A young girl self-immolates before Wallander’s eyes. Shortly afterwards a series of brutal murders is unleashed; one of the most difficult cases Inspector Wallander has ever faced. What connects the victims – a retired minister of justice, an art dealer, a small-time crook, and a loan shark? In fine style, Mankell draws a portrait of a sector of present-day Swedish society, with an underlying lament for the loss of traditional values that leads to isolation and loneliness. He does not, however, offer any solution or suggest any ethos that could remedy current ills.
From the moral standpoint none of the characters is exemplary. Wallander is divorced and has a new love interest. His daughter lives alone and there is a question-mark over her behaviour. A woman vicar appears in a minor role, and the narrative focuses almost exclusively on her seductiveness. The murder victims belong to a world of moneyed folk who hide their degradation behind the walls of their luxurious homes. The murderer comes from a poorer background, but is a monster of inhumanity. The premeditated murders are acts of vengeance on the part of a diseased mind which itself is the victim of an unhealthy society. Some immoral sexual behaviours are described, normally on the part of criminals, in tones of contempt and without much detail.
F.B. (Suiza, 2005)
La falsa pista // Sidetracked
Moral assessment:
Type: Literature
Nothing inappropriate.
Some morally inappropriate content.
Contains significant sections contrary to faith or morals.
Contains some lurid passages, or presents a general ideological framework that could confuse those without much Christian formation.
Contains several lurid passages, or presents an ideological framework that is contrary or foreign to Christian values.
Explicitly contradicts Catholic faith or morals, or is directed against the Church and its institutions.