Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell"From the prizewinning “master of atmosphere” (Boston Globe) comes the surprising and affecting story of a man well past middle age who suddenly finds himself on the threshold of renewal.
Living on a tiny island entirely surrounded by ice during the long winter months, Fredrik Welin is so lost to the world that he cuts a hole in the ice every morning and lowers himself into the freezing water to remind himself that he is alive. Haunted by memories of the terrible mistake that drove him to this island and away from a successful career as a surgeon, he lives in a stasis so complete an anthill grows undisturbed in his living room.
When an unexpected visitor alters his life completely, thus begins an eccentric, elegiac journey—one that shows Mankell at the very height of his powers as a novelist.
A deeply human tale of loss and redemption, Italian Shoes is a testament to the unpredictability of life, which breeds hope even in the face of tragedy."
Series: Fredrik Welin #1
Genres: Fiction
Also by this author: After the Fire
Henning Mankell is best known mostly for his mystery series with Inspector Kurt Wallander, which I will be start reading soon. However, “Italian Shoes” (‘Pantofi Italienesti’ in Romanian) is the first book in the Fredrik Welin series, which is a fiction series. I started it because the second book in this series, “After the Fire“, won the CWA International Dagger Award in 2018 (CWA stands for Crime Writers’ Association) and I was curious to see how his writing is. And it is amazing!
“Cineva cu numele de Chuang Chou spusese: „Când ţi se potrivesc pantofii, nu te mai gândeşti la picioare”.
“Mi-am amintit că odată îmi spusese că viaţa era precum o pereche de pantofi. Nu aveai cum să-ţi închipui că pantofii ţi se vor potrivi perfect. Pantofii care te strângeau erau ceva absolut normal.”
“Tuturor ne e frică de noi înşine şi de ceea ce vedem din noi în ceilalţi.”
“Singurul lucru care mă sperie în legătură cu moartea este marea ei indiferenţă.”
