Random Things Tours: Kalmann by Joachim B. Schmidt - transl. by Jamie Lee Searle

 

It never happened before to read a book labelled as a mystery, a genre I adore, but ending up being focused on completely other non-mysterious details, such as following the voice of the main storyteller and other social- and politically-related aspects pertaining to Iceland. 

Kalmann by Iceland-based German author Joachim B. Schmidt, translated into English by Jamie Lee Searle is built around the voice of the character with the same name, a thirty something neurodiverse man who, inspired by his ailing grandfather is spending his time hunting and catching gigantic sharks. Self-appointed sheriff of Ranfarhöfn, he is becoming of public, even mediatic interest, as he discovers a pool of blood, most probably belonging to a local wealthy resident, Robert McKenzie, who mysteriously disappeared. 

Logically, the rest of the story which starts at the pace reminding of an old tale, is expected to be built around the efforts of discovering his corpse or/and the perpetrators, if any. However, although those details still play an important role and shape the account at a certain extent, Kalmann´s unique voice is more captivating and takes more narrative space. 

Kalmann is the one who was given full control of the story: he is the one sharing the account and giving voice to the other characters and events. His personal details and wishes and interpretations are the only one we are offered. The other characters are his reflection and so are the interpretation of facts, as well as the choice of the priorities: for instance, the mentions about his grandfather and the extent to which this one shaped his own world and choices are more important than finding McKenzie. 

His voice is naive, hilarious, but also deeply curious about the world. It´s captivating to follow along, as it does have its own charm, while also sharing local everyday Icelanding realities, such as the reaction towards foreigners, particularly coming from Eastern Europe, or the decline of traditional fishing industries.

As I was deeply lost into Kalmann´s account, the way in which the ending was introduced didn´t come as a suprise, but most probably in other contextual circumstances I would have been a bit disappointed. But as I said already, the mystery aspect is less relevant in this case.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own