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Chronicler of the Winds
From the bestselling author of the Kurt Wallander An “uplifting . . . grittily realistic” fable about war-torn Africa and a mystical orphan boy ( The New York Times ).
A single gunshot cracks the silence of a hot African night. On the rooftop of a local theater company, a ten-year-old boy slowly dies of bullet wounds. He is Nelio, a leader of street kids, rumored to be a healer and a prophet, and possessed of a strangely ancient wisdom.
One of the millions of poor people “forced to eat life raw,” Nelio refuses to be taken to the hospital. Instead, he tells the unforgettable story of his life to a sole witness. Over the course of nine nights, a baker named José Antonio Maria Vaz listens as bandits cruelly raze Nelio’s village, propelling him to join the legions of abandoned children living in the streets. A grand act of imagination intended to prove to his comrades that existence must be more than mere survival, cuts Nelio’s life short. As the tale unfolds, José is forever changed. He becomes the “Chronicler of the Winds”, vowing to reveal Nelio’s magical words to all who will listen.
Shortlisted for the Nordic Council Prize for Literature and nominated for the Swedish Publishers Association’s August Prize, Chronicler of the Winds is a beautifully crafted novel that is a testament to the power of storytelling itself. “Mankell writes eloquently of the realities of poverty and violence without becoming sugary or didactic. . . . An expert craftsman” ( The Observer ).
A single gunshot cracks the silence of a hot African night. On the rooftop of a local theater company, a ten-year-old boy slowly dies of bullet wounds. He is Nelio, a leader of street kids, rumored to be a healer and a prophet, and possessed of a strangely ancient wisdom.
One of the millions of poor people “forced to eat life raw,” Nelio refuses to be taken to the hospital. Instead, he tells the unforgettable story of his life to a sole witness. Over the course of nine nights, a baker named José Antonio Maria Vaz listens as bandits cruelly raze Nelio’s village, propelling him to join the legions of abandoned children living in the streets. A grand act of imagination intended to prove to his comrades that existence must be more than mere survival, cuts Nelio’s life short. As the tale unfolds, José is forever changed. He becomes the “Chronicler of the Winds”, vowing to reveal Nelio’s magical words to all who will listen.
Shortlisted for the Nordic Council Prize for Literature and nominated for the Swedish Publishers Association’s August Prize, Chronicler of the Winds is a beautifully crafted novel that is a testament to the power of storytelling itself. “Mankell writes eloquently of the realities of poverty and violence without becoming sugary or didactic. . . . An expert craftsman” ( The Observer ).
233 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
111 people are currently reading
1726 people want to read
About the author
Henning Mankell
262 books3,774 followersHenning Mankell was an internationally known Swedish crime writer, children's author and playwright. He was best known for his literary character Kurt Wallander.
Mankell split his time between Sweden and Mozambique. He was married to Eva Bergman, Swedish director and daughter of Ingmar Bergman.
Mankell split his time between Sweden and Mozambique. He was married to Eva Bergman, Swedish director and daughter of Ingmar Bergman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
June 16, 2010
The CHRONICLER OF THE WINDS is a work of such haunting imagery, vivid emotional appeal, and serious intent that any attempt to characterize it or review it is doomed to reveal the faltering skills of the commentator. This is a novel of such infinite interpretation, mythic splendor, and humanistic intent that it cannot simply be read, but must be savored as a rare literary treat.
Mankell, noted for his Wallander detective series, provides a diversion from his earlier writings to enter the world of Magic Realism...and indeed, this is a CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD, although I would argue that the influences are largely African (notably, Amos Tutuola, Wole Soyinka, Ben Okri, and, most importantly, Mia Couto) rather than Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, and other Latin American authors. Mankell, director of the Teatro Avenida, spends much of his time in Mozambique, which is the setting for this novel. (Although unnamed, I can verify that Maputo is the city in which the action takes place.) Clearly, however, the tale is one that could be related among the unwanted urchins of any major city, but most tragically in the Third World.
The narrator, Jose Antonio Maria Vaz, is a baker by trade until he meets the novel's protagonist Nelio, a dying 10-year sage of the streets, who has a Scheherazade-like tale to relate over nine nights. After escaping the death and destruction of his village by bandits, Nelio begins his metaphysical and actual journey by meeting a "white dwarf," who has lost his way for "nineteen years, eight months, and four days," a wise old lizard woman, and a drunken con man much like Fagin. Later, after finding a sleeping space within the belly of a colonial equestrian statue, he encounters a variety of street kids, some of whom envisage sea monsters, grow vegetables with dirt in their pockets, and even seemingly turn themselves invisible to invade department stores and the presidential palace. Nelio, despite his youth and small stature, possesses both the moral and spiritual authority to lead this band of children in their efforts to survive the horrific threats and relentless cruelties of the mean urban streets. The ordeals of Nelio's life and death so overwhelm the narrator that he determines to abandon his profession and devote himself to reciting the cautionary tale that he has listened to over successive nights.
Although Mankell offers an almost Hobbesian view of life as "solidary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," there is a redemptive quality to the strength of Nelio and the street children as he depicts their efforts to fight for the right to dream, hope, and live.
Mankell, noted for his Wallander detective series, provides a diversion from his earlier writings to enter the world of Magic Realism...and indeed, this is a CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD, although I would argue that the influences are largely African (notably, Amos Tutuola, Wole Soyinka, Ben Okri, and, most importantly, Mia Couto) rather than Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, and other Latin American authors. Mankell, director of the Teatro Avenida, spends much of his time in Mozambique, which is the setting for this novel. (Although unnamed, I can verify that Maputo is the city in which the action takes place.) Clearly, however, the tale is one that could be related among the unwanted urchins of any major city, but most tragically in the Third World.
The narrator, Jose Antonio Maria Vaz, is a baker by trade until he meets the novel's protagonist Nelio, a dying 10-year sage of the streets, who has a Scheherazade-like tale to relate over nine nights. After escaping the death and destruction of his village by bandits, Nelio begins his metaphysical and actual journey by meeting a "white dwarf," who has lost his way for "nineteen years, eight months, and four days," a wise old lizard woman, and a drunken con man much like Fagin. Later, after finding a sleeping space within the belly of a colonial equestrian statue, he encounters a variety of street kids, some of whom envisage sea monsters, grow vegetables with dirt in their pockets, and even seemingly turn themselves invisible to invade department stores and the presidential palace. Nelio, despite his youth and small stature, possesses both the moral and spiritual authority to lead this band of children in their efforts to survive the horrific threats and relentless cruelties of the mean urban streets. The ordeals of Nelio's life and death so overwhelm the narrator that he determines to abandon his profession and devote himself to reciting the cautionary tale that he has listened to over successive nights.
Although Mankell offers an almost Hobbesian view of life as "solidary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," there is a redemptive quality to the strength of Nelio and the street children as he depicts their efforts to fight for the right to dream, hope, and live.
October 17, 2016
"Dünya böyle işte... İnsanlar ev değil , saklanacak yerler yapıyorlar."
Çocukluğunu sokaklarda yitirmiş olan , sokak çocuklarının dramı, hiçbir kitapta bu kadar duygusal bir şekilde anlatılamazdı.
Şiir gibi bir anlatım, su gibi akıyor lakin geçtiği yerlerde derin çukurlar açıyor...
Koca koca hüzün çukurları..
Çocukluğunu sokaklarda yitirmiş olan , sokak çocuklarının dramı, hiçbir kitapta bu kadar duygusal bir şekilde anlatılamazdı.
Şiir gibi bir anlatım, su gibi akıyor lakin geçtiği yerlerde derin çukurlar açıyor...
Koca koca hüzün çukurları..
February 4, 2024
Böyle naiflikle sarmalanmış sağlam metinler okuyunca, kitaplarla içli dışlı biri olduğuma öyle seviniyorum ki anlatamam. Kısacık olmasına rağmen günlere yayılan, sindirerek okunan, bitince ardında kağıt kesiği gibi ince bir sızı bırakan kitaplar. Rüzgarlara Söyleyen tam olarak böyle, çok güzel bir çocukluk anlatısıydı.
December 1, 2016
Der Erzähler in diesem Buch ist eigentlich der Zuhörer: Er hört dem mosambikanischen Strassenjungen Nelio zu, den er mit einer Schusswunde in einem Theater auffindet und jetzt zu pflegen versucht. Jede Nacht erzählt Nelio etwas mehr von seiner Geschichte: Von der Vertreibung aus seinem Heimatdorf, von verschiedenen Begegnungen und seinem Leben auf der Strasse.
Der Anfang des Buches ist leider etwas zäh und mit vielen Wiederholungen; aber plötzlich kommt der Moment, in dem man in die Geschichte hineinfällt und es nicht mehr weglegen möchte. Mankells Sprache ist einfühlsam und genau; Hinweise auf die unglückliche Geschichte des Landes werden perfekt in die Geschichte eingewebt. Der Irrsinn dieses tagtäglichen Überlebenskampfs in einem der ärmsten Länder dieser Welt geht einem nah.
Der Anfang des Buches ist leider etwas zäh und mit vielen Wiederholungen; aber plötzlich kommt der Moment, in dem man in die Geschichte hineinfällt und es nicht mehr weglegen möchte. Mankells Sprache ist einfühlsam und genau; Hinweise auf die unglückliche Geschichte des Landes werden perfekt in die Geschichte eingewebt. Der Irrsinn dieses tagtäglichen Überlebenskampfs in einem der ärmsten Länder dieser Welt geht einem nah.
August 11, 2007
Manning Henkel's "Chronicler of the Winds" places me in Africa with voices that will not be silenced; voices that must echo; voices that long to heard by all who will listen.
January 6, 2009
I can't remember ever reading such a haunting book about the injustices of the world and the cruelty of humans (with a nice kick at "aid workers"), told with such respect for the characters.
February 26, 2017
Acabei há umas horas e é difícil descrever o quanto gostei. O livro descreve a vida dos meninos de rua de Moçambique (mas poderiam ser de0 outro sitio qualquer). À partida poderia parecer uma "história batida", mas não é. Está contada com uma sensibilidade tal, que nos faz entrar naquelas vidas de uma forma que não é muito vulgar um livro conseguir. Ainda só acabei de ler o livro há poucas horas, mas acho que ele vai ficar comigo por muito tempo. E de cada vez que olhar para as minhas Pequetinhas, pensar como é injusto que meninos como elas possam ter vindo ao mundo como Nélios, Alfredos Bombas, Tristezas, Mandiocas...
August 4, 2024
bin hin und her gerissen…
LIEEEEBE die Hauptgeschichte, die Rahmengeschichte dagegen gar nicht…
muss dennoch sagen dass das Buch mega zum nachdennken über unsere Weltansichten und Privilegien anregt was ich ganz toll finde🌟
LIEEEEBE die Hauptgeschichte, die Rahmengeschichte dagegen gar nicht…
muss dennoch sagen dass das Buch mega zum nachdennken über unsere Weltansichten und Privilegien anregt was ich ganz toll finde🌟
March 26, 2010
I was skeptical the first 40 pages, it read beautifully but reminded me of too many other books, almost as if copied, but then, as I came to know Nelio and the other street children, I fell in love--with each of them, with the author, with the writing. This book is set in Mozambique, written by a Swedish theater director who shares his life between Sweden and Mozambique. A poetic, lyrical book that provokes more questions than it answers. I saw Nelio's story as that of the classic hero in mythology, down to the albino dwarf guide who sends him to the city to find himself (albinos have a special place in Mozambique society and are not uncommon--they are thought to have magical powers (good) and to be evil. The book touches on the terrible darkness of the civil war in Mozambique after independence in the 70's--and was enlightening in that I hadn't realized the atrocities (briefly touched on) occurred here in the same way they did in other countries. Where does such evil come from? And how beautiful that goodness and light shine even in the darkest of places.
April 10, 2017
A man finds a wounded street child and hides him on the roof of a theatre where the child recounts his life.
For first forty odd pages I was going to give up on this book, then the boy started revealing his dark past and I was hooked. The writing is full of detailed imagery (some of which is very disturbing) and thoughts/ ideas that made me stop and think. Even after finishing this book I still find myself thinking about some of the ideas in it.
This book won’t be for everyone but if you are looking for something different to read this is worth a look.
For first forty odd pages I was going to give up on this book, then the boy started revealing his dark past and I was hooked. The writing is full of detailed imagery (some of which is very disturbing) and thoughts/ ideas that made me stop and think. Even after finishing this book I still find myself thinking about some of the ideas in it.
This book won’t be for everyone but if you are looking for something different to read this is worth a look.
May 21, 2024
Mankell toplumsal meseleleri dert edinen yazarlardan biri. Bu sefer kendi çocukluğunun da geçtiği Afrika’yı seçiyor. Sömürgeci talanından sonra iç savaşla boğuşan ülkelerin çok derin bir toplumsal ve ekonomik krize itildiğini gösteriyor kitap. Hem de bir sokak çocuğu vasıtasıyla. Kitabın dili içeriğine uygun bir şekilde çok basit. Birkaç oturumda bitirilir. Ama bittikten sonra insanı düşüncelere boğuyor. Polisiye yazarın elinden çıktığı için çok rağbet görmediğini düşünüyorum. Okunması gereken çok içten anlatılardan biri.
July 10, 2015
I have to keep talking about this earth, which is sinking farther and farther into unconsciousness, where people must live to forget and not to remember. I have to keep speaking so that the dreams will not grow hot with fever, then cool and finally die.
Oh, Henning Mankell you genius!
I loved Kurt Wallander, I liked your thoughts about Sweden, I liked how you saw the good and the bad in people and how you incorporated that in your books. And did I like this book? Of course I did. I can't imagine ever not liking anything Henning Mankell wrote.
So basically the synopsis of the book says that it is a book about street children or one street child in particular - Nelio. But this book is sooooo much more.
So, the synopsis also tells you right away that Nelio is going to die in the end. Does that make not want to read the book? Hell NO. Because Henning Mankell in one of those writers who can create such a great mystery that even though you know that the main character is going to die, you still want to know about his life and everything that lead to his death. And what a life Nelio had! And how extraordinary Nelio was. Henning Mankell created a strong character, as always.
The only thing that bothered me about Nelio is that sometimes I couldn't imagine a child thinking like Nelio has. I know he was different and that he has been through so much, but could he really have such strong character and smart thoughts about life?
I also loved how Henning Mankell wrote about Africa and how he showed the difficult life people in Africa lead through Nelio and the street kids.
Also, I am a firm believer that you can't write about something you haven't experienced, so the fact that Henning Mankell spends a lot of time in Africa and he had built his own publishing house to support young talents from Africa and Sweden made this book even more enjoyable for me.
Oh, Henning Mankell you genius!
I loved Kurt Wallander, I liked your thoughts about Sweden, I liked how you saw the good and the bad in people and how you incorporated that in your books. And did I like this book? Of course I did. I can't imagine ever not liking anything Henning Mankell wrote.
So basically the synopsis of the book says that it is a book about street children or one street child in particular - Nelio. But this book is sooooo much more.
So, the synopsis also tells you right away that Nelio is going to die in the end. Does that make not want to read the book? Hell NO. Because Henning Mankell in one of those writers who can create such a great mystery that even though you know that the main character is going to die, you still want to know about his life and everything that lead to his death. And what a life Nelio had! And how extraordinary Nelio was. Henning Mankell created a strong character, as always.
The only thing that bothered me about Nelio is that sometimes I couldn't imagine a child thinking like Nelio has. I know he was different and that he has been through so much, but could he really have such strong character and smart thoughts about life?
I also loved how Henning Mankell wrote about Africa and how he showed the difficult life people in Africa lead through Nelio and the street kids.
Also, I am a firm believer that you can't write about something you haven't experienced, so the fact that Henning Mankell spends a lot of time in Africa and he had built his own publishing house to support young talents from Africa and Sweden made this book even more enjoyable for me.
February 16, 2018
This book (and another by the same author) was given to me by a Swedish guy I work with as a secret(!) santa present, as soon as I googled the book and realised that the author was Swedish, it didn’t take my detective skills too long to figure out who gave it to me. I had not heard of this book or author before and finding new authors and reading their back catalogue is one of my favourite things, so I was excited to start reading.
Set in Mozambique, the story we follow is Nelio’s, a dying 10-year kid of the streets who starts relating a tale over nine nights to the narrator of the book Jose Antonio Maria Vaz, a baker by trade. We learn that after escaping the death and destruction of his village by bandits, Nelio begins his journey to his present position. Nelio encounters a white dwarf, a wise old lizard woman and a drunken con man. He falls in with a variety of street kids, some of whom envisage sea monsters, grow vegetables with dirt in their pockets and can turn themselves invisible. Nelio, despite his youth and small stature, possesses both the moral and spiritual authority to lead this band of children in their efforts to survive the horrific threats and relentless cruelties of the mean urban streets.
I really enjoyed this book, I was caught up in the story, writing and flow immediately. The characters felt real and were well formed and what could have been a very depressing tale was actually a lovely read. My only niggle was how many times we were told that Nelio was an old man in a 10-year-old’s body...there was a bit of repetition here but, overall, this was an enjoyable, haunting, sad but engaging story. I am now looking forward to reading the other Mankell book I was given.
Set in Mozambique, the story we follow is Nelio’s, a dying 10-year kid of the streets who starts relating a tale over nine nights to the narrator of the book Jose Antonio Maria Vaz, a baker by trade. We learn that after escaping the death and destruction of his village by bandits, Nelio begins his journey to his present position. Nelio encounters a white dwarf, a wise old lizard woman and a drunken con man. He falls in with a variety of street kids, some of whom envisage sea monsters, grow vegetables with dirt in their pockets and can turn themselves invisible. Nelio, despite his youth and small stature, possesses both the moral and spiritual authority to lead this band of children in their efforts to survive the horrific threats and relentless cruelties of the mean urban streets.
I really enjoyed this book, I was caught up in the story, writing and flow immediately. The characters felt real and were well formed and what could have been a very depressing tale was actually a lovely read. My only niggle was how many times we were told that Nelio was an old man in a 10-year-old’s body...there was a bit of repetition here but, overall, this was an enjoyable, haunting, sad but engaging story. I am now looking forward to reading the other Mankell book I was given.
July 5, 2010
Not Wallander, yet a line taken straight from a Wallander novel - referring to the fact that people build houses not as homes but as hideaways - this is a carefully constructed fable of an eternal permeation of the horrors of life and love. It is dreamlike, symbolic and draws attention to itself as a construction, a theatre attached to a bakery offering many possibilities here. The violence of attrition, the steel iconography of past horrors (in statues and toppled relics), the precipitous verticality of houses built on sliding cliffs, winds and heats blowing in from the Indian Ocean, one absolutely horrific example of violence against a baby: the authority of a beginning author who will keep on telling the story until someone listens. It is as lovely as it is dreadful, tragic in its simple connectionism and actor roles. Extremely controlled, it's a fable about the savage injustices we walk through invisibly in the world of our shared being, the invisibility of forgetfulness and helplessness. Like the Wallander series, such forgetfulness, willed amnesia, is a central theme. But this is not remotely a didactic novel: the winds have been chronicled; a writer has written as if to stir something of the spirit, breath of our shared memory and being. It is a moving and beautiful book.
April 10, 2016
Chronicler of the Winds is a novel of true literary merit. Henning Mankell, the author of the very popular Kurt Wallender police detective series set in Sweden, shows his breadth of capabilities in Chronicler. We should never forget the extraordinary range of day to day living throughout our world. The kinds of lives billions of people somehow manage to live through is incomprehensible to me. The story of Nelio is just one of those billions of stories of just surviving each day. Here are some of the stunning words of Mankell in Chronicler.
I saw how the poor were forced to eat their lives raw.
Even a dream can be plucked out of your head and shaped for a purpose.
Only you can say which direction you should take.
A road can be long and short. It depends on where you're coming from and where you're going.
I have nothing to give to you (Nelio). Give something to someone else when one day you have something to give (Yabu Bara).
Death is the one thing that life gives us for nothing.
I saw how the poor were forced to eat their lives raw.
Even a dream can be plucked out of your head and shaped for a purpose.
Only you can say which direction you should take.
A road can be long and short. It depends on where you're coming from and where you're going.
I have nothing to give to you (Nelio). Give something to someone else when one day you have something to give (Yabu Bara).
Death is the one thing that life gives us for nothing.
February 6, 2022
'Rüzgarlara Söyleyen olarak tanınan hırpani heriftir Jose Antonio Maria Vaz. Dudaklarım, dinlemeye kimsenin hazır olmadığı bir hikaye anlatırcasına gece gündüz aralıksız oynar.'
.
Rüzgarlara Söyleyen'in bir hikayesi var: Nelio'nun hikayesi. Nelio'nun da bir hikayesi var: atalarının ruhları ve sokakların görmezden gelinen çocuklarına dair.
Her birimizin dilinde söylenecek nice söz duruyor gibi. Henning Mankell önce davranıyor.
Yazıyor ve içinde biriktirdiklerini kağıtlara dokuyor. Tek tek, bir rüzgar hafifliğinde.
.
Rüzgarlara Söyleyen, bilhassa polisiye romanlarıyla ünlü İsveçli yazar Henning Mankell ile tanışma kitabımdı. Ölümünü bekleyen bir çocuğun gözlerinden öyle dokunaklı bir hikaye anlatıyor ki yazar, etkilenmemek mümkün değil.
.
Dokuz geceye yayılan ölümleri, hayalleri, düşleri, çölleri ve denizleri siz de dinleyin isterim..
.
Haluk Barışcan çevirisi, Emine Bora kapak kolajıyla~
.
Rüzgarlara Söyleyen'in bir hikayesi var: Nelio'nun hikayesi. Nelio'nun da bir hikayesi var: atalarının ruhları ve sokakların görmezden gelinen çocuklarına dair.
Her birimizin dilinde söylenecek nice söz duruyor gibi. Henning Mankell önce davranıyor.
Yazıyor ve içinde biriktirdiklerini kağıtlara dokuyor. Tek tek, bir rüzgar hafifliğinde.
.
Rüzgarlara Söyleyen, bilhassa polisiye romanlarıyla ünlü İsveçli yazar Henning Mankell ile tanışma kitabımdı. Ölümünü bekleyen bir çocuğun gözlerinden öyle dokunaklı bir hikaye anlatıyor ki yazar, etkilenmemek mümkün değil.
.
Dokuz geceye yayılan ölümleri, hayalleri, düşleri, çölleri ve denizleri siz de dinleyin isterim..
.
Haluk Barışcan çevirisi, Emine Bora kapak kolajıyla~
April 8, 2020
Sehr verstörend und schwer zu ertragen.
October 15, 2025
Ich habe das Buch 2020 das erste Mal gelesen. Ich fand es damals schon unglaublich schön geschrieben. Fünf Jahre später konnte ich mich nicht mehr an alles erinnern und es war schön das ganze Buch nochmals zu erleben. Grosse Empfehlung!
January 18, 2025
von jette bekommen <3
für mich hätte es die perspektive des bäckers nicht unbedingt gebraucht aber nelios geschichte (ein mosambikanischer junge der durch vertreibung als straßenkind in der stadt wohnt) hat mir ganz gut gefallen.
hat surreale stellen, die mich bisl an „hundert jahre einsamkeit“ erinnert haben.
für mich hätte es die perspektive des bäckers nicht unbedingt gebraucht aber nelios geschichte (ein mosambikanischer junge der durch vertreibung als straßenkind in der stadt wohnt) hat mir ganz gut gefallen.
hat surreale stellen, die mich bisl an „hundert jahre einsamkeit“ erinnert haben.
February 27, 2018
True! It is possible that my five-star rating has as much to do with Mankell the man as well as Mankell the writer. I finished this inspiring and haunting book this morning and then spent several hours reading about Mankell who lives with "One foot in the snow and one foot in the sand." I admire his work in dealing with AIDS in Africa, his journey on the flotilla to break the Gaza barriers, his determination to keep the African stories alive and his constant questioning about where evil comes from. As with the Wallander books, Mankell explores what is human and what is barbaric and he does it often with the sound of poetry.
Some notions that I hope to ponder in the future: the source for evil; cruel treatment of children; the connections between the spirit world and this world; storytelling may be the most important fact about us; too many people live to forget rather than live to remember; and, finally, too few writers accept their moral responsibility to take a stand.
We recently finished watching the BBC production of Mantel's "Wolf Hall" in which Anne Boleyn (as she realizes her probable fate) states that her death will not take long. "I have such a small neck." Nelio echoes that as he approaches his death by stating that it will go quickly as his body is so small. Both very touching, both very honest.
Some notions that I hope to ponder in the future: the source for evil; cruel treatment of children; the connections between the spirit world and this world; storytelling may be the most important fact about us; too many people live to forget rather than live to remember; and, finally, too few writers accept their moral responsibility to take a stand.
We recently finished watching the BBC production of Mantel's "Wolf Hall" in which Anne Boleyn (as she realizes her probable fate) states that her death will not take long. "I have such a small neck." Nelio echoes that as he approaches his death by stating that it will go quickly as his body is so small. Both very touching, both very honest.
October 19, 2018
There are plenty of complaints I could lodge against this book for being a bit too saccharine, for having a bit of a 'magical other' element to it, but I think in all its exactly the kind of archetypal book that the world needs an infinite amount of: A story about how the poor and humble ones are the best of us, and even though the world is unjust, will never be made right, there's still some scrap of meaning amidst it all.
February 4, 2014
Bu kitabı ucuz olduğu için almıştım. Ama hikayeyi öyle sevdim, öyle benimsedim ki, neden daha önce bu kitabı keşfetmemişim diye hayıflandım. Sokak çocuğu Nelionun hayatı içimi parçaladı, hikaye anlamlı, çeviri çok güzel, kitabın kalitesi de çok iyi. herkese tavsiye ediyorum.
Read
May 24, 2016How can a great writer of one genre, write so exquisitely in a totally different genre? Henning Mankell was an author who achieved just that. The story of Nelio, the street boy from Africa, is spellbinding!
March 11, 2018
I cannot really begin to describe this story so much as say "it was really well done" and leave it at that. The guy's writing range is stellar.
June 15, 2019
"Y es que Nelio no fue sólo un niño de la calle, pobre y sucio. Fue, sobre todo, un ser extraordinario, inasequible, equívoco, como una rara avis de la que todos hablan pero nadie ha llegado a vislumbrar. Pese a su temprana muerte, poseía la experiencia y la sabiduría de un hombre centenario".
Tengo mucho, y a la vez nada, que decir de este libro, me ha tocado el alma en muchos niveles. Mankell nos cuenta en esta novela una desgarradora historia de pobreza e inocente sabiduría. El retrato de un mundo visto a los ojos de los que menos tienen. Una odisea infantil plagada de escenarios crudos que muchas veces te hacen sentir desesperado.
¿Se puede percibir a una persona con más claridad que cuando está moribunda? ¿Es acaso la proximidad de la muerte lo que hace que veamos los rasgos de un ser humano como son realmente?".
Un libro muy bien escrito, todo en él es fabuloso; su estructura; sus pintorescos y trágicos personajes que nos hacen reflexionar sobre la vida, la muerte, la riqueza, etc.
"-No hay más que dos caminos en la vida -afirmó-. El e la locura, que conduce a los seres humanos a la destrucción, ese que uno sigue cuando actúa en contra de su propia razón. El otro, el que nos guía bien, es el que hay que seguir".
Mankell es famoso por su ciclo del detective Wallander, me lo habían recomendado mucho pero no soy de leer novela negra. Tiempo después, un amigo me recomendó este libro, me dijo que era el mejor de él y, aunque no he leído más, puede aventurarme a decir que lo es. Lo recomiendo totalmente.
Tengo mucho, y a la vez nada, que decir de este libro, me ha tocado el alma en muchos niveles. Mankell nos cuenta en esta novela una desgarradora historia de pobreza e inocente sabiduría. El retrato de un mundo visto a los ojos de los que menos tienen. Una odisea infantil plagada de escenarios crudos que muchas veces te hacen sentir desesperado.
¿Se puede percibir a una persona con más claridad que cuando está moribunda? ¿Es acaso la proximidad de la muerte lo que hace que veamos los rasgos de un ser humano como son realmente?".
Un libro muy bien escrito, todo en él es fabuloso; su estructura; sus pintorescos y trágicos personajes que nos hacen reflexionar sobre la vida, la muerte, la riqueza, etc.
"-No hay más que dos caminos en la vida -afirmó-. El e la locura, que conduce a los seres humanos a la destrucción, ese que uno sigue cuando actúa en contra de su propia razón. El otro, el que nos guía bien, es el que hay que seguir".
Mankell es famoso por su ciclo del detective Wallander, me lo habían recomendado mucho pero no soy de leer novela negra. Tiempo después, un amigo me recomendó este libro, me dijo que era el mejor de él y, aunque no he leído más, puede aventurarme a decir que lo es. Lo recomiendo totalmente.
August 5, 2025
A favourite author in a completely different genre. Nothing close to his Scandinavian noir thrillers with Detective Kurt Wallander in this earlier work. Touching, painfully sad and beautiful. We long for something in the face of horrible atrocities. The brutality in war torn Africa is unimaginable. The main character and the narrator will stay with me.
March 25, 2024
Fand den Schreibstil etwas verwirrend, aber dafür die Sprache umso schöner (abgesehen von den politisch inkorrekten Begriffen).
Sehr traurige, aber wichtige Geschichte.
Sehr traurige, aber wichtige Geschichte.
May 23, 2023
A rather sad story about a dying street kid telling the story of his life.
December 16, 2008
Henning Mankell is a thriller writer (with a very good series for the mystery buffs among us) who has branched out with his latest book and has successfully pulled off a completely different kind of novel. Set in an unknown country in Africa the narrator, a baker, finds what he thinks is a street boy who has been shot. Nelio is so much more however and telling his story changes the life of the baker forever.
Some reviewers will find the occasional dips into magical realism to be a flaw in the novel but for me it was one of the strengths moving the novel from a sad fable about a troubling time and place into a mythic saga that makes meaningful the life to a ten year old child of the streets.
Some reviewers will find the occasional dips into magical realism to be a flaw in the novel but for me it was one of the strengths moving the novel from a sad fable about a troubling time and place into a mythic saga that makes meaningful the life to a ten year old child of the streets.
August 12, 2020
Interesting story about a very wise street urchin in Mozambique and his life. To me this was a quick and enjoyable read, which despite dealing with quite rough subjects and realities (and containing certain terrible events), still made me feel hopeful and happy. The characters were sweet and interesting and the story we get to follow (or well, the "story in the story") was interesting and addictive. To me, Mankell's primary occupation as a writer of murder mysteries shone through. The way he was able to build suspense with small means was great.
Overall, a quick and interesting read which evoked a wide range of emotions. The prose was beautiful (I read the Swedish version) and easy to take in.
Overall, a quick and interesting read which evoked a wide range of emotions. The prose was beautiful (I read the Swedish version) and easy to take in.
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