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A Treacherous Paradise (2011)

by Henning Mankell

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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5332044,958 (3.5)9
Cold and poverty define Hanna Renstrom's childhood in remote northern Sweden, and in 1905, at nineteen, she boards a ship for Australia in hope of a better life. But none of her hopes--or fears--prepares her for the life she will lead. After two brief marriages, she finds herself a widow twice over, and the owner of a bordello in Portuguese East Africa, a world where colonialism and white supremacy rule, where she is isolated within society by her profession and her sex, and, among the bordello's black prostitutes, by her color. As Hanna's story unfurls over the next several years, we watch her in this "treacherous paradise," as she wrestles with a constant, wrenching loneliness and with the racism she's meant to unthinkingly adopt. And as her life becomes increasingly intertwined with the prostitutes, she moves inexorably toward the moment when she will make a decision that defies every expectation society has of her, and, more important, those she has of herself.… (more)
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English (15)  Italian (3)  Spanish (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (20)
Showing 1-5 of 15 (next | show all)
Every time! Reviews: "unlikable flat tone." Me: "Ooh I like this writing."

Anyway this was interesting, and not quite what I expected. There are some moments of difficult shifts in perspective and understanding that make it all worthwhile. ( )
  Kiramke | Jun 27, 2023 |
A strange story, it is fiction but it could be partly true. Full of themes of good and evil, belonging loneliness and personal choices. ( )
  MMc009 | Jan 30, 2022 |
An impoverished Swedish girl through various turns of events finds herself in west Africa recovering in a brothel she eventually owns. I struggled to connect with the main character. And the story felt too contrived. ( )
  KarenMonsen | Jun 24, 2018 |
Quando era ancora possibile lasciarsi scoprire dal tempo

Hanna non conosce nulla del mondo. E' giovane, vive in un paese povero, conosce solo il freddo e non ha sogni. Si lascia condurre, lascia che altri la mettano su una strada che non sa dove la porterà, ma si affida. E' ancora il tempo delle navi a vapore, delle traversate di mesi dove un pezzo di vita si svolge in un non luogo, un sogno liquido fatto di sale e settimane che scorrono lente senza un riferimento, nel blu totale. Poi a un tratto le cose si definiscono e sembrano prendere una piega decisa. Ma è un'illusione, non dura. E' solo a un certo punto che Hanna sente dentro di sè un'inquietudine, la necessità di prendere in mano la sua vita. Sbarca dalla nave prima di giungere a destinazione e si ferma in Africa, Mozambico. E' qui che la sua vita assumerà dei contorni inimmaginabili. Romanzo bellissimo, pieno di sensazioni, di conquiste, di solitudine ma anche di grande sensibilità e umanità. Hanna, giunta dal lontano nord, è una creatura difficilmente inquadrabile dagli indigeni. Rappresentante della razza bianca, malvista in quanto tale ed incomprensibile in certi suoi atteggiamenti "fuori dai ranghi", finisce per ottenere un rispetto mai espresso con le parole, fatto di sguardi, di gesti, di biglietti ambigui. Una vita che lascerà una traccia, un solco, in un continente ricco di vita, dove chi non ha niente sorride suscitando la stizza dell'uomo bianco che ha tutto ma porta in viso i segni dell'infelicità più profonda. Mankell, mi manchi.
  Magrathea | Dec 30, 2017 |
I'm a huge fan of Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander mysteries as well as his stand alones so when I saw he had a new novel I rushed out to get it. The premise sounded really interesting. A young Swedish woman, Hanna Renstrom, leaves Sweden for Australia in 1904 as a ship's cook. While on the voyage she marries and then is quickly widowed. At the port of Lourenco Marques (Portuguese East Africa, now Mozambique) she deserts the ship and checks into what she thinks is a local hotel but is actually a brothel. Within a very short time she marries again, inherits the brothel, and becomes a significantly wealthy woman.

The story takes place over about two years and I was surprised at how much Hanna changes in that short time. She sees how brutally the African population is treated and sees herself becoming just as bigoted and cruel. She is appalled at the colonial justice system which is so unfair to both Africans and women. Hanna tries to help an African woman accused of killing her husband as a way to alleviate the guilt she becomes obsessed with. Hanna seems to be driven mad by the racism and hypocrisy of the county.

I have to say I just didn't enjoy the book that much. I thought it was a very slow start, the characters were not very interesting and I didn't really like Hanna. I did like Senhor Vaz, as well as Carlos, a tame chimpanzee who wears a white coat and serves tea. I did enjoy the last third of the book and was intrigued and appalled by the descriptions of colonial Africa. I think there are some great novels out there about Africa but I'm afraid I can't include this one.
( )
  Olivermagnus | Jun 16, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 15 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (26 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Henning Mankellprimary authorall editionscalculated
Kidd, ChipCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Luijten, ClementineTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Strömholm, ChristerCover photosecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Thompson, LaurieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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Epigraph
"Er zijn drie soorten mensen: mensen die dood zijn, mensen die leven en mensen die varen..." -Plato

There are three kinds of people: those who are dead, those who are alive, and those who sail the seas. -Plato
Dedication
First words
[Prologue] One day in the cold month of July. 2002, a man by the name of Jose Paulo opened up a hole in a rotten floor.
It is 1904.
[Epilogue] For the second time in her life, Hanna Lundmark walked along a gangplank and left a ship that she would never board again.
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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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Cold and poverty define Hanna Renstrom's childhood in remote northern Sweden, and in 1905, at nineteen, she boards a ship for Australia in hope of a better life. But none of her hopes--or fears--prepares her for the life she will lead. After two brief marriages, she finds herself a widow twice over, and the owner of a bordello in Portuguese East Africa, a world where colonialism and white supremacy rule, where she is isolated within society by her profession and her sex, and, among the bordello's black prostitutes, by her color. As Hanna's story unfurls over the next several years, we watch her in this "treacherous paradise," as she wrestles with a constant, wrenching loneliness and with the racism she's meant to unthinkingly adopt. And as her life becomes increasingly intertwined with the prostitutes, she moves inexorably toward the moment when she will make a decision that defies every expectation society has of her, and, more important, those she has of herself.

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Book description
Synopsis for the Dutch edition:
"Passie wordt een handelswaar
Februari 1905. Hanna Lundmark staat aan de reling van het stoomschip Lovisa en kijkt toe hoe de overleden stuurman - haar echtgenoot - zijn zeemansgraf tegemoet gaat. Op dat moment herinnert ze zich haar vaders laatste woorden: Jij, mijn dochter, bent een engel, een armoedige engel, maar evengoed een engel.
Nog geen jaar later is ze eigenaar van het grootste bordeel in Lourenáo Marques, Mozambique. Het jonge, afhankelijke meisje is veranderd in een vrouw met macht."
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