Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell
Henning Georg Mankellwas a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a number of plays and screenplays for television...
NationalitySwedish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth3 February 1948
CountrySweden
children critique forced furious ghastly lives orphans spend treatment
For me 'Oliver Twist' is a political novel. It is a furious critique of the treatment of orphans and poor children who were forced to spend their early lives in ghastly institutions.
author decided recall sensation taught
I decided to become an author when my grandmother taught me to write, when I was six. I can still recall the sensation of being able to turn words into stories. It was a miracle.
best forces greatest idol imagination imagined instrument life photo value wall
I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight. Because that's when the forces of imagination have the same value as the real world, when they're an instrument of survival: when my mother disappeared, and I imagined a mother. That was me at my best.
drive earn itself life lose luxurious money obviously secret small worry
It is obviously no secret that I earn a lot of money. But it is also no secret that I give most of it away. I don't live a luxurious life. I drive a small second-hand Fiat. I don't have to worry about money, which is itself a privilege. But I never had any anxiety that I would lose my identity.
awful way different
I love Sherlock Holmes. There's still an awful lot to steal from Conan Doyle. But within a tradition you can work in many different ways.
one-day exotic world
Africa was the most exotic place I could conceive of - the end of the world - and I knew I would go there one day.
people historical groups
When one historical period is replaced by another, there is always a group of people left over from the old society
evil details
The evil always comes from details.
cities organization village
Our exile organizations have been our way of replacing the cities and villages we have lost.
wise people form
Novels are . . . an unsurpassed form to understand people.
coffee police-work silence
Police work wouldn't be possible without coffee," Wallander said. "No work would be possible without coffee." They pondered the importance of coffee in silence.
past deeds
We only have the past that we have. Not all of our deeds were incorrect.
wings bird shooting
We used to send whole flocks of birds shooting out of our mouths and never managed to grab them by their wings.
children widows-and-orphans political
For me Oliver Twist is a political novel. It is a furious critique of the treatment of orphans and poor children who were forced to spend their early lives in ghastly institutions.