An early gem from the creator of the Kurt Wallander series, charting the life of a principled man through tragedy, heartbreak, true love and the battle for a nation’s soul.
“A very engaging portrait . . . There is a powerful lack of sentimentality to the telling of the story [and] a lovely and genuinely moving love story at the heart of the book.” Liam Heylin, Irish Examiner
At 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in 1911, Oskar Johansson is caught in a blast in an industrial accident. The local newspaper reports him dead, but they are mistaken.
Because Oskar Johansson is a born survivor.
Though crippled, Oskar finds the strength to go on living and working. The Rock Blaster charts his long professional life – his hopes and dreams, sorrows and joys. His relationship with the woman whose love saved him, with the labour movement that gave him a cause to believe in, and with his children, who do not share his ideals.
Henning Mankell’s first published novel is steeped in the burning desire for social justice that informed his bestselling crime novels. Remarkably assured for a debut, it is written with scalpel-like precision, at once poetic and insightful in its depiction of a true working-class hero.
Translated from the Swedish by George Goulding
“A very engaging portrait . . . There is a powerful lack of sentimentality to the telling of the story [and] a lovely and genuinely moving love story at the heart of the book.” Liam Heylin, Irish Examiner
At 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in 1911, Oskar Johansson is caught in a blast in an industrial accident. The local newspaper reports him dead, but they are mistaken.
Because Oskar Johansson is a born survivor.
Though crippled, Oskar finds the strength to go on living and working. The Rock Blaster charts his long professional life – his hopes and dreams, sorrows and joys. His relationship with the woman whose love saved him, with the labour movement that gave him a cause to believe in, and with his children, who do not share his ideals.
Henning Mankell’s first published novel is steeped in the burning desire for social justice that informed his bestselling crime novels. Remarkably assured for a debut, it is written with scalpel-like precision, at once poetic and insightful in its depiction of a true working-class hero.
Translated from the Swedish by George Goulding
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Reviews
One of Scandinavia's finest writers.
He is in the great tradition of those whose works transcend their chosen genre to become thrilling and moral literature.
A literary writer of considerable accomplishment.
In life and in art Henning Mankell was a man of passionate commitment.
Mankell is the master.
Mankell's fierce instinct for social criticism is admirable.
Mankell writes with both a social conscience and great humour.
An excellent craftsman.
Provides a fascinating preview of the psychology of Kurt Wallander who was to become Mankell's most famous creation
A very engaging portrait . . . There is a powerful lack of sentimentality to the telling of the story [and] a lovely and genuinely moving love story at the heart of the book.