Changes

The book was originally written in Swedish in 1991. It doesn't feel like a fifteen-year-old book though as some of the issues, such as asylum seekers and immigration are as relevant today. It was translated into English by Steven T Murray in 1997. I can only judge the quality of the translation by considering the prose as published - I have no way of comparing the English version with the original Swedish. Some of the later Wallander novels are translated by Laurie Thompson and I thought that Thompson produced a better, more flowing text than Murray. It didn't mar my enjoyment of the novel though.

unnatural places and there are even occasions when words are joinedtogether. These aren't isolated incidents; there are sometimes several on a page. When I read I don't want to notice the text - it's like breathing - you should only notice it when there's something wrong. I've had a similar, but not so extreme, problem with another Wallander novel published by Vintage. I've never before deducted a star because of poor editing but this is deserved as it's an intrusive problem.