις έχει σημασία, όχι να προσέχεις ό,τι έχεις >>
<< Οι νεκροί βγήκαν απ’ τον τυρφώνα… πάρα πολλοί, με άρπαζαν, με νύχιαζαν, με τραβούσαν… κι ήταν τόσο παγωμένοι… τόσο παγωμένοι. Θέλανε τη ζεστασιά μου >>
<< οι συνήθειες είναι το πιο δύσκολο πράγμα να σπάσεις, δεν πα να είναι φριχτές >>
<< - Τα πήρε όλα όλα;
- Έχω μερικά αναμνηστικά, αλλά ο Ράγναρ πήρε όλα τα λεφτά. Πιθανώς θεωρούσε ότι ήταν καλύτερος στα να τα φυλάει.
- Κι εσύ δε μπορούσες να κάνεις κάτι;
- Να του κάνω μήνυση εννοείς; Δεν φερόμαστε έτσι εμείς στο νησί. Προτιμάμε να γίνουμε εχθροί. Ακόμα και τ΄ αδέλφια μερικές φορές >>
Μόνο στα κακά βιβλία υπάρχει αποτυπωμένος ο σωστός τρόπος να πεις αντίο κι αυτό δεν είναι ένα κακό βιβλίο…
Είναι ένα πολύ τίμιο βιβλίο που τελειώνει μ’ έναν ήρεμο, μεθοδικό τρόπο στη σελ. 528 και μετά ακολουθούν τα τελευταία λόγια της Κατρίνε, ακούγεται επιτέλους η δική της φωνή, συνακόλουθη με όσα διηγούνται για τη ζωή και τις πράξεις της. Μια απομυθοποίηση που την ίδια στιγμή απογυμνώνει και απογειώνει.
3,5
<< έγειρε και κόλλησε γρήγορα τα χείλη της στο στόμα του – ένα ζεστό φιλί μες στο κρύο >>
<< Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα στον κόσμο που να εκπέμπει τόση ζεστασιά και θαλπωρή όσο ένα παιδικό δωμάτιο >>
<< Όμως η ενέργεια των παιδιών θα εξαφανιζόταν με την πάροδο του χρόνου, θα γερνούσαν και τα πρόσωπα τους θα έχαναν τη φρεσκάδα τους και θα γέμιζαν βαθουλώματα. Πίσω από αυτά τα χαρούμενα προσωπάκια βρίσκονται χλωμά κρανία με άδειες κόγχες. Κούνησε το κεφάλι του για ν’ αποδιώξει τη σκέψη >>
<< Τα κύματα ήταν σαν αργές ανάσες μες στο σκοτάδι απόψε. Σαν την Κατρίνε όταν έκαναν έρωτα – τον τραβούσε πάνω της στο κρεβάτι, κρατώντας τον σφιχτά και ανασαίνοντας στο αυτί του. Ήταν πιο δυνατή από εκείνον >>
Ο τρόπος που ο συγγραφέας αποτυπώνει την αλληλουχία σκέψεων – συναισθημάτων που σα δίνη περνούν για τη φθαρτή φύση των πολύ δικών μας ανθρώπων, μόλις για πρώτη φορά έρθουμε αντιμέτωποι με το νεκρό σώμα, ενός άλλου ανθρώπου που αγαπήσαμε – αυτή η αδυσώπητα ορμητική, ψυχαναγκαστική δύναμη που πρέπει να σφίξεις τα μάτια για να φύγει η σκέψη πως απέναντι σου δεν βρίσκονται άνθρωποι αιώνιοι, η σάρκα λιώνει κάθε στιγμή, τα οστά σπάνε, τα μάτια χάνονται, προκαλεί αμηχανία με τη γνησιότητα της, όση αμηχανία προκαλεί κι η αυθεντικότητα του ανθρώπου που μαζί με τον αγαπημένο του χάνει ένα μέρος απ’ το κουράγιο του να συνεχίσει, ενώ την ίδια στιγμή τίποτα δε σταματά, καμιά ανιαρή κι ανίερη γραφειοκρατία και ίσως ακριβώς γι’ αυτό νομιμοποιείται η κανονικότητα της, γιατί γίνεται η επίθεση που χρειαζόμαστε.
Ο συγγραφέας χρησιμοποιεί ένα πολύ δυνατό ‘’τρικ’’ που καταφέρνει όχι μόνο να μας γεμίσει συμπόνια, αλλά να προκαλέσει και αμηχανία – αν όχι δυσφορία, όταν ηθελημένα ή μη, μπαίνουμε στη θέση του Γιοακίμ: λείπει σε ταξίδι, μαθαίνει ενώ διασχίζει δρόμους με ένα βαρυφορτωμένο όχημα και μεγάλη ταχύτητα, τη νύχτα, πως πέθανε η κόρη του, αντιμετωπίζει στη σιωπή και στην αναγκασμένη αυτάρκεια, ένα πόνο που εμπεριέχει όσα μπορούμε να καταλάβουμε κι όλα εκείνα που μπορεί να μάθουμε αργότερα ή όχι και φτάνοντας συναντά την κόρη του ολοζώντανη κι αγουροξυπνημένη και το στήριγμα του, το αποκούμπι, τη γυναίκα που ήθελε να στηρίξει και να στηριχτεί, νεκρή. Μια απώλεια που πέθανε νωρίς αντικαθίσταται από μια απώλεια που δε γεννήθηκε ακόμα.
<< Κάθε φορά που την ξεχνούσε – ακόμα και για ένα μόνο λεπτό – ο πόνος ξαναγυρνούσε αδυσώπητα μόλις ξαναθυμόταν ξαφνικά ότι η γυναίκα του δε ζούσε πια. Για τον λόγο αυτό προσπαθούσε να την κρατά στον λογισμό του όλη την ώρα – έχοντας τη διαρκώς παρούσα στη σκέψη του, ακριβώς στο όριο μετά το οποίο άρχιζε ο πόνος της απώλειας >>
Αναμφίβολα, πρόκειται για ένα πολύ ικανό διαχειριστή του χρόνου και των λέξεων που χρησιμοποιεί και πολύ καλό σκηνογράφο κι αρκετά καλό σκηνοθέτη. Αισθανόμουν πως οι χαρακτήρες, το σπίτι, η ατμόσφαιρα ήταν απτά. Σε κάποια σημεία είχα την αίσθηση πως με ανάγκαζε να αντιληφθώ τους ανθρώπους και τα αντικείμενα, όπως ίσως αντιλαμβανόταν αυτό που μετά θα απεικόνιζε, ο Άλβαρ Άαλτο. Τα ‘’τρικ’’ του δεν είναι φτηνιάρικα, ούτε προκάτ, ή έστω σε οσμή, κονσερβαρισμένα.
Όμως σε ορισμένα σημεία γίνεται παντελώς άοσμος και αυτά –ευτυχώς- δεν είναι σε επίπεδο διαπροσωπικών αλληλεπιδράσεων κι αισθημάτων απώλειας, ή, πόνου. Μάλλον φλέρταρε περισσότερο απ’ όσο ίσως κατάλαβε κι ο ίδιος με την ιδέα του κοινωνικού μυθιστορήματος. Αδίκως δεν το προχώρησε έτσι. Όχι πως είναι κακό μυστηριάκι, κάθε άλλο. Ορισμένως μόνο, άοσμο και κάπως λιγότερο, άχρωμο, ή αν όχι άχρωμο, ‘’αραιό’’.
<< - Μου τηλεφώνησε η κόρη μου χτες βράδυ, είπε μία από τις ηλικιωμένες γυναίκες στον καναπέ.
- Αλήθεια και τι σου είπε;
- Ήθελε να ξεκαθαρίσουμε τα πράγματα.
- Να ξεκαθαρίσετε τα πράγματα;
- Ναι. Μια και καλή. Λέει ότι ποτέ μου δεν τη στήριξα. ‘’Μόνο τον εαυτό σου και τον μπαμπά σκεφτόσουν. Συνέχεια! Εμείς τα παιδιά ερχόμασταν πάντα σε δεύτερη μοίρα’’
- Τα ίδια λέει κι ο γιος μου. Αν και για ‘κεινον ισχύει το ακριβώς αντίθετο. Μου τηλεφωνεί κάθε χρόνο πριν από τα Χριστούγεννα για να μου παραπονεθεί και να μου πει ότι τον έπνιξα με την αγάπη μου. Του κατέστρεψα τα παιδικά του χρόνια, έτσι λέει >>
<< - Συχνά βρίσκαμε παλιά κομμάτια, τα οποία μετά αναπαλαιώναμε.
- Καλή προσέγγιση. Σπάνια εκτιμά ο κόσμος τα υπάρχοντα του. Δεν επιδιορθώνει ό,τι σπάει – απλώς το πετάει. Το ν’ αγοράζεις έχει σημασία, όχι να προσέχεις ό,τι έχεις >>
<< Οι νεκροί βγήκαν απ’ τον τυρφώνα… πάρα πολλοί, με άρπαζαν, με νύχιαζαν, με τραβούσαν… κι ήταν τόσο παγωμένοι… τόσο παγωμένοι. Θέλανε τη ζεστασιά μου >>
<< οι συνήθειες είναι το πιο δύσκολο πράγμα να σπάσεις, δεν πα να είναι φριχτές >>
<< - Τα πήρε όλα όλα;
- Έχω μερικά αναμνηστικά, αλλά ο Ράγναρ πήρε όλα τα λεφτά. Πιθανώς θεωρούσε ότι ήταν καλύτερος στα να τα φυλάει.
- Κι εσύ δε μπορούσες να κάνεις κάτι;
- Να του κάνω μήνυση εννοείς; Δεν φερόμαστε έτσι εμείς στο νησί. Προτιμάμε να γίνουμε εχθροί. Ακόμα και τ΄ αδέλφια μερικές φορές >>
Μόνο στα κακά βιβλία υπάρχει αποτυπωμένος ο σωστός τρόπος να πεις αντίο κι αυτό δεν είναι ένα κακό βιβλίο…
Είναι ένα πολύ τίμιο βιβλίο που τελειώνει μ’ έναν ήρεμο, μεθοδικό τρόπο στη σελ. 528 και μετά ακολουθούν τα τελευταία λόγια της Κατρίνε, ακούγεται επιτέλους η δική της φωνή, συνακόλουθη με όσα διηγούνται για τη ζωή και τις πράξεις της. Μια απομυθοποίηση που την ίδια στιγμή απογυμνώνει και απογειώνει.
3,5
September 10, 2016
Atmospheric and menacing winter on Öland in the Baltic Sea. A young couple with children buy and begin to restore an isolated timber manor house in the shadow of two lighthouses. The bleak history of the area blends well with the unlucky inhabitants of past and present. I was looking for ghosts and death in the grand finale blizzard. Gerlof, the octogenarian hero of Echoes from the Dead, has an important role here as well. I hope to find him again in the remaining books of the quartet.
September 19, 2018
A nordic noir thriller with an occult twist. The standard issue mildly troubled female police officer, the forbidding climate, small town relationships, dour males, family dysfunctionality, a hint of folk religion, it is all there but, this time, ghosts appear and are accepted as real.
It passes the time but it is not particularly memorable. There is some solid writing but the plot is far-fetched, people all arrive in the same place coincidentally, the evidential base for the final accusation is weak and some things are not explained that should be explained.
This is a shame because Theorin is actually quite good at characterisation and atmosphere but is this supposed to be a crime thriller? ... or is it supposed to be a ghost story? ... or is it supposed to be 'art'? In the end, it falls between all these stools.
July 9, 2010
Joakim and Katrine Westin, along with their two small children, have decided to leave Stockholm to buy and renovate an old manor house at Eel Point on the island of Öland. Along with its two lighthouses, this area has a long history of shipwrecks and drownings, and it is said that the voices of the dead can still be heard. But for Joakim and Katrine, Eel Point offers a new beginning. For their children there are meadows and forests to play in, a definite change from urban life in Stockholm. But after only a couple of months, the idyllic setting becomes a place of dread after a terrible tragedy, which leaves Joakim shaken and inconsolable, unable to deal with his grief. He begins to become more interested in Eel Point's haunted history, wondering indeed if the dead inhabit the area, and the house begins to act on his damaged soul. He meets Tilda Davidsson, a newly-recruited police officer who has moved to the area to escape from the gossip involved with her affair with a married policeman, and because she has family there. Tilda's great-uncle is Gerlof Davidsson, who was a major character in Theorin's first novel, Echoes From the Dead, and she spends a lot of time with him, putting his memories of his life on Öland down on tape.
But there's more. As the Westin family is coping with its grief, the two Serelius brothers and their cohort in crime Henrik Jansson are busy breaking into vacation homes where the owners are away, stealing valuables and causing general mayhem. It's not long until their forays escalate and they start breaking into occupied houses and becoming violent, hopped up on meth before each job. Their activities have been reported to the police, but it isn't until Gerlof suggests to Tilda that she talk to a few of his old friends that anything really happens with the case.
These two plotlines, along with Gerlof's oral history of his family and of life on Öland, also combined with excerpts from a book written by Katrine's mother Mirja Rambe, all weave together into a perfectly-crafted thriller with a slight hint of gothic thrown into the mix. The sense of place is unbelievably eerie and helps to keep the tension and suspense from ebbing at any point in the story. The characters are meticulously and well constructed, especially in the cases of Katrine and Joakim, whose lives Theorin discloses in only small bits and pieces at a time. The pacing of the novel is just a little slow to begin with, but when it picks up, there is no way anyone can possibly put this book down until it's over.
I have to admit to being put off at first by the hint of the supernatural that figures into the story, but as all came to be revealed, my worries were put to rest and Theorin didn't let me down. It is tough to label The Darkest Room as simply a mystery or a novel of crime fiction, because it's also an examination of loss, grief and human nature in its most vulnerable and exposed state. And as in his earlier Echoes of the Dead, Theorin has created a story in which the past has meaning for and acts on the present -- one of my favorite types of novels. I highly recommend this one and considering I read it in 90+ degree heat with a near equal level of humidity, it made me shiver throughout. The Darkest Room is simply stellar.
But there's more. As the Westin family is coping with its grief, the two Serelius brothers and their cohort in crime Henrik Jansson are busy breaking into vacation homes where the owners are away, stealing valuables and causing general mayhem. It's not long until their forays escalate and they start breaking into occupied houses and becoming violent, hopped up on meth before each job. Their activities have been reported to the police, but it isn't until Gerlof suggests to Tilda that she talk to a few of his old friends that anything really happens with the case.
These two plotlines, along with Gerlof's oral history of his family and of life on Öland, also combined with excerpts from a book written by Katrine's mother Mirja Rambe, all weave together into a perfectly-crafted thriller with a slight hint of gothic thrown into the mix. The sense of place is unbelievably eerie and helps to keep the tension and suspense from ebbing at any point in the story. The characters are meticulously and well constructed, especially in the cases of Katrine and Joakim, whose lives Theorin discloses in only small bits and pieces at a time. The pacing of the novel is just a little slow to begin with, but when it picks up, there is no way anyone can possibly put this book down until it's over.
I have to admit to being put off at first by the hint of the supernatural that figures into the story, but as all came to be revealed, my worries were put to rest and Theorin didn't let me down. It is tough to label The Darkest Room as simply a mystery or a novel of crime fiction, because it's also an examination of loss, grief and human nature in its most vulnerable and exposed state. And as in his earlier Echoes of the Dead, Theorin has created a story in which the past has meaning for and acts on the present -- one of my favorite types of novels. I highly recommend this one and considering I read it in 90+ degree heat with a near equal level of humidity, it made me shiver throughout. The Darkest Room is simply stellar.
October 26, 2015
4 αστεράκια,αν και ψιλοαπογοητεύτηκα,μιας και ούτε κατά διάνοια δεν ήταν τόσο τρομακτικό το βιβλίο,όσο υπονοούσαν ο τίτλος και η περίληψή του..Ατμοσφαιρικό...μμμμ ναι ΟΚ,και πάλι όμως σε μερικά σημεία μόνο..Σε ό,τι αφορά το υπερφυσικό,γιατί στο περιγραφικό κομμάτι του ναι,ήταν!
Θεωρώ πως περισσότερο αυτό το βιβλίο το σώζ��ι το νησί Έλαντ,όπου διαδραματίζεται το στόρυ,και η ίδια η Σουηδία με το χειμώνα της.Τρομερή βοήθεια το περιβάλλον στον αναμφισβήτητα ταλαντούχο συγγραφέα,που καταφέρνει να πλάσει ένα ιδιαίτερο background για το στόρυ του(και ατμοσφαιρικό,όπως είπαμε και παραπάνω).Αν η υπόθεση εκτυλισσόταν κάπου αλλού,σίγουρα θα έχανε αρκετά..
Την ιστορία την περίμενα λίγο πιο δυνατή,για να είμαι ειλικρινής.Οικογένεια μετακομίζει στην επαρχία,μητέρα πνίγεται ξαφνικά,πατέρας μένει πίσω έχοντας να αντιμετωπίσει το πένθος του,την ανατροφή των παιδιών,τα συναισθήματά του και κάποια φαντάσματα που ζουν στον αχυρώνα του.Μάλλον δε ζουν,αλλά εμφανίζονται κάθε τόσο,ιδίως τα Χριστούγεννα.Πολλές αναγνωστικές προσδοκίες,λίγη συγκριτικά ικανοποίηση.Ελάχιστες οι σελίδες με αναφορά στο υπερφυσικό,αρκετά δυνατή η μία και μοναδική σκηνή συνάντησής του με τα προαναφερθέντα φαντάσματα στον αχυρώνα,αλλά όχι αυτό που θα περίμενε ένας φαν ανάλογων ιστοριών με βάση τα όσα είχε διαβάσει για το βιβλίο,πριν διαβάσει το ίδιο το βιβλίο.Όχι τόσο δυνατή ώστε να σε κάνει να ανατριχιάσεις,αρχικά από ένστικτο με όσα διαβάζεις και στη συνέχεια από ικανοποίηση.
Δε θέλω σε καμία περίπτωση να πω πως δεν ήταν καλό ή πως με απογοήτευσε.Απλά όταν επιλέγεις ένα βιβλίο για κάποιο λόγο(στην προκειμένη,για να διαβάσεις για φαντάσματα)και τελικά διαβάζεις για 100 πράγματα,από τα οποία τα 10 μόνο αντιστοιχούν σε φαντάσματα,ε κάπως τόσο λίίίγο,απογοητεύεσαι.Είναι σα να σπρώχνουν συνέχεια προς το μέρος σου το κουτί με τη Μερέντα,αλλά πάντα την τελευταία στιγμή στο παίρνουν πίσω!Το βιβλίο αυτό είναι ωραιότατο,το συστήνω ανεπιφύλακτα,αλλά μην περιμένετε οι φαν του τρόμου να ικανοποιηθείτε τόόόόσο πολύ..Παίζει εντονότατα το αστυνομικό στοιχείο.Αρμονικά πλεγμένος ο συνδυασμός του,αλλά οπωσδήποτε όχι η ατμόσφαιρα που θα περίμενε κανείς από ένα βιβλίο που πλασαρίζεται ως τρόμου.
Από την άλλη,ο τρόμος έχει πολλά επίπεδα και πολλοί ίσως προτιμούν την ανεπαίσθητη χροιά του τρόμου,τον "ήρεμο",τον "τώρα το νιώθω το τσίμπημα αλλά μέχρι εκεί.." ΟΚ,τότε ειδικά θα το λατρέψετε..Άλλωστε,περί ορέξεως,ξέρετε τι λένε.. ;)
Θεωρώ πως περισσότερο αυτό το βιβλίο το σώζ��ι το νησί Έλαντ,όπου διαδραματίζεται το στόρυ,και η ίδια η Σουηδία με το χειμώνα της.Τρομερή βοήθεια το περιβάλλον στον αναμφισβήτητα ταλαντούχο συγγραφέα,που καταφέρνει να πλάσει ένα ιδιαίτερο background για το στόρυ του(και ατμοσφαιρικό,όπως είπαμε και παραπάνω).Αν η υπόθεση εκτυλισσόταν κάπου αλλού,σίγουρα θα έχανε αρκετά..
Την ιστορία την περίμενα λίγο πιο δυνατή,για να είμαι ειλικρινής.Οικογένεια μετακομίζει στην επαρχία,μητέρα πνίγεται ξαφνικά,πατέρας μένει πίσω έχοντας να αντιμετωπίσει το πένθος του,την ανατροφή των παιδιών,τα συναισθήματά του και κάποια φαντάσματα που ζουν στον αχυρώνα του.Μάλλον δε ζουν,αλλά εμφανίζονται κάθε τόσο,ιδίως τα Χριστούγεννα.Πολλές αναγνωστικές προσδοκίες,λίγη συγκριτικά ικανοποίηση.Ελάχιστες οι σελίδες με αναφορά στο υπερφυσικό,αρκετά δυνατή η μία και μοναδική σκηνή συνάντησής του με τα προαναφερθέντα φαντάσματα στον αχυρώνα,αλλά όχι αυτό που θα περίμενε ένας φαν ανάλογων ιστοριών με βάση τα όσα είχε διαβάσει για το βιβλίο,πριν διαβάσει το ίδιο το βιβλίο.Όχι τόσο δυνατή ώστε να σε κάνει να ανατριχιάσεις,αρχικά από ένστικτο με όσα διαβάζεις και στη συνέχεια από ικανοποίηση.
Δε θέλω σε καμία περίπτωση να πω πως δεν ήταν καλό ή πως με απογοήτευσε.Απλά όταν επιλέγεις ένα βιβλίο για κάποιο λόγο(στην προκειμένη,για να διαβάσεις για φαντάσματα)και τελικά διαβάζεις για 100 πράγματα,από τα οποία τα 10 μόνο αντιστοιχούν σε φαντάσματα,ε κάπως τόσο λίίίγο,απογοητεύεσαι.Είναι σα να σπρώχνουν συνέχεια προς το μέρος σου το κουτί με τη Μερέντα,αλλά πάντα την τελευταία στιγμή στο παίρνουν πίσω!Το βιβλίο αυτό είναι ωραιότατο,το συστήνω ανεπιφύλακτα,αλλά μην περιμένετε οι φαν του τρόμου να ικανοποιηθείτε τόόόόσο πολύ..Παίζει εντονότατα το αστυνομικό στοιχείο.Αρμονικά πλεγμένος ο συνδυασμός του,αλλά οπωσδήποτε όχι η ατμόσφαιρα που θα περίμενε κανείς από ένα βιβλίο που πλασαρίζεται ως τρόμου.
Από την άλλη,ο τρόμος έχει πολλά επίπεδα και πολλοί ίσως προτιμούν την ανεπαίσθητη χροιά του τρόμου,τον "ήρεμο",τον "τώρα το νιώθω το τσίμπημα αλλά μέχρι εκεί.." ΟΚ,τότε ειδικά θα το λατρέψετε..Άλλωστε,περί ορέξεως,ξέρετε τι λένε.. ;)
March 7, 2016
Για άλλη μια φορά μου άρεσε πολύ η γραφή του Theorin. Γράφει ωραία, μεστά, έχουν δομή οι ιστορίες του, ολοκληρωμένους χαρακτήρες, πλούσιες περιγραφές τοπίων και μια μελωδικότητα που τον ξεχωρίζει από τους άλλους συγγραφείς αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων. Μέσα σε όλα αυτά θα πρόσθετα και μια νότα μελαγχολίας που πηγάζει από τις ιστορίες του, τόσο εξαιτίας των καταστάσεων που αντιμετωπίζουν οι ήρωές του, όσο και λόγω του τοπίου το οποίο ενδείκνυται για ψυχοπλακωτικές περιγραφές.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο, όμως, πάει να κάνει μια ενδιαφέρουσα ανατροπή σε σχέση με το προηγούμενο: προσπαθεί να ενσωματώσει στοιχεία μεταφυσικού, κάνοντας την ιστορία πιο σκοτεινή και ζοφερή. Στα πρώτα κεφάλαια, μάλιστα, υπάρχουν σκηνές που πραγματικά σου δημιουργούν ένταση και κλειστοφοβική αίσθηση. Εντούτοις, αυτή η προσπάθειά του καταλήγει - εξαιτίας του ίδιου - στο κενό: γιατί από ένα σημείο και μετά μοιάζει ότι διχάζεται στο ποιόν δρόμο να ακολουθήσει, αυτόν του μεταφυσικού ή του αστυνομικού - και καταλήγει, προς λύπη μου, στο δεύτερο. Έτσι, όλη η μαγεία που δημιουργεί στα πρώτα κεφάλαια σβήνεται σιγά-σιγά με την εξέλιξη της ιστορίας μέχρι την τελική κατάληξή της, που είναι απολύτως ανθρώπινη (αν και εξαιρετικά δυνατή και έντονη).
Όχι ότι η ιστορία πάσχει κάπου ή ότι έχει κάποιο ψεγάδι! Όμως, όταν σου έχει δημιουργήσει κάποιες προσδοκίες και τελικά στις αφήνει ανεκπλήρωτες, σίγουρα επηρεάζει την προδιάθεσή σου προς το βιβλίο.
Επανερχόμενος στην εισαγωγή μου, το βιβλίο είναι πολύ καλό και ο συγγραφέας έχει πολλά να μας δώσει αν συνεχίσει σε αυτό το μοτίβο και εξελιχθεί περισσότερο. Διαβάστε το χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη. Αλλά μην περιμένετε μεταφυσικό τρόμο...(8/10)
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο, όμως, πάει να κάνει μια ενδιαφέρουσα ανατροπή σε σχέση με το προηγούμενο: προσπαθεί να ενσωματώσει στοιχεία μεταφυσικού, κάνοντας την ιστορία πιο σκοτεινή και ζοφερή. Στα πρώτα κεφάλαια, μάλιστα, υπάρχουν σκηνές που πραγματικά σου δημιουργούν ένταση και κλειστοφοβική αίσθηση. Εντούτοις, αυτή η προσπάθειά του καταλήγει - εξαιτίας του ίδιου - στο κενό: γιατί από ένα σημείο και μετά μοιάζει ότι διχάζεται στο ποιόν δρόμο να ακολουθήσει, αυτόν του μεταφυσικού ή του αστυνομικού - και καταλήγει, προς λύπη μου, στο δεύτερο. Έτσι, όλη η μαγεία που δημιουργεί στα πρώτα κεφάλαια σβήνεται σιγά-σιγά με την εξέλιξη της ιστορίας μέχρι την τελική κατάληξή της, που είναι απολύτως ανθρώπινη (αν και εξαιρετικά δυνατή και έντονη).
Όχι ότι η ιστορία πάσχει κάπου ή ότι έχει κάποιο ψεγάδι! Όμως, όταν σου έχει δημιουργήσει κάποιες προσδοκίες και τελικά στις αφήνει ανεκπλήρωτες, σίγουρα επηρεάζει την προδιάθεσή σου προς το βιβλίο.
Επανερχόμενος στην εισαγωγή μου, το βιβλίο είναι πολύ καλό και ο συγγραφέας έχει πολλά να μας δώσει αν συνεχίσει σε αυτό το μοτίβο και εξελιχθεί περισσότερο. Διαβάστε το χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη. Αλλά μην περιμένετε μεταφυσικό τρόμο...(8/10)
April 23, 2019
This is not a rational book but rather elemental in its theme, reflecting the unpredictability of nature situated as it is off the Baltic Sea. The characters are not driven by logic but are buffeted almost like flotsam by varying waves that follow no rules.
In still waters, our introduction to a young family in the process of relocating from Stockholm to their new manor house on island appears normal. Sudden death comes like a rogue wave. There is no understanding of how it could have happened. Life goes on though the dream is shattered.
More storm clouds gather and threaten with the appearance of criminals who latch on to a lonely young man and begin executing their robbery scheme ruled by a Ouija board.
Policing is scarce, but there is a brave young female cop who learns on the job and is there for the shoot out climax.
Communication with the dead is essential to the solution of the murder and is a thread throughout the book, not uncommon on a coast where ships have wrecked.
438 long pages- long because there are interruptions of backward time fill-ins providing history of the lighthouses and manor house at Eel Point. Organization of material is October through December with historical periods 1846, 1900, 1943, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1969. It is snail paced, but worth a read.
There are a few very colorful characters but for the most part the characters are cold, stilted and most definitely without humour. This is the main reason I award 4 stars rather than 5. It has a really rewarding conclusion, thank the ghosties!
In still waters, our introduction to a young family in the process of relocating from Stockholm to their new manor house on island appears normal. Sudden death comes like a rogue wave. There is no understanding of how it could have happened. Life goes on though the dream is shattered.
More storm clouds gather and threaten with the appearance of criminals who latch on to a lonely young man and begin executing their robbery scheme ruled by a Ouija board.
Policing is scarce, but there is a brave young female cop who learns on the job and is there for the shoot out climax.
Communication with the dead is essential to the solution of the murder and is a thread throughout the book, not uncommon on a coast where ships have wrecked.
438 long pages- long because there are interruptions of backward time fill-ins providing history of the lighthouses and manor house at Eel Point. Organization of material is October through December with historical periods 1846, 1900, 1943, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1969. It is snail paced, but worth a read.
There are a few very colorful characters but for the most part the characters are cold, stilted and most definitely without humour. This is the main reason I award 4 stars rather than 5. It has a really rewarding conclusion, thank the ghosties!
March 29, 2015
Muy buen libro secuela de El Cuarteto de Öland. Me gustó mucho. Un ingrediente que me cautivó es la estación en la que tiene lugar esta historia: el invierno. Adoro el frío desolador y seco, una contingencia más en una trama llena de secretos, misterios y leyendas.
Amé el final; no me lo vi venir de ninguna manera. Es un gran plot-twist que me sorprendió como pocos libros lo hicieron.
Amé el final; no me lo vi venir de ninguna manera. Es un gran plot-twist que me sorprendió como pocos libros lo hicieron.
January 31, 2011
I liked this book and would give it 4 stars. Personally I think the blurb on the cover is an exaggeration and does not do the story justice. It is not a frightening horror/crime story. It is an eerie believable ghost story about a house that was built from wood salvaged from a vessel wrecked of the Island in 1846. However this is no Hollywood type of sinister monster house.
It is the story of how Joakim and his children cope with the death of his sister and wife. Intertwined with details of the tragic deaths of men, women and children associated with the house. The house is like a church with a graveyard without the corpses and you can imagine the ghosts meeting each year on Christmas Eve in silent remembrance.
It is also a story about this Island and the terrifying Blizzards that occur. Snow mixed with sand driven by the wind from the baltic, so harsh that it can damage the eyes
I also liked the imagery -
"waves like slow breathes in the darkness" - describing the sea
"pale half moon behind a film of cloud as fine as silk"
It is the story of how Joakim and his children cope with the death of his sister and wife. Intertwined with details of the tragic deaths of men, women and children associated with the house. The house is like a church with a graveyard without the corpses and you can imagine the ghosts meeting each year on Christmas Eve in silent remembrance.
It is also a story about this Island and the terrifying Blizzards that occur. Snow mixed with sand driven by the wind from the baltic, so harsh that it can damage the eyes
I also liked the imagery -
"waves like slow breathes in the darkness" - describing the sea
"pale half moon behind a film of cloud as fine as silk"
January 4, 2017
I really don't understand why this book got so many good reviews here and on other sites. Maybe the translator did a bad job and spoiled the effect of the book (I read it in Russian)though I seriously doubt it.
First of all, this book is devoid of any features of a literary style. By this I mean - no metaphors, no stylistic devices, just a mere sequence of events given in the most trivial manner ever. And it's not Hemingway or Kafka, of course. OK, stylistic devices are not so important nowadays. But the whole plot is just...I can't find any other word than trivial: everybody has a dark story in their past, cold desolate islands are scary and full of ghosts, etc. You have seen it in a thousand of 'scary' movies where happens nothing but whispers and strange object movements until the character finds out that his or her house is an ancient grave or altar of some weird cult.
The ending was just hilarious - "I know, you killed Katrin" says Joakim to a character the least likely to kill her. It seems the author analyzed the list of the characters and chose the most insignificant and unmotivated to kill character. Speaking about Joakim - there must be something wrong with him. There is a term - 'hypothymia' - when a person can't experience any emotions. His grief is described in such a cliche manner! The author didn't even bother to give us any details about the characters - that is probably why Joakim thinks about his wife as a woman that doesn't have any specific features. She was an art teacher and used to wind a clock in their bedroom. That's all we know about her. The same is with the other characters - no details, no features of appearance, no hobbies, no particular likes or dislikes or specific manners. Only in memories of Katrin's mother (the only one character who has something specific about her) some former Oland inhabitants were peculiar.
It also seemed to me that Theorin wrote this book in a week or less and the only problem for him was not to make any fact mistakes. He always gives some proves for a goof-looking reader that he didn't forget anything. Well, he didn't but when he writes things like - 'She felt as if an ax was in her bag: other person's happiness depend on her'-it doesn't feel right.
What is also disappointing is the fact that the author could have done something better of the plot: such a great setting, two lighthouses, some references to the ancient Scandinavian religious traditions, weird nature: dense fog, peat-lands, storms, gales, etc. He might have used it properly and make a nice and scary (at least a bit scary) book. But - alas! - he failed at it.
First of all, this book is devoid of any features of a literary style. By this I mean - no metaphors, no stylistic devices, just a mere sequence of events given in the most trivial manner ever. And it's not Hemingway or Kafka, of course. OK, stylistic devices are not so important nowadays. But the whole plot is just...I can't find any other word than trivial: everybody has a dark story in their past, cold desolate islands are scary and full of ghosts, etc. You have seen it in a thousand of 'scary' movies where happens nothing but whispers and strange object movements until the character finds out that his or her house is an ancient grave or altar of some weird cult.
The ending was just hilarious - "I know, you killed Katrin" says Joakim to a character the least likely to kill her. It seems the author analyzed the list of the characters and chose the most insignificant and unmotivated to kill character. Speaking about Joakim - there must be something wrong with him. There is a term - 'hypothymia' - when a person can't experience any emotions. His grief is described in such a cliche manner! The author didn't even bother to give us any details about the characters - that is probably why Joakim thinks about his wife as a woman that doesn't have any specific features. She was an art teacher and used to wind a clock in their bedroom. That's all we know about her. The same is with the other characters - no details, no features of appearance, no hobbies, no particular likes or dislikes or specific manners. Only in memories of Katrin's mother (the only one character who has something specific about her) some former Oland inhabitants were peculiar.
It also seemed to me that Theorin wrote this book in a week or less and the only problem for him was not to make any fact mistakes. He always gives some proves for a goof-looking reader that he didn't forget anything. Well, he didn't but when he writes things like - 'She felt as if an ax was in her bag: other person's happiness depend on her'-it doesn't feel right.
What is also disappointing is the fact that the author could have done something better of the plot: such a great setting, two lighthouses, some references to the ancient Scandinavian religious traditions, weird nature: dense fog, peat-lands, storms, gales, etc. He might have used it properly and make a nice and scary (at least a bit scary) book. But - alas! - he failed at it.
April 11, 2019
A few days ago I was assuming that Jane Harper's superb The Lost Man would be the benchmark against which I'd compare the rest of my reading this year, but now, so soon, it has a rival in my affections. The irony is that Johan Theorin's The Darkest Room has been sitting on my nightstand for some years now, always being passed over at the last minute as I chose my next read.
Grr! When I think of how many lesser books I read when I could have been devouring this one . . .
From the outside, The Darkest Room looks like yet another Scandinoir, and in a sense this impression is perfectly accurate. I've read a fair number of Scandinoirs, of which some have been great, some have been good, some have been not so good, and some have been, um, differently good. Considering it purely as a Scandinoir, I'd rate The Darkest Room as quite possibly the most satisfying novel I've read in the genre; I'm having trouble thinking of one to rival it.
But the reason I like it so much is related, I'm sure, to the fact that, at the same time as it's a splendid exemplar of the Scandinoir genre, it doesn't really fit comfortably into the category. It's also, you see, a ghost story.
Let me qualify that.
Back in the 1990s, when John Clute and I were putting together The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, John created a whole bundle of new critical terms in order to better get a handle on the genre; that new vocabulary he devised is, I think, one of the book's greatest strengths. I contributed just a few new critical terms of my own -- a mere handful, at a guess. But one that I myself have found unfailingly useful since then is "fantasy of perception": the kind of fantasy in which the fantastication is rooted not in supernatural phenomena of some kind but in the perceptions of the characters. A novel like John Fowles's The Magus would seem a prime example of the fantasy of perception, in that you can if you want read it as a fantasy even at the same time as you know that any fantastication of reality that's going on is the product of the god-gaming (John's term!) that's underway.
Back to The Darkest Room. As I say, it's perfectly open to you to read this novel as a ghost story plain and simple, or as a ghost story with crime elements and what turns out to be a murder-mystery plot. For me, though, the spectral elements, if I can call them that, were born out of the perceptions of the central character, Joakim Westin, as his mind tried to make sense of the string of traumatic events he was being forced to experience, and the misplaced guilt he felt over some of them. (A few other characters, notably Henrik the thief, have lesser psychic encounters. The same argument applies to those.)
Now here's the thing: It didn't matter in the slightest to me that the creepy events I'm referring to seemed psychological rather than parapsychological in origin; they still got my pulse racing and, more to the point, they still drove along a plot as powerful as an irresistible river current. (Put it this way, if you can switch the light out immediately after your introduction to the hidden chapel of the dead, you're braver than I am.) I imagine that anyone who reads The Darkest Room as a ghost story will feel that same sensation: this is a tale that, once you've let yourself be caught up in it, simply refuses to let you go.
So, what's the story about?
Young couple Joakim and Katrine Westin come from Stockholm with their two small kids to live in a ramshackle old waterfront manor on the island of Öland, off mainland Sweden's southeast coast (or north coast, as it says in the blurb to my copy of the book). Many years ago, Katrine's semi-estranged mother Mirja, now a celebrated painter and singer, lived here, and she warned the young couple against following suit. There's a certain creepiness about the place, but nothing prepares for the dreadful day when Katrine is drowned in the water between the house and the two historic lighthouses on islands just off the shore. Everyone assumes the death is an accident except Joakim, purely for gut-instinct reasons, and, after a while, Tilda Davidsson, a junior cop new to the area, whose elderly relative Gerlof notices the detail others have missed that indicates a murder has indeed been committed.
The eventual solution of that murder mystery is supremely well handled. The irony is that, through the vast majority of the book, it's easy not to realize that this particular plot-strand is even there.
Meanwhile a reluctant thief, Henrik, has been swept up by two far more ruthless criminals, Tommy and Freddy, with the aim of pillaging the homes up and down Öland. The last place they plan to hit is the manor at Eel Point, the home now of Joakim Westin and his two little ones . . .
I've missed out a heck of a lot of plot here (including all the supernatural/"supernatural" elements). This is quite a long book, and at any one moment there are multiple narratives to occupy you -- not only are we following Joakim, Tilda, Henrik and Gerlof, we're taking glimpses into the tragedy-laden history of the Eel Point manor.
To repeat, this is quite a long book. I read it in a couple of days, snatching time away when I could from my work and from a certain amount of obligatory convalescence. It seized me that firmly, and I enjoyed it that much. I now have everything else Theorin has written (and that has been translated) on order from my library at staggered intervals over the next few months.
Like I say, this book has been sitting unread on my nightstand for a matter of years. How very foolish I can be in my ignorance . . .
Grr! When I think of how many lesser books I read when I could have been devouring this one . . .
From the outside, The Darkest Room looks like yet another Scandinoir, and in a sense this impression is perfectly accurate. I've read a fair number of Scandinoirs, of which some have been great, some have been good, some have been not so good, and some have been, um, differently good. Considering it purely as a Scandinoir, I'd rate The Darkest Room as quite possibly the most satisfying novel I've read in the genre; I'm having trouble thinking of one to rival it.
But the reason I like it so much is related, I'm sure, to the fact that, at the same time as it's a splendid exemplar of the Scandinoir genre, it doesn't really fit comfortably into the category. It's also, you see, a ghost story.
Let me qualify that.
Back in the 1990s, when John Clute and I were putting together The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, John created a whole bundle of new critical terms in order to better get a handle on the genre; that new vocabulary he devised is, I think, one of the book's greatest strengths. I contributed just a few new critical terms of my own -- a mere handful, at a guess. But one that I myself have found unfailingly useful since then is "fantasy of perception": the kind of fantasy in which the fantastication is rooted not in supernatural phenomena of some kind but in the perceptions of the characters. A novel like John Fowles's The Magus would seem a prime example of the fantasy of perception, in that you can if you want read it as a fantasy even at the same time as you know that any fantastication of reality that's going on is the product of the god-gaming (John's term!) that's underway.
Back to The Darkest Room. As I say, it's perfectly open to you to read this novel as a ghost story plain and simple, or as a ghost story with crime elements and what turns out to be a murder-mystery plot. For me, though, the spectral elements, if I can call them that, were born out of the perceptions of the central character, Joakim Westin, as his mind tried to make sense of the string of traumatic events he was being forced to experience, and the misplaced guilt he felt over some of them. (A few other characters, notably Henrik the thief, have lesser psychic encounters. The same argument applies to those.)
Now here's the thing: It didn't matter in the slightest to me that the creepy events I'm referring to seemed psychological rather than parapsychological in origin; they still got my pulse racing and, more to the point, they still drove along a plot as powerful as an irresistible river current. (Put it this way, if you can switch the light out immediately after your introduction to the hidden chapel of the dead, you're braver than I am.) I imagine that anyone who reads The Darkest Room as a ghost story will feel that same sensation: this is a tale that, once you've let yourself be caught up in it, simply refuses to let you go.
So, what's the story about?
Young couple Joakim and Katrine Westin come from Stockholm with their two small kids to live in a ramshackle old waterfront manor on the island of Öland, off mainland Sweden's southeast coast (or north coast, as it says in the blurb to my copy of the book). Many years ago, Katrine's semi-estranged mother Mirja, now a celebrated painter and singer, lived here, and she warned the young couple against following suit. There's a certain creepiness about the place, but nothing prepares for the dreadful day when Katrine is drowned in the water between the house and the two historic lighthouses on islands just off the shore. Everyone assumes the death is an accident except Joakim, purely for gut-instinct reasons, and, after a while, Tilda Davidsson, a junior cop new to the area, whose elderly relative Gerlof notices the detail others have missed that indicates a murder has indeed been committed.
The eventual solution of that murder mystery is supremely well handled. The irony is that, through the vast majority of the book, it's easy not to realize that this particular plot-strand is even there.
Meanwhile a reluctant thief, Henrik, has been swept up by two far more ruthless criminals, Tommy and Freddy, with the aim of pillaging the homes up and down Öland. The last place they plan to hit is the manor at Eel Point, the home now of Joakim Westin and his two little ones . . .
I've missed out a heck of a lot of plot here (including all the supernatural/"supernatural" elements). This is quite a long book, and at any one moment there are multiple narratives to occupy you -- not only are we following Joakim, Tilda, Henrik and Gerlof, we're taking glimpses into the tragedy-laden history of the Eel Point manor.
To repeat, this is quite a long book. I read it in a couple of days, snatching time away when I could from my work and from a certain amount of obligatory convalescence. It seized me that firmly, and I enjoyed it that much. I now have everything else Theorin has written (and that has been translated) on order from my library at staggered intervals over the next few months.
Like I say, this book has been sitting unread on my nightstand for a matter of years. How very foolish I can be in my ignorance . . .
December 12, 2014
Theorin has captured the bleak and frozen winters of Olan, an island off the coast of Sweden, not only in his descriptions, which blend seamlessly into the story, but also in the content of the narrative. The darkness and oppressiveness of the plot are enhanced by his descriptions of the setting. Add to this his skill at weaving a plot that defies prediction, as well as multiple clever twists, and you have a highly entertaining novel which has you gasping and even laughing at his writing skill. Looking for riveting reading? Read Theorin. A mystery, thriller, family saga and testimonial to an otherwise unknown part of the world. Can't wait to read book 3 and 4 of his Oland quartet. I hope they are available in the English translation. Otherwise I may have to learn Swedish, German or Spanish.
June 26, 2019
Tego una sensación extraña con los 2 libros que he leído de este autor. A pesar de lo lentos que se desarrollan, son interesantes. Este me gustó mucho más que el primero. En especial la intriga y las supersticiones entre las historias del pasado y del presente. Los toques de misterio y hechos sobrenaturales con fantasmas incluídos son la dosis justa para una cobarde como yo. Igual que el anterior, llega un punto en que toma velocidad y la trama se torna ágil e imprevisible, lo que me gusta, que terminen sorprendiédome, al punto que ya comencé el tercero, La marca de sangre.
July 2, 2010
The manor house at Eel Point, on the Swedish island of Öland, has had a dark reputation ever since it was built using salvage from a shipwreck. There have been a number of deaths associated with the place over the years, and the latest happens shortly after Joakim Westin moves in there with his family – his wife Katrine drowns, apparently accidentally. A young police officer named Tilda Davidsson looks into events, and starts to wonder if Katrine’s death really was all that accidental – whilst Joakim’s subsequent experiences might well lead him to wonder if the tales of the house’s being haunted have some truth to them.
The Darkest Room is Johan Theorin’s second novel set on Öland (both translated into English by Marlaine Delargy), and it has certainly made me interested in going back to check out his first, Echoes from the Dead. On the downside, I don’t find the prose to be quite as atmospheric as I think the story needs it to be, such that the details of what happens worked more to spur me on through the book than did particular turns of phrase – but those details are quite enough to make for a worthwhile read.
I particularly appreciate the way Theorin uses the investigation into Katrine’s death to illuminate character: Tilda has been dumped by the man with whom she was having an affair, and deals with it by throwing herself into her work, trying to establish a rational explanation for events. Joakim, on the other hand, is having to cope both with his grief at losing Katrine, and with trying to explain to his children that their mummy isn’t coming back; and he starts to take a kind of refuge in the possible supernatural explanations for the voices and other strange occurrences about the house.
Theorin also creates some memorable secondary characters, such as Mirje, Katrine’s flamboyant artist mother, and Tilda’s sprightly great-uncle Gerlof, with his tales of the past. The ending ties up the threads of the plot enough to be satisfactory, but leaves enough dangling to leave one mulling certain things over. Yep, I’d say The Darkest Room was a good read.
The Darkest Room is Johan Theorin’s second novel set on Öland (both translated into English by Marlaine Delargy), and it has certainly made me interested in going back to check out his first, Echoes from the Dead. On the downside, I don’t find the prose to be quite as atmospheric as I think the story needs it to be, such that the details of what happens worked more to spur me on through the book than did particular turns of phrase – but those details are quite enough to make for a worthwhile read.
I particularly appreciate the way Theorin uses the investigation into Katrine’s death to illuminate character: Tilda has been dumped by the man with whom she was having an affair, and deals with it by throwing herself into her work, trying to establish a rational explanation for events. Joakim, on the other hand, is having to cope both with his grief at losing Katrine, and with trying to explain to his children that their mummy isn’t coming back; and he starts to take a kind of refuge in the possible supernatural explanations for the voices and other strange occurrences about the house.
Theorin also creates some memorable secondary characters, such as Mirje, Katrine’s flamboyant artist mother, and Tilda’s sprightly great-uncle Gerlof, with his tales of the past. The ending ties up the threads of the plot enough to be satisfactory, but leaves enough dangling to leave one mulling certain things over. Yep, I’d say The Darkest Room was a good read.
January 31, 2012
I have read Theorin's first book which had a depth of character and history that I really enjoyed. I have also recently read Chris Bohjalian's "The Night Strangers" which I hated. This book is what Bohjalian was trying to accomplish and didn't. This was an extremely well-written mystery that was also a ghost story. An old manor by the sea, inhabited for many years by those who kept up the lighthouses on the coast, is the setting for an accident that is eventually deemed a murder. Add to the narrative the history of the manor and the people who have died there, and you have murderers, ghosts, and suspense to satisfy any reader.
I believe one of the aspects that makes Theorin’s books so compelling are in-depth study of the characters – what makes them think, feel, and act the way they do. There are no stereotypes, only characters that are extremely human. In this book, we not only meet characters with depth, but ghosts who were relatives and friends and who are missed. This makes a powerful accompaniment to the basic storyline.
My only complaint with Theorin’s work so far is that his books are not translated fast enough. I can hardly wait for the third and fourth books in the Oland series, currently available abroad but not yet in the US.
I believe one of the aspects that makes Theorin’s books so compelling are in-depth study of the characters – what makes them think, feel, and act the way they do. There are no stereotypes, only characters that are extremely human. In this book, we not only meet characters with depth, but ghosts who were relatives and friends and who are missed. This makes a powerful accompaniment to the basic storyline.
My only complaint with Theorin’s work so far is that his books are not translated fast enough. I can hardly wait for the third and fourth books in the Oland series, currently available abroad but not yet in the US.
October 17, 2015
Ωραίο βιβλίο με ωραία πλοκή. Αλλά κάπου με απογοήτευσε. Δεν ήταν η ιστορία που νόμιζα πως θα διαβάσω, αυτό που περίμενα. Ήταν η εξιχνίαση κάποιων φόνων και κυρίως η συναισθηματική και ψυχολογική κατάπτωση ενός άντρα και το βαρύ του πένθος. Βέβαια υπήρχε μια απειλή στην ιστορία που όσο το διάβαζα μεγάλωνε αλλά ως εκεί. Εγώ ήθελα φαντάσματα!! πολλά φαντάσματα!!
November 28, 2017
Ατμοσφαιρικό, αρκετά σκοτεινό (έπρεπε να δικαιολογηθεί και ο τίτλος) και αν μη τι άλλο ανατρεπτικό ως προς την εξέλιξη. Αφήνει πάντως αρκετά αναπάντητα ερωτήματα, δεν ξέρω αν υπάρχει συνέχεια της ιστορίας σε άλλο βιβλίο.
February 5, 2012
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Johan Theorin's Swedish supernatural thriller read by Nigel Cooke.
Johan Theorin's Swedish supernatural thriller read by Nigel Cooke.
October 18, 2013
"That's what we will all be one day. Memories and ghosts". Thus ends Johan Theorin's 'The Darkest Room' and it perfectly encapsulates the dilemma of the main character in the book and also of us readers. Throughout the novel and even at the end both cannot come to a conclusion as to whether there was actually any supernatural activity involved in the events that are described. Purists who either expect a typical crime fiction or a novel with explicit supernatural overtones would be disappointed, a little heads up for you to keep your mind open.
Joakim and Katrine have moved to an old manor house (Eel Point) in the Swedish island of Oland with their 2 kids. There are some vague hints thrown about some family tragedy that occured about and year ago and also about Katrine's history with Oland both of which are not explained in detail. Could they be relevant to the story? Soon after, Kartine dies in what is termed as a drowning accident and the core events of the novel are set in motion.
Following in the tradition of Scandinavian crime fiction, Johan focuses more on the characters, bringing out the pain of loss and the unhinging it may cause. Livia, Joakim's daughter has habit of talking in sleep and after her mother's death she says things to the effect that Katrine is outside the home and waiting to come in. Joakim initially seems to dismiss it as a kid's fantasy but seems to slowly start believing in it. This is brought out particularly well. Initially when Joakim sleeps with Katrine's dress it seems as a way of numbing the pain. Then he starts asking Livia as to what she sees outside the house, what her mother is saying. But when he then purchases a Christmas present for Katrine, it is then you know that he is going too far down a path from which there is no return.
Interleaved into the main narrative are 2 parallel narrative threads involving a trio of house-breakers and Tilda a policewoman who has personal problems of her own. Also in the mix is a series of vignettes from the life of people who lived in 'Eel Point' in the past. Though we do not know whether these vignettes are true, they do add a sense of foreboding.Whether it is a case of too much memories or ghosts, both cannot do much good. Johan takes his time unfolding his story, alternating between the various strands. There are also the standard set pieces one can see/read in works involving the supernatural, like the barn door always getting open even though Joakim closes it (is it an invitation for him to explore it?), Joakim suddenly missing the kids, searching frantically for them everywhere and finally finding them at their bedroom, the legends about the dead coming back on Christmas eve to have their own mass etc.
Thought nothing much happens for about 3 quarters of the novel, other than vague hints about dark things to come, Johan ensures that it doesn't get boring or repetitive with both this characterization and also by his masterful evocation of Oland and Eel point. This is a very atmospheric novel, where the landscape/climate become an integral part of the narrative without us even noticing it. The landscapes and the manor are at times beautifully desolate, sometimes forbidding and sometimes downright scary. One can almost hear the groans of the memories (or ghosts?) of the people who lived in Eel point waiting to get out. By far this is the most atmospheric of all Scandinavian crime fiction that I have read (just about edging 'Arnaldur Indridason').
Towards the end there is a bit of looseness when Johan ties up the major threads on the night of Christmas eve (when the blizzard hits the island). The issue is not that it seems forced to resolve everything on a single night (which of course requires a certain suspension of disbelief), but that a couple of resolutions are quite predictable, you can guess them even as the final events start to unfold. But as a set piece, the events in the blizzard are quite good, with particularly Joakim's experience having an hallucinatory feel about it. There is actually a solution to the core mystery (with a final confrontation that seems have been put in to give at-least some measure of closure to Joakim), but an ambiguity remains in how did Joakim arrive at it. This ensures that the ending doesn't betray what the novel stood for from the beginning.
So is this crime fiction or a supernatural story? One could argue both ways and both could be correct as per the individual view point, but that wouldn't be sufficient to try to make sense of the novel. 'The Darkest' room doesn't just refer to a room in the manor, it also refers to a part in us (am reminded a bit of Denise Mina's 'Sanctum') where all our memories get accumulated. Some like Tilda's grandfather and Katrine's mother treat those memories as 'Ghosts' (for both of them, ghosts are always around us and talking to ghosts is no big thing) which is one way of dealing with them.
Johan's works seem to be standalone novels so there seems to be no chance to read further about Joakim, but I would be/am very interested to see how Joakim carries on with his life. Though Joakim can't completely decide one way or other at the end of the novel, I suspect that if we (Johan) continue to follow Joakim, we could see him start to completely believe in ghosts. For, that seems to be the only way to alleviate a bit of the pain caused by loss and memories.
This is the only book of Johan that I have read, so am not sure about the quality of his oeuvre. But but based on this novel, I would say that he is a worthy descendant of the Scandinavian masters. Give this book a read.
Joakim and Katrine have moved to an old manor house (Eel Point) in the Swedish island of Oland with their 2 kids. There are some vague hints thrown about some family tragedy that occured about and year ago and also about Katrine's history with Oland both of which are not explained in detail. Could they be relevant to the story? Soon after, Kartine dies in what is termed as a drowning accident and the core events of the novel are set in motion.
Following in the tradition of Scandinavian crime fiction, Johan focuses more on the characters, bringing out the pain of loss and the unhinging it may cause. Livia, Joakim's daughter has habit of talking in sleep and after her mother's death she says things to the effect that Katrine is outside the home and waiting to come in. Joakim initially seems to dismiss it as a kid's fantasy but seems to slowly start believing in it. This is brought out particularly well. Initially when Joakim sleeps with Katrine's dress it seems as a way of numbing the pain. Then he starts asking Livia as to what she sees outside the house, what her mother is saying. But when he then purchases a Christmas present for Katrine, it is then you know that he is going too far down a path from which there is no return.
Interleaved into the main narrative are 2 parallel narrative threads involving a trio of house-breakers and Tilda a policewoman who has personal problems of her own. Also in the mix is a series of vignettes from the life of people who lived in 'Eel Point' in the past. Though we do not know whether these vignettes are true, they do add a sense of foreboding.Whether it is a case of too much memories or ghosts, both cannot do much good. Johan takes his time unfolding his story, alternating between the various strands. There are also the standard set pieces one can see/read in works involving the supernatural, like the barn door always getting open even though Joakim closes it (is it an invitation for him to explore it?), Joakim suddenly missing the kids, searching frantically for them everywhere and finally finding them at their bedroom, the legends about the dead coming back on Christmas eve to have their own mass etc.
Thought nothing much happens for about 3 quarters of the novel, other than vague hints about dark things to come, Johan ensures that it doesn't get boring or repetitive with both this characterization and also by his masterful evocation of Oland and Eel point. This is a very atmospheric novel, where the landscape/climate become an integral part of the narrative without us even noticing it. The landscapes and the manor are at times beautifully desolate, sometimes forbidding and sometimes downright scary. One can almost hear the groans of the memories (or ghosts?) of the people who lived in Eel point waiting to get out. By far this is the most atmospheric of all Scandinavian crime fiction that I have read (just about edging 'Arnaldur Indridason').
Towards the end there is a bit of looseness when Johan ties up the major threads on the night of Christmas eve (when the blizzard hits the island). The issue is not that it seems forced to resolve everything on a single night (which of course requires a certain suspension of disbelief), but that a couple of resolutions are quite predictable, you can guess them even as the final events start to unfold. But as a set piece, the events in the blizzard are quite good, with particularly Joakim's experience having an hallucinatory feel about it. There is actually a solution to the core mystery (with a final confrontation that seems have been put in to give at-least some measure of closure to Joakim), but an ambiguity remains in how did Joakim arrive at it. This ensures that the ending doesn't betray what the novel stood for from the beginning.
So is this crime fiction or a supernatural story? One could argue both ways and both could be correct as per the individual view point, but that wouldn't be sufficient to try to make sense of the novel. 'The Darkest' room doesn't just refer to a room in the manor, it also refers to a part in us (am reminded a bit of Denise Mina's 'Sanctum') where all our memories get accumulated. Some like Tilda's grandfather and Katrine's mother treat those memories as 'Ghosts' (for both of them, ghosts are always around us and talking to ghosts is no big thing) which is one way of dealing with them.
Johan's works seem to be standalone novels so there seems to be no chance to read further about Joakim, but I would be/am very interested to see how Joakim carries on with his life. Though Joakim can't completely decide one way or other at the end of the novel, I suspect that if we (Johan) continue to follow Joakim, we could see him start to completely believe in ghosts. For, that seems to be the only way to alleviate a bit of the pain caused by loss and memories.
This is the only book of Johan that I have read, so am not sure about the quality of his oeuvre. But but based on this novel, I would say that he is a worthy descendant of the Scandinavian masters. Give this book a read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2023
A tak se stalo, a já se do příběhů od Johana Theorina, zamilovala. Spojení promyšlené, a skvěle zpracované detektivní linky, s trochou toho tajemna, a atmosférou odlehlých částí, mořem a sněhem bičovaného ostrova, totiž není vůbec těžké propadnout. Kvalitní příběh, sympatické postavy, které nejsou ze své podstaty ani bílé, ani černé, ale o to víc lidské, síla přírody a živlů, dávná i současná tajemství, temná a tíživá atmosféra. Toto všechno Johan Theorin, ve svých knihách, čtenáři předkládá. A přidává, mnohdy i něco navíc.
Už se moc těším, na další díl série.
Už se moc těším, na další díl série.
November 11, 2018
4,5 Sterne
Das war schön schaurig - ideal für düstere November-Abende. Im letzten Drittel konnte ich gar nicht mehr aufhören zu lesen.
Ich suche übrigens dringend nach mehr Autoren wie Theorin oder Yrsa Sigurdardottir, vorzugsweise ebenfalls skandinavisch, die Krimis mit übersinnlich-grusligem Einschlag schreiben. Wenn da also noch jemand Empfehlungen für mich hat?!
Das war schön schaurig - ideal für düstere November-Abende. Im letzten Drittel konnte ich gar nicht mehr aufhören zu lesen.
Ich suche übrigens dringend nach mehr Autoren wie Theorin oder Yrsa Sigurdardottir, vorzugsweise ebenfalls skandinavisch, die Krimis mit übersinnlich-grusligem Einschlag schreiben. Wenn da also noch jemand Empfehlungen für mich hat?!
February 5, 2022
Theorins fristående uppföljare till Skumtimmen är bättre på de mesta. Precis som Skumtimmen så beskrivs Nattfåk som en kriminalroman men det polisiära är det sekundära. Theorin blandar folktro, sorg och ond bråd död i en väldigt tillfredställande blandning. I grund och botten är Nattfåk en spökhistoria med en riktigt bra atmosfär. Den är stämningsfull och du kan riktigt känna den bitande kylan och kaoset som uppstår när fåken drar in över Ölands karga landskap.
October 14, 2009
I haven't read a ghost story as good as this one in a very long time and maybe ever.
This book is set in Sweden in a manor house on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Two lighthouses are also on the shore not too far from the house.
Joakim and Katrine Westin and their young son and daughter have just moved into a big old long-neglected house with the intentions of remodeling it. However, "there are things that cannot be repaired, lives that have gone wrong, and secrets that have followed them."
Within a few months Katrine is found dead in the water not far from the shore of the Baltic Sea. Joakim is sure Katrine was murdered but can't believe someone hates her enough to kill her.
Does the young daughter really see her dead Mother at night? Are there ghosts in the secret room in the old barn and is Katrine one of them? What happened to Joakim's sister? Why is the sister's jacket in the secret room? Do ghosts of the dead gather in the secret room and sit on the benches?
Questions and more questions build at a fast pace. More crimes are committed and the plot races to its surprising and violent ending during a blinding blizzard.
The subplots in this book are as good as the main plot. Each character comes alive on the page.
This book is a debut novel translated from the original Swedish language. It has won many awards and I can't recommend it highly enough.
This book is set in Sweden in a manor house on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Two lighthouses are also on the shore not too far from the house.
Joakim and Katrine Westin and their young son and daughter have just moved into a big old long-neglected house with the intentions of remodeling it. However, "there are things that cannot be repaired, lives that have gone wrong, and secrets that have followed them."
Within a few months Katrine is found dead in the water not far from the shore of the Baltic Sea. Joakim is sure Katrine was murdered but can't believe someone hates her enough to kill her.
Does the young daughter really see her dead Mother at night? Are there ghosts in the secret room in the old barn and is Katrine one of them? What happened to Joakim's sister? Why is the sister's jacket in the secret room? Do ghosts of the dead gather in the secret room and sit on the benches?
Questions and more questions build at a fast pace. More crimes are committed and the plot races to its surprising and violent ending during a blinding blizzard.
The subplots in this book are as good as the main plot. Each character comes alive on the page.
This book is a debut novel translated from the original Swedish language. It has won many awards and I can't recommend it highly enough.
May 19, 2012
Først leste jeg "Blodläge" - på svensk - og etterpå de to foregående, "Skumringstimmen" og "Nattefokk". Jeg liker virkelig Theorins måte å skrive på. Ølands landskap, sommergjestene, de permanentboende - alt sammen føles så nært og så virkelig. Theorin har gjerne overnaturlige element i sine bøker, som til slutt pleier å vise seg å ha naturlige årsaker. En uvanlig kriminalroman, hvor selve saken ikke nødvendigvis føles som kjernen, og ofte tar baksetet. For hovedpersonen er Øland, og karakterene øya formet.
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