The Bat

Snagged this on the fly as I was leaving the library. Someone had just returned it, and I took it from the librarian's hands after she checked it back in. Luckily, there were no holds on it, so the first Harry Hole was mine, mine, mine!

The English translations of Jo Nesbo's series of books, based around the flawed and human detective, Harry Hole, began with book three in the series. That's where I started, and where I became addicted to the characters and series. Now, thanks to Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original, the first book in the series is available here in the US. The tone was somewhat lighter, though Harry is still damaged goods. He's off in Australia, where a Norwegian woman was brutally murdered, and Harry was sent to help show more out. Nesbo draws his characters thoroughly and vividly, at the same time interspersing bits of Australia and Scandinavia to readers "from off". One of the things I liked so much about this was the sort of filling in of blanks that pepper the later novels, and help the reader to understand what life circumstances made Harry Harry. There are references in later novels, but more is spelled out in this one. And though we'd long figured out the pronunciation of his last name, so that it didn't sound like an orifice or an opening in something, it was fun to read the Aussie interpretation of "Holy". show less

I have been collecting these books for years, not sure why other than they were recommended to me and they sounded gritty and fun. Also, I was perhaps caught up in the wave of Steig Larsson and all things Scandinavian? Either way, I've amassed quite a collection so I figured it was time to start reading them. As a stickler for reading a series in order, I knew the first two weren't available in the US for quite sometime, and I knew they aren't known for being nearly as good as the rest of the series. Having been burned lately with reading an authors "best book" and reading more of their catalog to find that one "best book" must have been a fluke because the rest aren't great....I started at the beginning, you can only go up from there, show more right?
Harry Hole is exactly what I want in a gritty police procedural. The sarcasm dripping all over this book had me laughing out loud many times and all the dialog was just *chef's kiss*. I wasn't expecting the "spice" but I guess I should have since that does seem to creep in to pretty much every police/detective novel. A little gruesome in crime scene depiction, but not aggressively so. I think it bears mentioning that when you read it, you have to do so from a lens of this was written many years ago, in a different language, depicting different cultures and their nuances. There is quite a bit of racism, especially with regards to the Australian aborigines and the apparent "dislike" of them from back in the "Australia is a prison" days. There's some not great language in regards to sex workers, as well as a bit of fat phobia from one character. The LGBTQIA+ representation is great, however, and they explain that Australia has a huge gay culture because many people from the Outback flock to the cities for acceptance since their farm families don't accept them. So yeah, there's a little bit of everything in this book. I wasn't offended by any of it because it is more of a statement of the time and some mentalities, rather than the author being any kind of bigot. Also, Harry isn't the offensive one, in fact, a lot of it is being explained to him by the Australian police he's working with and observing. If he was I might rethink continuing the series, but as of now, I'm very much looking forward to more Harry Hole. show less

Apparently, the first two books in this series are outliers: not set in Harry Hole's (pronounced Hoo-leh) native Norway and not initially translated into English. I decided to start in chronological order and this first installment left me reeling.

Harry is sent to Australia to assist in the investigation of the rape and murder of a Norwegian actress (who was working as a waitress in Sydney). His Australian partner on the case is a seasoned detective with Aboriginal ancestry and a very interesting past. Jo Nesbø clearly did some research on Australian Aboriginal culture and history, which he wanted to share in this debut novel. Mostly, it works.

Harry, an alcoholic in remission, quickly finds himself enmeshed in a serial killer case, show more following red herrings, and involved with a young Swedish woman who worked with the murder victim. Needless to say, the crime isn't solved quickly and cleanly, and Harry doesn't get his sober HEA.

I can see where this series is going from the second half of this book which is basically one long bender with semi-sober moments where Harry gets shit done and I'm not sure if I'm up for an entire 12 book (so far) series of that. I'll at least give the next book (set in Thailand) a try. show less

Olyan sok vevőnek dicsértem már Nesbo-t, hogy gondoltam, épp ideje elolvasni valamit tőle. Annyit mindenesetre elmondhatok, hogy nincs bűntudatom, amiért megvetettem velük.

A Denevérember Harry Hole első kalandja, ami rögvest a világ túlsó felére repít minket (és őt) – Ausztráliába. Ennek a történet szempontjából számos előnye van: egyfelől Nesbo-nek módja nyílik egzotikus környezetben játszatni hősét, másfelől meg elkerüli, hogy a feltétlenül szükségesnél több honfitársát kelljen kinyírnia. Hiába, ilyen szemérmes a szerző – ekkor még. Egy darabig komolyan úgy véltem, hogy a „Skandináv krimik” részleg helyett véletlenül az „Útirajzok” polcról emeltem le valamit, mert a show more bűnügyi vonal az ausztrál társadalom- és kultúrtörténet, valamint a romantikus szál mögött lecsúszott a dobogóról, és csak a tisztes negyedik helyen árválkodott. Mondjuk én ezt korlátozottan bántam, mert amúgy sincs szoros kapcsolat köztem és a krimizsáner között, másfelől meg Nesbo valóban remekül ír – logikus, gördülékeny, szórakoztató, kellemesen fanyar, és ami külön bravúr: képes kevés leírással, dialógusokon keresztül izgalmas, szerethető figurákat teremteni, köztük is elsősorban magát Harry Hole-t, akinek legalább annyit kell birkóznia saját különbejáratú démonaival, mint az éppen aktuális sorozatgyilkossal. Aztán úgy a 200. oldalon elindul a hullámvasút: az író röhögve letaszít minket a pincébe, mi meg egyre gyorsabban gurulunk lefelé a lépcsőn. És itt lett számomra nyilvánvaló, milyen tudatos volt Nesbo részéről, hogy annyit cseverészett velünk mindenféle marginális kérdésről: nem csak arról van szó, hogy elaltatott minket, hanem meg kellett teremtenie a kulisszákat, időt kellett hagynia, hogy szereplő és szereplő, szereplő és olvasó megkedvelje egymást, és létrejöjjön az a térélmény, amikor az olvasó már nem ragaszkodik ahhoz a téveszméhez, hogy a könyv és a valóság két teljesen különböző dolog. Mert így van tétje az egésznek. Így fáj az olvasónak igazán, ha az író egyszer csak elkezdi lerombolni a törékeny harmóniát, amit addig fáradságos munkával felépít – azzal, hogy elveszi tőlünk azt, amit és akit megszerettünk. És ezt Nesbo pazarul csinálja.

(És egy ordas SPOILER, zárszó gyanánt.) Ami viszont szerintem kapitális hiba, és haragudtam is érte: Hole szívszerelmét, Birgittát akarja csalinak felhasználni, hogy elkapja a gyanúsítottat. Azon túl, hogy szerintem ilyet épeszű ember nem csinál, alig hiszem, hogy az ausztrál rendőrség szolgálati szabályzata nyitott az ilyen amatőr húzásokra. Hát tényleg nem volt egész Sydney-ben olyan rendőrnő, aki alkalmas lett volna erre? show less

The Bat
Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole books are ubiquitous. I doubt airport bookshops are allowed to operate without them. So when I found myself in the mood for some more Scandi-Noir, I decided to make Harry Hole's acquaintance.

I'm compulsive about starting series from the beginning, so I bought "The Bat" which has "The First Harry Hole Thriller" written on the cover. This turned out to be a piece of marketing slickness - true but designed to mislead. It turns out that "The Redbreast" was the first Harry Hole book to be published. "The Bat" was published thirteen years later. It's called the first book because the events in it pre-date those in "The Redbreast". If I'd realised that, I'd have read the books in the order that they were published show more because it allows me to see how the writer's style changes as the years pass.

It also turned out that I hadn't bought a Scandi-Noir book. Harry Hole is Norwegian but "The Bat" is set in Australia and has much more to do with the shadows cast by Australian racism than with moody Northern skies.

Still, "The Bat" was worth reading, mainly for Jo Nesbo's storytelling ability. I found the plot a little stilted. It all made sense but I really didn't care that much. I doubt Jo Nesbo did either. His main focus was on exposing Harry Hole's Norwegian sensibilities to the myths of the aboriginal Dreamtime and what they tell us of "the dark forest of the human soul". The tales are well told, slipping into my memory and finding a home there without leaving me feeling lectured at. It seemed to me that the plot is constructed to showcase these tales.

Harry Hole is an alcoholic. I sighed when I read that, it's such a cliché for a policeman, yet it's not a cliché in Jo Nesbo's hands. He doesn't use alcoholism as an accessory to dress an otherwise dull character. Nesbo shows what being an alcoholic means. Harry Hole disappears into a bottle and stays there, drowning in grief and self-pity, for a significant part of the book.

I couldn't find much to like about Harry Hole but then, he can't find much to like about himself.

I found a lot to like about Jo Nesbo's writing. That is enough for me to keep on with this series and to be glad that I read "The Bat"

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Sean Barrett, who did an excellent job, especially with all the accents required. show less

Harry Hole is a screw up. Sent from Norway in disgrace, this down-on-his-luck detective finds himself in Australia to consult with local law enforcement on the murder of a Norwegian tourist. Harry must acclimate himself to this vastly different culture and keep his own demons at bay if he is to uncover who is strangling all the beautiful young blondes of Sydney.

3.75 stars. this is extremely well written for what i expect of a thriller. i always wonder when it's in translation about the original and the translator, but this seems like quality on both sides.

just before starting this i'd heard that nesbo has said that this first book in the series, as far as he is concerned, could be tossed. that people could start with the second. i don't know if he really said that or not, but maybe it set me up to have low expectations. because i don't see why he'd say that - this is a solid story and it's well done, and i found myself liking it quite a bit. it's got it's share of misses or mistakes, but fewer than others of this genre that i've read.

i really enjoyed the dreamtime stories and the cultural show more aspects he brought to the australian part of this story. i thought those stories were interesting and tied in nicely to the plot, and seemed respectfully done from my white american perspective. i thought the characters pretty well drawn (definitely better than in an average macho thriller), the dialogue and story believable, and the writing really good. i think this is an excellent start to a series, especially if it only gets better from here. and he didn't take the easy way out and have harry save birgitta in the end, although as a reader i was hoping he'd get to her in time; it was better for the story and more realistic that she was murdered. he didn't make the choice that many authors would have there at the end, and i appreciate that. i keep coming back to it, but the writing is very strong here, and that is enough for me almost no matter the story or topic, and he manages to do well with the story, too, so i definitely find myself wanting to read more of his books. show less