Paradise by
Lisa Marklund
pbk out August 04
(Pocket Books)
at £6.99
"Related Search: Henning Mankell" suggested Amazon, when I was checking on Liza
Marklund's back catalogue for this review. And therein lies Marklund's problem. Her
books The Bomber, Studio 69 for example, come on like big international airport
thrillers, but secretly she'd like to be Henning Mankell. Paradise is little different. Two brutal murders in Stockholm's international
container port, an un-named woman on the run from a cunning assassin, hints of
Serbian criminal gangs, a new force in European crime. Peripherally involved is a
younger Annika Bengtzon (pre-The Bomber anyway), employed, against opposition,
by a manager within Kvällpressen, a Swedish tabloid, but now benched as part of the
fallout from her self-protective killing of her abusive boyfriend. Then a more
promising story comes along: a woman wanting publicity for an organisation with 'a
new way to protect people whose lives are threatened.' Let's ignore the self-defeating
nature of this notion, but recognise why it should appeal to the young Annika, her
'undeniable passion for justice' (as her employer recognises) still relatively
unquenched. Especially when, soon after, woman-on-the-run contacts her also.
The stage is set for a fast-moving thriller, taking us deep into new and (it has to
be said) fashionable waters. What we get is something rather different. Paradise picks
up on a theme present is all three of the novels published over here: the abuse of
women by men, key of course to the proposed organisation. To this end also,
irrelevantly at first, we are introduced to social worker Thomas Samuelsson and his
more high-powered wife, undergoing marital difficulties as their respective careers
conflict. Later on (and mainly Mankell), Annika's grandmother, a key figure in
dealing with Annika's own post-manslaughter trauma, herself suffers a stroke,
provoking a well-drawn conflict in the family. Marklund is excellent too as she
continues her fine portrait of the stresses and strains within a major newspaper
(technophobes will rejoice in the news that ISDN stands for "It Sends Damned
Nothing'!). Note however that tabloid news in Sweden is clearly a more decorous
affair than in its English equivalents.
Some good writing then. But however smoothly translated by Ingrid Eng-
Rundlow, somehow the many narrative strands (some pretentious philosophising from
what we take to be the chief villain strike a particularly false note) never quite build
up the momentum to cohere into a functioning whole. And when the final pieces of
the puzzle slot into place, the hoped-for resonance of the ending is lacking.
Still, an epilogue to go: time for a bit more Mankell. Nothing wrong with that;
it's just that it sits a little uneasily with the rest.
Paradise by
Lisa Marklund
