Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
New York : Vintage Books, 2008.
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML: Henning Mankell, the acclaimed author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries, has put his unmistakable stamp on this gripping new thriller. Archaeologist Louise Cantor returns home to Sweden and makes a devastating discovery: her only child, twenty-eight-year-old Henrik, dead in his bed. The police rule his death a suicide but she knows he was murdered; her quest to find out what really happened to Henrik takes her across the globe to Barcelona, where her son kept a secret apartment; Sydney, Australia, to find Aron, her estranged ex-husband and Henrik's father; and to Maputo, Mozambique, where she learns the awful truth behind an AIDS hospice. Her investigation reveals how much her son concealed from her as she uncovers the links between his death, the African AIDS epidemic, and Western pharmaceutical interests, while those who dare help her are killed off. In the tradition of John le Carré's The Constant Gardener, Kennedy's Brain was inspired by Mankell's anger at ongoing inequities that permit a few people to have unprecedented power over the many poor Africans who have none. Already a bestseller in Europe, Kennedy's Brain is both a thrilling page-turner and a damning indictment of inhuman greed in the face of the African AIDS crisis.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Lman
I had to think long and hard before writing this review; and I am still not entirely sure of my stance in regards to this book – on the whole I feel Henning Mankell, with Kennedy’s Brain, has somewhat disappointed me. Though readily defined as a mystery the story is, in essence, a social
The story revolves around archaeologist, Louise Cantor, who upon returning to Sweden from a dig in Greece, finds her only child, Henrik, dead in his bed - uncharacteristically clad in pyjamas. Unable to accept the official finding of suicide, and reeling from inconsolable grief, she begins a journey that takes her around the globe in an attempt to piece together, like shards from a Grecian artefact, the facts behind, what Louise believes, is her son’s murder. And discovers, as she travels from continent to continent experiencing the very beautiful and the very ugly, how very little she knew of her son’s life; but through his death, and with his obsession around the disappearance of the assassinated president Kennedy’s brain, the many social injustices prevalent in foreign lands, surrounding the horror of HIV-AIDS, drug research, and the ease of concealment of all these endeavours.
Unlike his previous police procedurals this book, to my mind, lacks the realism that is usual with a Mankell tale. Despite the grim authenticity the book attempts to portray, despite the demise of many characters throughout the plot, and despite the underlying foreboding and trepidation, it seems inconceivable to me that the main protagonist is blithely able to roam into places and begin meaningful dialogue with the very people who can help in her search, without any repercussion. I mean, (possible spoilers) her son is supposedly murdered, her ex-husband disappears as they search, and two terminally-ill occupants, from the medical mission Louise is now investigating, miraculously contrive to leave their death-beds, manage to travel to meet her, and when attempting to reveal disturbing facts, are murdered literally in front of her; but Louise remains unscathed! Plus the basis of the conspiracy supposedly being uncovered is never fully revealed, remaining a shadowy backdrop, on the periphery, instead of front-and-centre to the design.
In all probability this story could be a metaphor, used by an author hoping to articulate society’s sad state of affairs; to expose the terrible iniquities occurring everyday: the cover-up by big business in their never-ending greed, the corruption rife in so many societies, the power of the wealthy over the poor, and the huge divide between the rich and the poverty-stricken in our world nowadays. And the need for decent, dedicated members of our society to piece together the proof, to reveal the disparity, in the hope of reducing this terrible suffering, so rampant and purposely hidden, that devastates so many and so very much. I understand the author's anger; I appreciate the need for change and, as the book reveals, the difficulty in obtaining a true answer in the end – but I am unsure that this piece of fiction will, ultimately, aid in the success of any of these honourable goals. He gets three stars for trying though...
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indictment, a denunciation, of events transpiring in the world around us today; but fails to deliver what I felt, could have been a knock-out blow.The story revolves around archaeologist, Louise Cantor, who upon returning to Sweden from a dig in Greece, finds her only child, Henrik, dead in his bed - uncharacteristically clad in pyjamas. Unable to accept the official finding of suicide, and reeling from inconsolable grief, she begins a journey that takes her around the globe in an attempt to piece together, like shards from a Grecian artefact, the facts behind, what Louise believes, is her son’s murder. And discovers, as she travels from continent to continent experiencing the very beautiful and the very ugly, how very little she knew of her son’s life; but through his death, and with his obsession around the disappearance of the assassinated president Kennedy’s brain, the many social injustices prevalent in foreign lands, surrounding the horror of HIV-AIDS, drug research, and the ease of concealment of all these endeavours.
Unlike his previous police procedurals this book, to my mind, lacks the realism that is usual with a Mankell tale. Despite the grim authenticity the book attempts to portray, despite the demise of many characters throughout the plot, and despite the underlying foreboding and trepidation, it seems inconceivable to me that the main protagonist is blithely able to roam into places and begin meaningful dialogue with the very people who can help in her search, without any repercussion. I mean, (possible spoilers) her son is supposedly murdered, her ex-husband disappears as they search, and two terminally-ill occupants, from the medical mission Louise is now investigating, miraculously contrive to leave their death-beds, manage to travel to meet her, and when attempting to reveal disturbing facts, are murdered literally in front of her; but Louise remains unscathed! Plus the basis of the conspiracy supposedly being uncovered is never fully revealed, remaining a shadowy backdrop, on the periphery, instead of front-and-centre to the design.
In all probability this story could be a metaphor, used by an author hoping to articulate society’s sad state of affairs; to expose the terrible iniquities occurring everyday: the cover-up by big business in their never-ending greed, the corruption rife in so many societies, the power of the wealthy over the poor, and the huge divide between the rich and the poverty-stricken in our world nowadays. And the need for decent, dedicated members of our society to piece together the proof, to reveal the disparity, in the hope of reducing this terrible suffering, so rampant and purposely hidden, that devastates so many and so very much. I understand the author's anger; I appreciate the need for change and, as the book reveals, the difficulty in obtaining a true answer in the end – but I am unsure that this piece of fiction will, ultimately, aid in the success of any of these honourable goals. He gets three stars for trying though...
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LibraryThing member lriley
Published in Swedish in 2005 Henning Mankell's 'Kennedy's Brain' bears a number of similarities to John Le Carre's The Constant Gardener. Both books are thrillers in a sense but both revolve around the exploitation of the native population in an African country by pharmaceutical companies trying to
Louise Cantor--a middle age Swedish archaeologist does not believe the report that her son Henrik has committed suicide after swallowing a lethal dose of sleeping pills. Too many things don't add up despite obvious evidence to the contrary at least satisfying enough to have the Swedish authorities bowing out. She decides to investigate Henrik's death on her own. With the help of her father Artur--she tracks down her long missing ex-husband Aron--Henrik's father--in Australia and they begin tracing Henrik's movements in the recent past which lead them to Barcelona--while there Aron disappears mysteriously and once again Louise is on her own. Where it leads her to is Mozambique to a clinic for dying AIDS patients presided over by the somewhat charismatic head (Christian Holloway) of a multi-national pharmaceutical company who has founded a small village in a remote area where AIDS patients go to die but there is a lot more beneath the surface of this charitable institution as in the blurb on the back cover of the book--'a dark underworld of people exploiting the victims...corrupt businessmen dealing infected blood, suspicious researchers carrying out dangerous tests, and lecherous drug dealers peddling black market medicine'. The real prize for Holloway is the fabulous wealth that comes from designing the drugs--and Mozambique offers him its infected population as human guinea pigs.
Mankell has obviously done some research in this area--as he brings up a lot about the human and animal experimentation on the African continent starting in the 50's. It can be gruesome. In his notes at the conclusion he comments on his own experiences on the continent and that this work was 'fueled by anger'. In any case those feelings do not affect the quality of his writing which is as sharp as in the one other book of his I've read--the Wallander crime investigation novel-One step behind. I found Kennedy's Brain to be equally as compelling as 'One step behind' and I am very much looking forward to reading more of Mankell in the future.
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disguise themselves as benefactors of the impoverished. Louise Cantor--a middle age Swedish archaeologist does not believe the report that her son Henrik has committed suicide after swallowing a lethal dose of sleeping pills. Too many things don't add up despite obvious evidence to the contrary at least satisfying enough to have the Swedish authorities bowing out. She decides to investigate Henrik's death on her own. With the help of her father Artur--she tracks down her long missing ex-husband Aron--Henrik's father--in Australia and they begin tracing Henrik's movements in the recent past which lead them to Barcelona--while there Aron disappears mysteriously and once again Louise is on her own. Where it leads her to is Mozambique to a clinic for dying AIDS patients presided over by the somewhat charismatic head (Christian Holloway) of a multi-national pharmaceutical company who has founded a small village in a remote area where AIDS patients go to die but there is a lot more beneath the surface of this charitable institution as in the blurb on the back cover of the book--'a dark underworld of people exploiting the victims...corrupt businessmen dealing infected blood, suspicious researchers carrying out dangerous tests, and lecherous drug dealers peddling black market medicine'. The real prize for Holloway is the fabulous wealth that comes from designing the drugs--and Mozambique offers him its infected population as human guinea pigs.
Mankell has obviously done some research in this area--as he brings up a lot about the human and animal experimentation on the African continent starting in the 50's. It can be gruesome. In his notes at the conclusion he comments on his own experiences on the continent and that this work was 'fueled by anger'. In any case those feelings do not affect the quality of his writing which is as sharp as in the one other book of his I've read--the Wallander crime investigation novel-One step behind. I found Kennedy's Brain to be equally as compelling as 'One step behind' and I am very much looking forward to reading more of Mankell in the future.
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LibraryThing member neddludd
A compelling, interesting, but ultimately unbelievale journey to the heart of evil. Interesting characters, locales, and an upsetting comparison between first-world and third-world expectations. Also, how children often lead lives unknown to parents.But the heroine is much too naive, and some of
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the situations she finds herself in beggar belief. Also, pretentious and impenetrable in spots. Show Less
LibraryThing member gilly1944
Extremely well written as always with a plot that moves between Europe and Africa. Raises important issues and evokes the African environment extremely well. Ultimately unsatisfying due to its inconclusive ending.
LibraryThing member LynnB
This is a crime novel about a mother (Louise Cantor) who cannot accept that her son's death was a suicide, as the police tell her it was. She begins an investigation into a secret life she didn't know her son was living -- taking her into the world of AIDS in Africa and pharmaceutical company
The author obviously feels very strongly about his belief that we know about how Africans die, but not about how they live. The book ends with a very personal and raw epilogue in which the author allows his anger to show.
I found the novel itself a bit contrived...too many characters find and trust each other too quickly. The ending is inconclusive, which is realistic in the sense that we don't always find all the answers we'd like, but at the same time, isn't strongly done.
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greed.The author obviously feels very strongly about his belief that we know about how Africans die, but not about how they live. The book ends with a very personal and raw epilogue in which the author allows his anger to show.
I found the novel itself a bit contrived...too many characters find and trust each other too quickly. The ending is inconclusive, which is realistic in the sense that we don't always find all the answers we'd like, but at the same time, isn't strongly done.
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LibraryThing member CommonReeda
Wonderful writing, fuelled by anger, dark and tragic subject matter. A bit like le Carre's Constant Gardener.
LibraryThing member tpi
Good interesting, not entirely plausible story. Ending a bit letdown, too open end.
LibraryThing member Steph78
Not really sure what I think of this book. For a book that repeatedly stresses that it's not great that when westerners think about Africa, the think only about the death, suffering etc, this book sure does focus on death and lots of other unpleasantness.
LibraryThing member magentaflake
Another brilliant read from Henning Mankel.
Loui8se Cantor fi8nds her son's body. When Police stat that he committed suicide, she refuses ot accet it. She proceeds to delve into his life and discovers he led a different life to the one he told her. She contacts her estranged husband and together
Very enjoyable.
Loui8se Cantor fi8nds her son's body. When Police stat that he committed suicide, she refuses ot accet it. She proceeds to delve into his life and discovers he led a different life to the one he told her. She contacts her estranged husband and together
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they try ti find out why their son died. This book takes the reader from Sweden to Greece to Australia and Africa. She comes up against organizations she had never heard of and unseen people who follow her.Very enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member skraft001
Mankell is a terrific witer and this book is such a page turner. I'm sure there will be those who were unfulfilled with the ending, but life is often like that as well.
LibraryThing member bookczuk
Not my favorite Mankell, but I learned things.
LibraryThing member alexbolding
Rather lame, tortuous read with an ok script. I must have read one good book by Mankell, the Man from Beijing, which was everything this thriller/novel was not, namely fast, twisty, suspenseful and cruel. In contrast, Kennedy’s brain is a slow burner describing the journey of a mourning mom, who
My critique? The story could have been told in 200 pages less, at much higher pace, with more perspectives and a lot more suspense. Mankell was clearly seeking a transition in his writing from the Police procedurals which gave him his fame, to a more engaged form of writing that is novelistic and exposing present day challenges like Aids in Africa. He is only partially successful in doing that, though the Swedish aid worker, who practises sadistic sex while fighting for better health was a nice invention.
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tries to reconstruct, being the archaeologist she is, the bits and pieces of key people in her life – her son who is found dead in his Stockholm apartment – presumably as a result of an overdose of sleeping pills, but more likely the victim of an international conspiracy, just like the conspiracy responsible for the mysterious disappearance of President Kennedy’s brains. Her estranged husband, Aron, who fled to Australia and who ends up dead (strangled in Barcelona) after Louise has found him and enticed him to help find their son’s killer. Then there are all the people who played a role in her son Henrik’s life, who she gets to meet in Mozambique. The short of it is a conspiracy of Pharmaceutical companies to test new vaccines against Aids on life humans who have or do not yet have the disease, and who waste away what is left of their miserable lives in a camp near Xai Xai. Louise slowly but surely unravels the story that drove her promiscuous son, and his fight becomes hers, to her own detriment. My critique? The story could have been told in 200 pages less, at much higher pace, with more perspectives and a lot more suspense. Mankell was clearly seeking a transition in his writing from the Police procedurals which gave him his fame, to a more engaged form of writing that is novelistic and exposing present day challenges like Aids in Africa. He is only partially successful in doing that, though the Swedish aid worker, who practises sadistic sex while fighting for better health was a nice invention.
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LibraryThing member JBD1
One of the stranger Mankell books I've read. I think I get what he was trying to do, but I can't say I was drawn in too well by the story. Pretty skippable.
Language
Original language
Swedish
Original publication date
2005
Physical description
334 p.; 21 inches
ISBN
0307385914 / 9780307385918