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Twenty years after Jens disappeared without a trace from the island of Oland, a package is mailed to the boy's grandfather that contains the worn and mended shoe of a child, prompting the grandfather to contact the child's mother, resume the hunt for the boy, and make a shocking connection between Jens's disappearance and the island's most notorious murder case.Tags
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Protagonist(s): Julia Davidsson and her father, Gerlof Davidsson
Setting: sometime in the 1990s, on Oland, an island off the coast of Sweden
Mystery
First Line: The wall was built of big, rounded stones covered in grayish white lichen, and it was the same height as the boy.
Twenty years ago, five-year-old Jens Davidsson walked out into the alvar on a foggy day and disappeared without a trace. His mother, Julia, has lived in a wine-soaked state of suspended animation ever since...until she receives the phone call from her father, Gerlof, who still lives on Oland. Packing a bag, Julia drives to the nursing home where Gerlof lives, and Gerlof shows her the tiny sandal. Someone has mailed him one of the sandals Jens was wearing on the day he show more disappeared. Thus begins this investigation conducted by a mother who's never allowed herself to grieve and a crippled old man.
This book moves in a slow, deliberate, almost elegiac pace--shadowing the movements of Gerlof with his cane as he slowly, inexorably visits each person on his list. He's a man who's held himself responsible for his grandson's death. He's a man who wants to give his daughter the answers that will make her want to live again.
I felt myself being sucked into this book as if I'd stepped into quicksand. The further I sank, the more I wanted to know, the more I wanted to lose myself in the landscape of this Swedish island that plays as big a part in the plot as Gerlof and Julia. I won this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. All I knew was that the synopsis made me think I'd enjoy the book. I had no idea that Echoes From the Dead has been receiving rave reviews from people in the UK. Now I know why. I'm already looking for Theorin's next book. Wow.... show less
Setting: sometime in the 1990s, on Oland, an island off the coast of Sweden
Mystery
First Line: The wall was built of big, rounded stones covered in grayish white lichen, and it was the same height as the boy.
Twenty years ago, five-year-old Jens Davidsson walked out into the alvar on a foggy day and disappeared without a trace. His mother, Julia, has lived in a wine-soaked state of suspended animation ever since...until she receives the phone call from her father, Gerlof, who still lives on Oland. Packing a bag, Julia drives to the nursing home where Gerlof lives, and Gerlof shows her the tiny sandal. Someone has mailed him one of the sandals Jens was wearing on the day he show more disappeared. Thus begins this investigation conducted by a mother who's never allowed herself to grieve and a crippled old man.
This book moves in a slow, deliberate, almost elegiac pace--shadowing the movements of Gerlof with his cane as he slowly, inexorably visits each person on his list. He's a man who's held himself responsible for his grandson's death. He's a man who wants to give his daughter the answers that will make her want to live again.
I felt myself being sucked into this book as if I'd stepped into quicksand. The further I sank, the more I wanted to know, the more I wanted to lose myself in the landscape of this Swedish island that plays as big a part in the plot as Gerlof and Julia. I won this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. All I knew was that the synopsis made me think I'd enjoy the book. I had no idea that Echoes From the Dead has been receiving rave reviews from people in the UK. Now I know why. I'm already looking for Theorin's next book. Wow.... show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Ach menno, manchmal denke ich wirklich, man sollte Klappentexte verbieten, soviel Unsinn wie da verzapft wird. 'Eine feine Mischung aus Krimi und Gespensterroman. Zum Gruseln gut.' meint die Für Sie über das erste Buch 'Öland' von Johan Theorin. Wetten, dass wer immer dies auch geschrieben hat, lediglich die Inhaltsangabe gelesen hatte? Von Geistern und Gespenstern ist in dem ganzen Buch nämlich weit und breit keine Spur zu finden. Und zum Gruseln ist die ganze Geschichte nun sicherlich auch nicht geeignet.
Aber spannend ist es, spannend bis zum wirklich überraschenden Ende, das mit einigen unerwarteten Wendungen aufwartet. 1972, ein kleiner Junge von fast sechs Jahren verschwindet, alle Suche bleibt vergebens. Es scheint, als ob show more der damals herrschende dichte Nebel ihn verschluckt hätte. 20 Jahre später hat seine Mutter Julia noch immer nicht ins Leben zurückgefunden. Psychisch krank quält sie sich durch endlose Tage, als sie ein Anruf ihres Vaters erreicht. Man hat ihm per Post ins Altenheim eine Sandale zugesandt, die Sandale eines kleinen Jungen. Er bittet Julia, zu ihm zu kommen, um die Suche erneut aufzunehmen. Gemeinsam mit zwei alten Freunden glaubt er zu wissen, wer hinter dem Verschwinden seines Enkels steckt: Nils Kant, ein mehrfacher Mörder, der jedoch schon Jahre zuvor beerdigt wurde.
Die Geschichte wird in zwei Strängen erzählt: Zum einen begleitet man Julia und ihren Vater auf der Suche nach dem, was damals wirklich geschah. Und zum andern nimmt man teil am Leben von Nils Kant, der bereits als Kind den Tod seines kleinen Bruders verschuldete. Man glaubt schon früh zu ahnen, was damals vorfiel, wird aber immer wieder eines besseren belehrt.
Auch wenn Ortsbeschreibungen und Ähnliches nicht allzu viel Raum einnehmen, gelingt es Theorin, die Einsamkeit und Verlassenheit der Sommerferienorte wie auch die besondere Stimmung der Alvar (so heisst die Gegend dort) überzeugend darzustellen. Ein rundum gelungener Krimi mit wenig Blut und viel Atmosphäre. Und weshalb nur vier Punkte? Weil es auch noch spannendere Krimis gibt :-) show less
Aber spannend ist es, spannend bis zum wirklich überraschenden Ende, das mit einigen unerwarteten Wendungen aufwartet. 1972, ein kleiner Junge von fast sechs Jahren verschwindet, alle Suche bleibt vergebens. Es scheint, als ob show more der damals herrschende dichte Nebel ihn verschluckt hätte. 20 Jahre später hat seine Mutter Julia noch immer nicht ins Leben zurückgefunden. Psychisch krank quält sie sich durch endlose Tage, als sie ein Anruf ihres Vaters erreicht. Man hat ihm per Post ins Altenheim eine Sandale zugesandt, die Sandale eines kleinen Jungen. Er bittet Julia, zu ihm zu kommen, um die Suche erneut aufzunehmen. Gemeinsam mit zwei alten Freunden glaubt er zu wissen, wer hinter dem Verschwinden seines Enkels steckt: Nils Kant, ein mehrfacher Mörder, der jedoch schon Jahre zuvor beerdigt wurde.
Die Geschichte wird in zwei Strängen erzählt: Zum einen begleitet man Julia und ihren Vater auf der Suche nach dem, was damals wirklich geschah. Und zum andern nimmt man teil am Leben von Nils Kant, der bereits als Kind den Tod seines kleinen Bruders verschuldete. Man glaubt schon früh zu ahnen, was damals vorfiel, wird aber immer wieder eines besseren belehrt.
Auch wenn Ortsbeschreibungen und Ähnliches nicht allzu viel Raum einnehmen, gelingt es Theorin, die Einsamkeit und Verlassenheit der Sommerferienorte wie auch die besondere Stimmung der Alvar (so heisst die Gegend dort) überzeugend darzustellen. Ein rundum gelungener Krimi mit wenig Blut und viel Atmosphäre. Und weshalb nur vier Punkte? Weil es auch noch spannendere Krimis gibt :-) show less
Julia's young son Jens went missing while staying with his grandparents on the island of Oland. Twenty years later, Julia still has not recovered from her grief, when her father Gerloff calls from Oland to say there is news. Gerloff has received a sandal in the mail, which appears to be the sandal Jens was wearing the day he disappeared. Julia returns to Oland, and she and Gerloff (and some of his elderly friends) begin to investigate.
The present day story of their investigation alternates with a story from the past, beginning in 1936, of Nils Kant, a thug who had committed crimes, including murder, on the island in the past, and whose crimes remain legend on the island. However, Nils is dead and buried in the island graveyard. But was show more it really his body in the coffin?
This is a book in which the setting plays an important part, and the atmosphere of the island is mysterious, foggy, austere, and evocative. Large parts of the plot take place on the "alvar" which is a raised rocky plain that takes up about a quarter of the island. The role of the island as a prominent fishing and sea port in the past, and its present economic reliance on tourism were well-portrayed.
I also loved the characterizations, and enjoyed the use of old (and sometimes infirm) characters as prominent investigators--who better to know the past? And there is a real twist at the end that was totally unexpected, but totally logical.
This book won the prize for Sweden's Best First Crime Novel.
Recommended.
3 1/2 stars show less
The present day story of their investigation alternates with a story from the past, beginning in 1936, of Nils Kant, a thug who had committed crimes, including murder, on the island in the past, and whose crimes remain legend on the island. However, Nils is dead and buried in the island graveyard. But was show more it really his body in the coffin?
This is a book in which the setting plays an important part, and the atmosphere of the island is mysterious, foggy, austere, and evocative. Large parts of the plot take place on the "alvar" which is a raised rocky plain that takes up about a quarter of the island. The role of the island as a prominent fishing and sea port in the past, and its present economic reliance on tourism were well-portrayed.
I also loved the characterizations, and enjoyed the use of old (and sometimes infirm) characters as prominent investigators--who better to know the past? And there is a real twist at the end that was totally unexpected, but totally logical.
This book won the prize for Sweden's Best First Crime Novel.
Recommended.
3 1/2 stars show less
Julia Davidsson's son Jens was 5 years old and spending the day with his grandparents on an island off the coast of Sweden while Julia went to the mainland. Jens' grandfather, a retired ship's captain named Gerlof, went down to his boathouse, and his grandmother fell asleep, and Jens took the opportunity to strike out on his own in the fog, going the over the stone wall, and never to be seen again. When the book opens, it is 20 years later, and Julia is still grieving, drinking too much and not working enough and living in isolation. Her mother is dead, and her father, Gerlof, is in a nursing home. Gerlof still feels tremendous guilt over what happened to Jens, and he and his friends have been doing some investigating into the mystery show more when he receives a clue to Jens' disappearance in the mail. Gerlof calls Julia, and she heads to the island. The story of what happened to Jens involves so much more, and the author doles out the clues sparingly so the reader is left guessing right to the end. Excellent mystery but not at the expense of character development. Enjoyed the book very much. show less
First I'll say that I really liked this book. It was engaging, surprising, and the characters were not the same ones that seem to pop up frequently in other mysteries.
It's also bleak, desolate and lonely. Not just because it's set in Ingmar Berman territory....there's a palpable chill that invades the entire story. Theorin does a great job of establishing a sense of place, and it's as important a character as are the protagonists.
The plot -- which entwines two stories in reverse chronology --quietly builds to a crescendo that doesn't peak until the final pages. The characters evolve and grow, so that we want to stay with them till the surprising ending.
I'm glad I read Echoes from the Dead, and will look forward to others from this show more skilled writer. show less
It's also bleak, desolate and lonely. Not just because it's set in Ingmar Berman territory....there's a palpable chill that invades the entire story. Theorin does a great job of establishing a sense of place, and it's as important a character as are the protagonists.
The plot -- which entwines two stories in reverse chronology --quietly builds to a crescendo that doesn't peak until the final pages. The characters evolve and grow, so that we want to stay with them till the surprising ending.
I'm glad I read Echoes from the Dead, and will look forward to others from this show more skilled writer. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.In the early 1970’s a young boy named Jens disappeared on a remote island in Sweden. Twenty years later his mother, Julia, and his grandfather, Gerlof, attempt to unravel the events surrounding the disappearance.
For want of a better word the book is literary in style, reminding me of David Guterson’s [b:Snow Falling on Cedars|77142|Snow Falling on Cedars|David Guterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170899934s/77142.jpg|1677615] in the way it depicts very personal events that take place in a wider historical context. It has the same haunting sense of location too. When done badly the kind of descriptive writing Theorin has produced is dull but when done well, as is the case here, it is as gripping as any action-based thriller. I show more was thoroughly captivated from the moment five year-old Jens climbed the garden wall and headed into the fog.
The structure of the novel is engaging too. The chapters are short and told from several different perspectives. Some are from Julia or Gerloff’s point of view and some take place in the past of Nils Kant, the man who it seems was responsible for Jens’ disappearance. This kind of leap-frogging between times and people can go badly awry but, again, Theorin has demonstrated superior writing skills in achieving a very understandable plot that is beautifully layered. But don’t be fooled: there’s plenty of real drama here too.
As good as all of those elements are, the characters in this book are even better. They’re complex and credible and I have such strong images of them all in my head that it’s like a movie playing. There’s nothing stereotypical about any of them and they continued to surprise me right to the very end. Julia, the middle aged nurse who struggled to deal with her son’s disappearance isn’t nearly as two-dimensional as the blurb makes her sound and Gerlof, her octogenarian father is an unlikely but wholly wonderful hero. The island of Oland too is a character in its way and is just as memorable and just as deftly depicted as the people.
As is often the way with the best crime fiction the book is about much more than solving the mystery. It’s about family and yearning and grief and people finding out that they’re tougher than they think. All of which combined to make it one of those rarest of reading experiences that makes me give thanks to the universe that there are people who write. I feel honoured to have discovered Echoes from the Dead show less
For want of a better word the book is literary in style, reminding me of David Guterson’s [b:Snow Falling on Cedars|77142|Snow Falling on Cedars|David Guterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170899934s/77142.jpg|1677615] in the way it depicts very personal events that take place in a wider historical context. It has the same haunting sense of location too. When done badly the kind of descriptive writing Theorin has produced is dull but when done well, as is the case here, it is as gripping as any action-based thriller. I show more was thoroughly captivated from the moment five year-old Jens climbed the garden wall and headed into the fog.
The structure of the novel is engaging too. The chapters are short and told from several different perspectives. Some are from Julia or Gerloff’s point of view and some take place in the past of Nils Kant, the man who it seems was responsible for Jens’ disappearance. This kind of leap-frogging between times and people can go badly awry but, again, Theorin has demonstrated superior writing skills in achieving a very understandable plot that is beautifully layered. But don’t be fooled: there’s plenty of real drama here too.
As good as all of those elements are, the characters in this book are even better. They’re complex and credible and I have such strong images of them all in my head that it’s like a movie playing. There’s nothing stereotypical about any of them and they continued to surprise me right to the very end. Julia, the middle aged nurse who struggled to deal with her son’s disappearance isn’t nearly as two-dimensional as the blurb makes her sound and Gerlof, her octogenarian father is an unlikely but wholly wonderful hero. The island of Oland too is a character in its way and is just as memorable and just as deftly depicted as the people.
As is often the way with the best crime fiction the book is about much more than solving the mystery. It’s about family and yearning and grief and people finding out that they’re tougher than they think. All of which combined to make it one of those rarest of reading experiences that makes me give thanks to the universe that there are people who write. I feel honoured to have discovered Echoes from the Dead show less
Just fantastic. An incredibly well-done mystery within an incredibly well-written novel. The plot was interesting and the mystery was difficult enough to not completely suss out but the characters and the settings were the real winners. I thought I would hate Julia and I spent a long time not warming to her but she was seemed a very real person and I really liked that about her. As one of the linchpins of the plot, she did seem to grow and change. Still fairly flawed but interesting. I loved the setting in an island off the coast of Sweden, I knew nothing about it but it felt like a very real place. The switching bewteen current and older plots was handled very well, I never felt pulled away from one to the other. Worth looking for more show more by this author. show less
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En liten gutt forsvinner sporløst på Öland en tåkete sensommerdag på begynnelsen av 1970-tallet. Familien, politiet og frivillige leter etter ham over hele øya i ukevis. Mer enn tyve år senere får guttens mor, Julia, en uventet telefon fra sin far, sjøkaptein Gerlof Davidsson, som har fått en slitt barnesko i posten. Nå ber han henne komme og hjelpe ham med å finne ut hva som show more skjedde da gutten forsvant. Motvillig vender hun tilbake til barndommens øy. Først nå får hun høre om ölendingen Nils Kant, som en gang satte skrekk i folk på øya. Han forsvant lenge før Julias sønn. Likevel er det fortsatt de som hevder at de har sett Nils Kant – at han iblant vandrer omkring på det ölandske alvaret i skumringstimen. Skumringstimen er en roman om sorg og savn, en historie der fortiden kaster skygge over nåtiden. Handlingen beveger seg bakover til andre verdenskrig og fra Ölands karrige landskap til fjerne havner i Karibia.
Johan Theorin (født 1963) er journalist. Han har tilbrakt alle sine sommerferier på Öland. Skumringstimen, som er hans debut som forfatter, er den første i en serie på fire bøker fra Öland. Boken ble like etter utgivelsen solgt til en rekke land, blant annet England og USA. show less
Johan Theorin (født 1963) er journalist. Han har tilbrakt alle sine sommerferier på Öland. Skumringstimen, som er hans debut som forfatter, er den første i en serie på fire bøker fra Öland. Boken ble like etter utgivelsen solgt til en rekke land, blant annet England og USA. show less
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Scandinavian Crime Fiction
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Crime Writers' Association Daggers
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Scandinavian Crime
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Author Information
24+ Works 2,788 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Echoes from the Dead
- Original title
- Skumtimmen
- Original publication date
- 2007
- People/Characters
- Julia Davidsson; Nils Kant; Gerlof Davidsson; Lennart Henriksson; Bengt Nyberg
- Important places
- Öland, Sweden
- Dedication
- To the Gerlofsson family, Öland
- First words
- The wall was built of big, rounded stones covered in grayish lichen, and it was the same height as the boy.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But if anyone were to ask him later what the boy's funeral had been like, Bengt Nyberg would be able to reply that it had felt bright and dignified and peaceful like - well, like a kind of conclusion.
- Blurbers*
- Theorin brise la glace du polar suédois, en secoue vivement les tabous. Brocas, Alexis; Un roman qui justifie amplement l'engouement que connaît actuellement le polar suédois auprès des lecteurs français, et un auteur dont il va falloir retenir le nom. Meudal, Gérard
- Original language
- Swedish
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 839.73 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures Other Germanic literatures Swedish literature Swedish fiction
- LCC
- PT9877.3 .H46 .S5813 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures Swedish literature Individual authors or works 2001-
- BISAC
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- Reviews
- 70
- Rating
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- Languages
- 21 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese, traditional
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 65
- ASINs
- 8
