When Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole novels were translated into English and gained a following outside of Scandinavia, it was decided to also bring out some of the earliest books in the series and make THEM available to the North American audience, as well.
There's at least a couple of reasons why these books weren't originally selected for translation and sale in this country.
âThe Batâ, first in the series, sends Harry Hole from his comfort zone in Oslo to Sydney, Australia. A young Norwegian has been killed, and the Norwegian government wants a police attaché involved with the local police. In this case, â attachéâ is a loose concept, translated to âlone wolfâ. (In that sense, it reminded me of the Clint Eastwood classic âCoogan's Bluffâ, where a southwestern police detective attempted to chase a felon through New York City â it became the basis of the television series âMcCloudâ.)
It is a strange introduction to the Oslo police department when the action occurs half a world away from the city and country in which the protagonist is based. This is one of the reasons why the first novels â the second is set in Thailand â were originally withheld from the American market. The other reason, in my opinion, is that the writing is not up to Nesbo's later standards. The characters are not as interesting or sympathetic as the ones we deal with in the later novels, and the climax had been telegraphed early in the novel.
Read the book for completion's sake. Read the book for the author's impressions of Australia. Read the book because you want to. Do NOT read the book because you're expecting the quality of work that you've experienced in the author's later works â despite the fact that this book came out much later than other novels in the Harry Hole series, this really IS a first novel. And it shows.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded down to 3 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.
There's at least a couple of reasons why these books weren't originally selected for translation and sale in this country.
âThe Batâ, first in the series, sends Harry Hole from his comfort zone in Oslo to Sydney, Australia. A young Norwegian has been killed, and the Norwegian government wants a police attaché involved with the local police. In this case, â attachéâ is a loose concept, translated to âlone wolfâ. (In that sense, it reminded me of the Clint Eastwood classic âCoogan's Bluffâ, where a southwestern police detective attempted to chase a felon through New York City â it became the basis of the television series âMcCloudâ.)
It is a strange introduction to the Oslo police department when the action occurs half a world away from the city and country in which the protagonist is based. This is one of the reasons why the first novels â the second is set in Thailand â were originally withheld from the American market. The other reason, in my opinion, is that the writing is not up to Nesbo's later standards. The characters are not as interesting or sympathetic as the ones we deal with in the later novels, and the climax had been telegraphed early in the novel.
Read the book for completion's sake. Read the book for the author's impressions of Australia. Read the book because you want to. Do NOT read the book because you're expecting the quality of work that you've experienced in the author's later works â despite the fact that this book came out much later than other novels in the Harry Hole series, this really IS a first novel. And it shows.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded down to 3 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.
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