Why Mankell? Why Wallender?

Rohan Maitzen's recent article on Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö reminded me that the fourth subject I could have covered yesterday was my interest in the Wallender novels of Henning Mankell. I have not read much fiction this year, but I have managed to read five Mankell novels. Why do they appeal to me?

As one of Maitzen's readers has pointed out, the Wallender books are in the tradition of that "peculiarly European mood of melancholia." Wallender himself is a man aware of his limits, beset with self-doubt and a sense of failure. In that respect, I identify with Wallender and find that his dark moods corroborate my own. Yet, in another, more important respect, the bleak world of Kurt Wallender has almost nothing to do with my world. His country is different, his family is different, and his work is different than mine. As I read his novels, I can almost forget the weight of worries that constantly presses on me. Unlike the reading I do for professional reasons, I don't have to take notes on what I read and consider how I might incorporate them into my lesson plans and lectures. I don't feel responsible for retaining what I read in his novels. As soon as I finish them, I'm happy to forget them.

I am reading them, in other words, for the pleasure of escape. It's what I do instead of drinking, now that I've given that up. His novels are a poor substitute for a good Italian wine or a glass of Scotch, but they'll have to do until the weather warms up again and I can spend my free time hiking in the mountains. I certainly don't read to improve my mind. I do it for money or escape, and when I don't have to make money, I go hiking.