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Once a successful surgeon, Frederick Welin now lives in self-imposed exile on an island in the Swedish archipelago. Nearly twelve years have passed since he was disgraced for attempting to cover up a tragic mishap on the operating table. One morning in the depths of winter, he sees a hunched figure struggling towards him across the ice. His past is about to catch up with him. The figure approaching in the freezing cold is Harriet, the only woman he has ever loved, the woman he abandoned in order to go and study in America forty years earlier. She has sought him out in the hope that he will honour a promise made many years ago. Now in the late stages of a terminal illness, she wants to visit a small lake in northern Sweden, a place Welin's father took him once as a boy. He upholds his pledge and drives her to this beautiful pool hidden deep in the forest. On the journey through the desolate snow-covered landscape, Welin reflects on his impoverished childhood and the woman he later left behind. However, once there Welin discovers that Harriet has left the biggest surprise until last. "Italian Shoes" is as compelling as it is disturbing. Through his anti-hero Welin, Mankell tackles ageing and death with sensitivity and acuity, and as with the critically acclaimed Depths, delivers a moving tour-de-force on the frailty of mankind.… (more)
Something different from Mankell. A little slow but a good character study of a man brought out of self isolation by a person from his past. I enjoyed it. ( )
I read this because a member of my book club called it one of her favorite books. It looked promising from the start - thoughtful and atmospheric. It's definitely about the character development - what plot there is is slow-moving and bizarre at points. The characters aren't sympathetic, though. And there's some really out-there gross stuff - lots of death (peripheral to the story in many cases - meant to make some kind of dark point). ( )
I actually read it in French (copy found at the resort I was staying). First Mankell, an author I've been meaning to read for ages. Dark book, interesting message(s). Recommended. I'll read more Mankell! ( )
What a beautiful story this was. It’s of an aging Swedish man, a former surgeon who left his practice because of an unfortunate incident, who lived alone in an archipelago of Sweden. He interacted with very few people, but had a cat and dog to keep him company. One day he spied a person on the ice whom he had known when he was younger. I don’t want to give away any of the beauty or surprises of this story, but I will say this person changed his life in many ways.
This book moves slowly with its characters and its secluded environment. The awesomeness of nature is always the background to the relationships that change and develop as our main character decides if he would rather be alone of have some closer relationships.
The story also presents the realities of aging in a serious, realistic way.
The gorgeous writing and storytelling in this literary novel, surprised me because I thought that the author Henning Mankell has been a crime writer. This was the kind of story that I didn’t want to end. I hated to say goodbye to the elderly gentleman who shared his personal story with us, his readers. How would he fare in the future? I wanted to know. ( )
När skon passar tänker man inte på foten. - Zhuang Zhou
When the shoe fits, you don't think about the foot. -- Chuang Chou
There are two sorts of truths trivialities, where the opposite is obviously impossible, and deep truths, which are characterised in their opposite also being a deep truth. --Niels Bohr
Love is a gentle hand which slowly pushes fate to one side. -- Sigfrid Siwertz
Dedication
First words
Jag känner mig alltid ensammare när det är kallt.
I always feel more lonely when it's cold.
Quotations
When the shoe fits, you don't think about the foot. Chuang Chou
There are two sorts of truth: trivialities, where the opposite is obviously impossible, and deep truths, which are characterised by their opposite also being a deep truth, Niels Bohr
Love is a gentle hand which slowly pushes fate to one side. Sigrid Siwertz
Life is quite simply a matter of cruising along in your own little boat through a constantly changing but never-ending stream of promises.
Broken promises are like shadow dancing around in the twilight. The older I become, the more clearly I see them.
It was not so long ago since I was in the first act. Now the epilogue has already started.
I was afraid that all the clothes he was wearing might make him fall over, like a defeated knight wearing armour that was far to heavy for him.
Once upon a time, ages ago, I had imagined that when I grew old, I would have children to lighten the darkness of my old age. It was too late now - I’m a bit like my boat, out of the water and covered by a tarpaulin.
...a heart attack can strike for no obvious reason. It can swoop down on you from out of the blue, as if an unknown suicide bomber had burst into one of your cardiac chambers.
One evening the telephone rang. A rare thing. More often than not it would be some telephone company or other urging me to change my supplier, or to install broadband. When they discovered where I lived and that I was an old-age pensioner, they usually lost interest. Besides, I haven’t the slightest idea what broadband is.
Once a successful surgeon, Frederick Welin now lives in self-imposed exile on an island in the Swedish archipelago. Nearly twelve years have passed since he was disgraced for attempting to cover up a tragic mishap on the operating table. One morning in the depths of winter, he sees a hunched figure struggling towards him across the ice. His past is about to catch up with him. The figure approaching in the freezing cold is Harriet, the only woman he has ever loved, the woman he abandoned in order to go and study in America forty years earlier. She has sought him out in the hope that he will honour a promise made many years ago. Now in the late stages of a terminal illness, she wants to visit a small lake in northern Sweden, a place Welin's father took him once as a boy. He upholds his pledge and drives her to this beautiful pool hidden deep in the forest. On the journey through the desolate snow-covered landscape, Welin reflects on his impoverished childhood and the woman he later left behind. However, once there Welin discovers that Harriet has left the biggest surprise until last. "Italian Shoes" is as compelling as it is disturbing. Through his anti-hero Welin, Mankell tackles ageing and death with sensitivity and acuity, and as with the critically acclaimed Depths, delivers a moving tour-de-force on the frailty of mankind.
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