Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Sixtrid (2011), Unabridged MP3 CD; 9h40
Description
Once a successful surgeon, Frederick Welin now lives in self-imposed exile on an island in the Swedish archipelago. Nearly twelve years have passed since he was disgraced for attempting to cover up a tragic mishap on the operating table. One morning in the depths of winter, he sees a hunched figure struggling towards him across the ice. His past is about to catch up with him. The figure approaching in the freezing cold is Harriet, the only woman he has ever loved, the woman he abandoned in order to go and study in America forty years earlier. She has sought him out in the hope that he will honour a promise made many years ago. Now in the late stages of a terminal illness, she wants to visit a small lake in northern Sweden, a place Welin's father took him once as a boy. He upholds his pledge and drives her to this beautiful pool hidden deep in the forest. On the journey through the desolate snow-covered landscape, Welin reflects on his impoverished childhood and the woman he later left behind. However, once there Welin discovers that Harriet has left the biggest surprise until last. "Italian Shoes" is as compelling as it is disturbing. Through his anti-hero Welin, Mankell tackles ageing and death with sensitivity and acuity, and as with the critically acclaimed Depths, delivers a moving tour-de-force on the frailty of mankind.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jeniwren
A once successful surgeon lives a quiet, lonely life on a small island in the Swedish archipelago. His self imposed exile is in part due to a serious case of malpractice twelve years ago . One day out on the ice he sees a figure approaching which sees this broken man once and for all face the
A meditative read on aging and death , very evocative of the chilly landscape off the Stockholm coast.
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demons of his past.A meditative read on aging and death , very evocative of the chilly landscape off the Stockholm coast.
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LibraryThing member austcrimefiction
ITALIAN SHOES by Henning Mankell goes to prove, once again, that a really good writer is a really good writer, regardless of the genre, styling, or setting of the book. Exploring the themes of estrangement, loss, fear and isolation ITALIAN SHOES isn't a crime fiction novel, it's a poignant,
Frederick Welin is sixty-six years old, a former surgeon who has spent the last 12 years of his life, purposely exiled to the island home that his grandparents left him. He has carved out a life with his dog, his cat, and occasional visits from Jansson the postman. Woken just before dawn on a dark December morning, the sound of the "ice singing" evokes memories of his past - his father, his grandparents, his island, his professional and personal mistakes.
In a strange way he's not surprised then, when early in the New Year his past comes back to him in the form of a little old lady on a walker, making painful slow progress across the ice towards him. He had loved Harriet Hörnfeldt intensely, and he'd abandoned her abruptly in 1966. Dying of cancer, she has come looking for him. She wants answers, she wants Frederick to finally make good on a promise he made all those years ago. She wants to see the pool in the middle of the northern forest, where he talked of one joyous day with his father.
A road journey, in a beat up old car, in the harshest weather in decades, follows. Unsure if he can even find the pond, the two embark not just on a quest for the place, but also, in a touchingly clumsy manner, some understanding of how they both got to where they are now jointly and separately in their lives. They argue and bicker, rescue abandoned dogs, leave behind Frederick's own pets in a mildly distracting way, but find the pool. Frederick nearly loses his own life on the ice in the pond, Harriet saves him, they move on in the journey, to somebody, somewhere... but more would be telling too much.
ITALIAN SHOES is a moving, tightly drawn portrait of a couple of people who could seem, on the face of it, emotionally shut down and withdrawn. What Mankell does is draw you into the lives and thoughts of Frederick mostly, and Harriet to a slightly lesser degree as Frederick is forced to consider his past and how he wants his future to be. What Mankell has done is written a central character who it is really easy to dislike, and yet... A profoundly self-centred man, Frederick's life has been an odd combination of bravado and running away. He's a faithless lover, a haphazard animal owner, a brilliant surgeon whose arrogance led him to make a profound mistake - which he ran away from. A snoop, a bad-tempered man, a loner who regards the world with suspicion there's an awful lot to dislike about Frederick, and yet, Frederick is very human and his slow, hesitant steps to redemption, recompense, are profoundly touching in the main because of their simple humanity.
Quiet, intense, low key almost ITALIAN SHOES is a beautiful, glorious tale of confrontation, human frailty and redemption.
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beautiful, sad, uplifting and evocative look at a man, his life, his mistakes and his redemption.Frederick Welin is sixty-six years old, a former surgeon who has spent the last 12 years of his life, purposely exiled to the island home that his grandparents left him. He has carved out a life with his dog, his cat, and occasional visits from Jansson the postman. Woken just before dawn on a dark December morning, the sound of the "ice singing" evokes memories of his past - his father, his grandparents, his island, his professional and personal mistakes.
In a strange way he's not surprised then, when early in the New Year his past comes back to him in the form of a little old lady on a walker, making painful slow progress across the ice towards him. He had loved Harriet Hörnfeldt intensely, and he'd abandoned her abruptly in 1966. Dying of cancer, she has come looking for him. She wants answers, she wants Frederick to finally make good on a promise he made all those years ago. She wants to see the pool in the middle of the northern forest, where he talked of one joyous day with his father.
A road journey, in a beat up old car, in the harshest weather in decades, follows. Unsure if he can even find the pond, the two embark not just on a quest for the place, but also, in a touchingly clumsy manner, some understanding of how they both got to where they are now jointly and separately in their lives. They argue and bicker, rescue abandoned dogs, leave behind Frederick's own pets in a mildly distracting way, but find the pool. Frederick nearly loses his own life on the ice in the pond, Harriet saves him, they move on in the journey, to somebody, somewhere... but more would be telling too much.
ITALIAN SHOES is a moving, tightly drawn portrait of a couple of people who could seem, on the face of it, emotionally shut down and withdrawn. What Mankell does is draw you into the lives and thoughts of Frederick mostly, and Harriet to a slightly lesser degree as Frederick is forced to consider his past and how he wants his future to be. What Mankell has done is written a central character who it is really easy to dislike, and yet... A profoundly self-centred man, Frederick's life has been an odd combination of bravado and running away. He's a faithless lover, a haphazard animal owner, a brilliant surgeon whose arrogance led him to make a profound mistake - which he ran away from. A snoop, a bad-tempered man, a loner who regards the world with suspicion there's an awful lot to dislike about Frederick, and yet, Frederick is very human and his slow, hesitant steps to redemption, recompense, are profoundly touching in the main because of their simple humanity.
Quiet, intense, low key almost ITALIAN SHOES is a beautiful, glorious tale of confrontation, human frailty and redemption.
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LibraryThing member jayne_charles
I didn’t get on with this at all. It read as though the author had taken delivery of a flat-packed plot, and assembled it without reference to the instructions. Opening with the central character Frederick - former surgeon and eavesdropper - living a reclusive life, it turns out to be a fairly
As events unfold, one of Frederick’s old flames (now pretty old) turns up and drags him off to look for some mysterious lake in the middle of nowhere. Then she suggests where they should go next and who they should visit and I groaned inwardly and thought...no no....not that old chestnut again. Unfortunately it was that old chestnut again (and I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, but there’s really not much to spoil).
It’s always a bad sign when supporting characters have back-stories considerably more interesting than the story you’re reading. Agnes, for example – victim of a particularly harrowing surgical howler – was a far more interesting character as far as I was concerned. We didn’t see enough of her. What we did get was a load of random nonsense about shoes, painters, caravans, and anthills in bedrooms. Not to mention dogs and cats. One of the pets goes missing partway through – presumably in search of a more compelling plot.
I’ll admit to liking the note written for the postman. That was a welcome moment of light relief. But ultimately I’m puzzled. This author is massively respected and very popular. His other stuff is better than this, right?
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standard Recluse-Forced-To-Reintegrate storyline. Pretty much the same story as A.M.Homes’ “This Book will Save your Life” but not as good or remotely as funny. As events unfold, one of Frederick’s old flames (now pretty old) turns up and drags him off to look for some mysterious lake in the middle of nowhere. Then she suggests where they should go next and who they should visit and I groaned inwardly and thought...no no....not that old chestnut again. Unfortunately it was that old chestnut again (and I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, but there’s really not much to spoil).
It’s always a bad sign when supporting characters have back-stories considerably more interesting than the story you’re reading. Agnes, for example – victim of a particularly harrowing surgical howler – was a far more interesting character as far as I was concerned. We didn’t see enough of her. What we did get was a load of random nonsense about shoes, painters, caravans, and anthills in bedrooms. Not to mention dogs and cats. One of the pets goes missing partway through – presumably in search of a more compelling plot.
I’ll admit to liking the note written for the postman. That was a welcome moment of light relief. But ultimately I’m puzzled. This author is massively respected and very popular. His other stuff is better than this, right?
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LibraryThing member Possej
Witness one man's personal journey as he faces the demons of his past. The story takes place in a secluded island off the coast of Stockholm; the environment and the seasons are beautifully captured as are the insights into each of the characters.
LibraryThing member cajela
A novel without a detective, by the Swedish author of the Wallender series. Frederick Welin lives alone, a hermit on a remote island with no apparent hope for the future or connection to other people. He is old, and so too are his cat and dog.
And then one day an old woman arrives with the
And then one day an old woman arrives with the
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mailboat, and Welin's solitude is broken. He must travel to meet people from his past, and their newer connections, including an Italian cobbler and some delinquent teen girls. It's as melancholy and icy as any of the Wallender books, though there is a touch of optimism and a beautiful sense of place. Show Less
LibraryThing member pmfloyd1
I can't recommend this book to strongly for those over 40 years of age..... Probably one of the most interesting and thoughtful books I have read in years. I truly enjoyed it. I like the story line and the real feel to the narrator's life. You have to get beyond the first few chapters and the story
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takes off. I think that this novel is one of his best, in fact, I think it is better than most of his Kurt W. series. Don't read all the reviews before you read the story and like any adult, give the story a chance to develop. Mankell knows how to write and let him tell the story. In the end, this book reminded me of Jazz, you have to come to it with something from your life so that you can truly appreciate the depth and complexity of the story ... you can't sit back and let it wash over you... as with classic rock and a summer beach read. On the other hand, it is not too deep ... as if you were reading Umberto Eco. Paul Floyd, Mpls, MN USA Show Less
LibraryThing member grheault
Black comedy of the depressed? The hero is a once practicing surgeon into his twelfth year on the family island with only his old dog and cat for company, and the daily delivery of the postman for human contact. He is self-penitent because of a professional "catastrophe" and self-flagellates with
And so, the adventure begins, as our hero is pulled as if he is a tooth being extracted by a psychic dentist, away from his island, into his past, his present and his future. Highly cinematic, there are many comic characters, and comic moments with histrionics, climax, and anti-climax. You wonder if its real, and you believe its real, but you can't believe it is real.
This might be a redemption story. I am not sure. Nor do I have any idea of the meaning of all the shoes or the comic anthill that seems to survive a lot of action in grandmothers old cabin. Its a dream-like story that gets a little too Hollywood death scene melodramatic towards the end. But I found it compelling enough to read all the way through and to end on a note of, "Hmm, great movie, great scenery, great characters, but what was that all about?" Worthwhile.
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the daily ice water baths. He logs the weather, feeds the pets. What's to change? It's rather comical when, against his will, he is visited by a figure who lands on the ice near his cabin, perhaps a Dickensian Spirit of Christmas Past? Is it a dream? No, it is his first true love, left in the lurch, long long ago, come back to haunt him.And so, the adventure begins, as our hero is pulled as if he is a tooth being extracted by a psychic dentist, away from his island, into his past, his present and his future. Highly cinematic, there are many comic characters, and comic moments with histrionics, climax, and anti-climax. You wonder if its real, and you believe its real, but you can't believe it is real.
This might be a redemption story. I am not sure. Nor do I have any idea of the meaning of all the shoes or the comic anthill that seems to survive a lot of action in grandmothers old cabin. Its a dream-like story that gets a little too Hollywood death scene melodramatic towards the end. But I found it compelling enough to read all the way through and to end on a note of, "Hmm, great movie, great scenery, great characters, but what was that all about?" Worthwhile.
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LibraryThing member wunschie
This haunting story is one of the best books I've ever read, full of wonderful scenes which stay with you long after the book is finished.
LibraryThing member stefano
I bought this book by mistake expecting it to me a mystery story (which it isn't). This book isn't for me: I become anxious when people behave unreasonably/erratically, even in books. There are however two themes that I found interesting, against the background of my previous exposure to the Stieg
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Larsson Millennium Trilogy: apparently Sweden is very concerned with 1) immigration (and its responsibility to asylum seekers); 2) gender struggle and the pain men inflict on women. Show Less
LibraryThing member cln1812
Not a mystery, for once! After distrastrously amputating the wrong arm of a patient, former surgen Fredik Welin hides himself out in his grandparents' old house on an isolated island in Sweden's outer archipelago. During the winter, just to remind himself he is still living, he cuts open a hole in
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the ice and drops down naked into the freezing water below. Life has had little meaning for him the last 12 years since his great catastrophe as a surgeon, but all that changes when one winter morning, he spots an old woman with a walker out on the ice of his island. It is Harriet, the lover he abandoned decades ago and she has come wanting him to keep a simple promise he made before leaving her: to show her a forest pool he last saw as a boy with his father many years ago. The appearance of Harriet in his life stirs up a number of complicated issues for Welin and he comes to the realization that he has hidden from his problems long enough. It is a story about love and sadness, life and death, not the easiest read but about making something of your life before it is too late. Show Less
LibraryThing member fglass
I couldn't put this one down! I was drawn into an icy surround created by Henning Mankell's protagonist, Fredrick. For who among us hasn't hidden from ourselves what we truly are? And haven't we all run from the painful reality of our existence at one time or another? The clearly marked and
The atmosphere created by the weather, and the scenery, and the really true characters held me, until I had hope again.
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ever-changing seasons in "Italian Shoes" play contrapuntal partner to the in and out of the existential moments of Harriet, Louise, Agnes, Fredrik.The atmosphere created by the weather, and the scenery, and the really true characters held me, until I had hope again.
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LibraryThing member Ameise1
What a wonderful story about an elderly man, who in the beginning was living by himself on a little island. By and by four different women are dropping into his unspectacular routinely everyday life. Some were aroused from his earlier life others he just met recently. His life is taking a
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completely new turn with lots of troubles but also with lots of emotional moments. Show Less
LibraryThing member cathymoore
An odd tale, full of wonderfully odd characters - the old man living alone by the sea, the hypochondriac postman, the woman who lives in a caravan and writes letters to politicians. All of these characters are flawed and their behaviour is in some cases, nothing short of awful. This book was
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strangely compelling and left me full of thoughts about honesty, being true to myself and how I treat my family and those who are close to me. Thought provoking writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member OgdenReads
I enjoy reading Mankell’s Kurt Wallander mysteries, so I thought I’d try one of his novels. I wasn’t disappointed. Being Swedish, Mankell’s books are set in Sweden, this one on a tiny island that is only reachable by boat and is surrounded by ice in the winter. Fredrik Welin has become a
Review written by Kate Vreeland, 11/25/2009
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hermit in his middle age, exiling himself to this island after a terrible mistake he made while a successful surgeon. One winter’s day an unexpected visitor shows up and surprisingly Fredrik embarks on a journey of renewal, facing his memories and finding a new hope for his future.Review written by Kate Vreeland, 11/25/2009
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LibraryThing member StaffReads
I enjoyed this elegantly written work more than Hossenini’s first two best-sellers because for me it has more universal appeal. The book follows an Afghan family through love, lose, war life in general.SRH
LibraryThing member skraft001
A marvelously written book by a master writer. Yes, it is a generally depressing tale -- but it's honest about life in a way that few books are. There are numerous passages that just grab you and beg to be written down or committed to memory. One that was so well phrased:
'Every morning when I woke
But I got nowhere. I made no decisions. I occasionally lifted the tarpaulin over the boat and had the feeling that I was in fact looking at myself. The flaking paint was mine, as were the cracks and the damp. Perhaps even the smell of wood slowly rotting away.'
It would be difficult to read this book without taking something away.
'Every morning when I woke
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up, I resolved to start making a serious attempt to put my life in order. I could no longer allow the days to slide past without anything constructive being done.But I got nowhere. I made no decisions. I occasionally lifted the tarpaulin over the boat and had the feeling that I was in fact looking at myself. The flaking paint was mine, as were the cracks and the damp. Perhaps even the smell of wood slowly rotting away.'
It would be difficult to read this book without taking something away.
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LibraryThing member missizicks
A wry, humorous and touching novel about introspection, loneliness and the righting of wrongs. As endearing a central character as Wallander but with more of a focus on human relationships in a style that reminded me of Tove Jansson's True Deceiver. Well worth reading, whether or not you enjoy the
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Wallander books for which Henning Mankell is famous. Show Less
LibraryThing member St.CroixSue
A literary piece on reflecting on a long life and how a person’s well planned complacency near the end of life can easily be turned on its head by simple visit. Well placed twists and turns.
LibraryThing member TimBazzett
I know Henning Mankell is world famous for his Kurt Wallander detective series, but ITALIAN SHOES is the first and only Mankell book I've read. And I liked it, up to a point. Dr Fredrik Welin, the sixty-six year-old narrator protagonist, is a fascinating character, and that is what really makes the
Mankell seems quite preoccupied with life and death and the thin veil that separate them. Yes, this is serious fiction, but sometimes there were passages and pages that just left me wondering: What does he MEAN by this? Mankell is an accomplished writer whose work has been translated into several languages. I'm not surprised. He's good, damn good. But maybe there's something just a bit inscrutable about this far north Swedish sensibility, because, well because I'm pretty sure I was missing something here and there. Maybe something was "lost in translation." That said, I'd still recommend this book, just because it does give you plenty to think about. And maybe one day I'll even try one of his Kurt Wallander mysteries. Because, like I already said, this guy is good.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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book worthwhile. The story itself - his blighted childhood as the son of a professional waiter and a teary, ineffectual mother, his rise out out of poverty to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon, and his sudden fall from grace after a drastic mistake in the operating room - kind of meanders here and there. But the descriptions of his hideaway cabin on an otherwise uninhabited island in the Swedish archipelago is really quite fascinating, as are the other characters he brings in - his former lover (from forty years ago), an unexpected family, and a few other odd and unusual types all kept me turning the pages, wondering what the hell would happen to the poor guy next. Mankell employs some interesting plot devices, like a near drowning in an iced-over forest pool, which may represent a kind of baptism into a new life for Welin, as he reengages with the greater world after a twelve-year, self-imposed exile on his island. But then there's this giant anthill which has taken over a room in his house, which he chooses to ignore, by simply closing the door on it. I'm still not quite sure what the hell that was all about, or what it was supposed to mean. And there's the title, connected with a hermit Italian shoemaker who makes special shoes for the rich and famous. I think it means that a pair of well-made comfortable shoes can change your outlook, perhaps even your very life. Welin finally gets a pair of those shoes and wears them around inside his house, enjoying how they feel. But then that's it. So ... ??? Are they magic shoes? Is it something to do with The Shoemaker and the Elves? I dunno. I'm not making fun, honest! I'd just like to feel that I understood this book a little better than I did. And I had other questions too that kept nagging at me. Welin's house is the only one on his island, and yet he has heat, but never mentions what kind, never seems to cut wood. He has electricity, with radio and TV. But he's on an otherwise deserted ISLAND! Ah, well ... Mankell seems quite preoccupied with life and death and the thin veil that separate them. Yes, this is serious fiction, but sometimes there were passages and pages that just left me wondering: What does he MEAN by this? Mankell is an accomplished writer whose work has been translated into several languages. I'm not surprised. He's good, damn good. But maybe there's something just a bit inscrutable about this far north Swedish sensibility, because, well because I'm pretty sure I was missing something here and there. Maybe something was "lost in translation." That said, I'd still recommend this book, just because it does give you plenty to think about. And maybe one day I'll even try one of his Kurt Wallander mysteries. Because, like I already said, this guy is good.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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LibraryThing member stef7sa
A very strange story this one with images that will remain with me for a long time. This tale of a man, a former doctor, really gets to you, as does the environment in which he lives: an island high up in Scandinavia at a sea which freezes over most of the year. His isolated lonely life is upset
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when his former girlfriend shows up, in a bizarre way, which leads the protagonist to come into action again, very slowly after 12 years of standstill. He meets other people from important stages in his life, strange characters as well, difficult and annoying, but also true and authentic. Great style of writing, with strong images and humorous. Show Less
LibraryThing member akblanchard
I read Italian Shoes, the first book about elderly, disgraced former surgeon Fredrick Welin after I read the second, After the Fire, and this may have been a mistake. I found I liked After the Fire better, because it seemed to have more of a point to it. Italian Shoes is a meandering, somewhat
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implausible story in which a reclusive old man unexpectedly reunites with the woman he abandoned years ago. Predictably, the beautiful, mysterious daughter he never knew he had is not far behind. Welin also reconnects with the woman whose surgery he botched many years ago, and even gets involved with her life's work. This is by no means a bad book; it is just that I liked the second one, which had more in the way of plotting and suspense, better. Show Less
LibraryThing member likos77
Ein Buch, dessen Titel nicht dem Inhalt gerecht wird. Zentrales Thema ist der Tod, einmal herbeigeführt durch eine Krankheit und ein zweites Mal durch pure Verzweiflung. Ein einprägsamer Rückblick über vergangene Fehler.
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
What a beautiful story this was. It’s of an aging Swedish man, a former surgeon who left his practice because of an unfortunate incident, who lived alone in an archipelago of Sweden. He interacted with very few people, but had a cat and dog to keep him company. One day he spied a person on the
This book moves slowly with its characters and its secluded environment. The awesomeness of nature is always the background to the relationships that change and develop as our main character decides if he would rather be alone of have some closer relationships.
The story also presents the realities of aging in a serious, realistic way.
The gorgeous writing and storytelling in this literary novel, surprised me because I thought that the author Henning Mankell has been a crime writer. This was the kind of story that I didn’t want to end. I hated to say goodbye to the elderly gentleman who shared his personal story with us, his readers. How would he fare in the future? I wanted to know.
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ice whom he had known when he was younger. I don’t want to give away any of the beauty or surprises of this story, but I will say this person changed his life in many ways.This book moves slowly with its characters and its secluded environment. The awesomeness of nature is always the background to the relationships that change and develop as our main character decides if he would rather be alone of have some closer relationships.
The story also presents the realities of aging in a serious, realistic way.
The gorgeous writing and storytelling in this literary novel, surprised me because I thought that the author Henning Mankell has been a crime writer. This was the kind of story that I didn’t want to end. I hated to say goodbye to the elderly gentleman who shared his personal story with us, his readers. How would he fare in the future? I wanted to know.
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LibraryThing member jldarden
Something different from Mankell. A little slow but a good character study of a man brought out of self isolation by a person from his past. I enjoyed it.
Original publication date
2006
Physical description
1 p.; 5.43 x 0.28 inches