The Man from Beijing

By: Henning Mankell, Laurie Thompson - translator

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

The acclaimed author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries, writing at the height of his powers, now gives us an electrifying stand-alone global thriller.

January 2006. In the Swedish hamlet of Hesjvallen, nineteen people have been massacred. The only clue is a red ribbon found at the scene.

Judge Birgitta Roslin has particular reason to be shocked: Her grandparents, the Andrns, are among the victims, and Birgitta soon learns that an Andrn family in Nevada has also been murdered. She then discovers the 19th-century diary of an Andrn ancestora gang master on the American transcontinental railwaythat describes brutal treatment of Chinese slave workers. The police insist that only a lunatic could have committed the Hesjvallen murders, but Birgitta is determined to uncover what she now suspects is a more complicated truth.

The investigation leads to the highest echelons of power in present-day Beijing, and to Zimbabwe and Mozambique. But the narrative also takes us back 150 years into the depths of the slave trade between China and the United Statesa history that will ensnare Birgitta as she draws ever closer to solving the Hesjvallen murders.

©2010 Henning Mankell (P)2010 Random House

a different spin

Different from the Kurt Wallander series but still a good listen. It's good to know the author is still writing, he must have had some experience with the Chinese to come up with this one. Like the Wallander books, this one seems to plod along at time but in the end a good story is woven. I did enjoy the Chinese perspective.

really bad narration ruins this book

I have read the print CV opt of this book and it is a good story, but this audible version absolutely ruins it. the accents are so phony they are painful to the ear. the narrator would have fared much better if she had used her natural accent, instead of the crash accent she put on to narrate the conversations

Excellent female characters

I love how the female character is always the most predominant, in each couple described the companion was left as an unaccomplished, unfulfilled being, whilst the women were (for lack of a better phrase) kicking ass, that was a refreshing read when you’re accustomed to always have a predominant male ruling the storyline.

Very Good Listening

I couldn't stop listening to this book. It was very good. Once again, it was adventurous, some historical content, and just all around enjoyable. I learned about a people who were not treated the best upon entering this country. In fact they were not treated to well in there country. It was interesting to learn their perspective about our customs and culture. I really enjoyed the book and have listened to it two times already.

complex story

loved it and I had it on audible so it lasted for a road trip. complex story with a history

Insightful Look into a Crime in a Socialist World

I listened to the audiobook version of this story. I don't normally listen to audiobooks, but I recommend this one!

The possibility exists that this book is controversial. As an American, it is surreal almost how disparagingly the book presents capitalism, and how much positive things are said constantly about Mao of China and his communist revolution. I personally am a socialist, so I found it incredibly refreshing to hear about these things without the filter of coming from the mouth of capitalism--but I am almost positive that some people uncomfortable with socialism, communism, and China will find this book takes them outside of their comfort zone.

The story is both a mystery and a bit of a political thriller. You constantly have to deal with a main character who frustratingly never wants to share anything with anybody. But she makes up for it in other ways. From her never ending pursuit of the truth to her keen eye for the smallest detail, the main character is a treat to follow. The other characters are great too!

The story will bounce around here and there to different people's perspectives and even different countries. It can be difficult when you don't know the new characters, but you get used to it.

The narrator makes some great Swedish and Chinese accents! I never thought I would learn to love the Swedish accent, but I do now.

Mankell's pawns

The book never quite makes up its mind whether it wants to be a mystery or an historical novel or a lesson in latter day socialism. As a result the mystery, gripping and involving at first, is never actually "solved," at least not by the main character. In fact, since the central motivation and players in the crime are revealed to the reader by the midpoint of the book, there really IS no mystery for the last half. The historical novel, probably the most interesting part of the work, is nested in the middle of the story, beginning and ending abruptly and without satisfying integration. And the analysis of Chinese socialism, sometimes insightful, finally reduces to a kind of unconvincing rehabilitation of Mao as the wise old man.

Mankell is a wonderful observer of detail and he does a fine job of revealing the inner turmoil in lives which seem humdrum on the surface. Unfortunately that is not enough to produce a satisfying book (of any of the three possible genres).

As a resident in Beijing for several years now, I appreciated the author's evocation of the city and it's often Byzantine mixtures of courtesy, political deviousness, and concealed influence. I would, however, hate for anyone to read this book and trust the impression of China which they carry away from it.

Finally, Mankell seems often to write characters which are inept, making obviously poor choices. In this case, I found it vexing that neither of the central, female character's was ever allowed to do anything effectual in her own defense. They were pawns moved around the board to achieve the author's ends.

Too Much!

It was too much world and too much time to travel to and from. I was waiting for some good detective work to come in to play, but it didn't happen. Sorry, a reader for sure, but don't look for consistancy here.

Worth a Read or Listen

Okay -- it does slow down in parts and it does tend to the pedantic. However, I will definitely read or listen to this author again. I learned a lot and though the mystery isn't that much of a mystery, how it is unraveled is worth the read. Give it a go!

long and boring

I read all of Henning Mankell's books and loved Wallender, but this book was just too long and boring. Is Mankell running out of steam? The story seemed to wander around and it was hard to keep interested.