The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 55 Europe Cultural Geography II

CHAPTER 55 Europe Cultural Geography II Popularity of the Scandinavian Murder Mystery Novel lool The murder mystery novel has long been a popular genre of literature in America , but also in countries around the world . Within this field of writing , there also exist several . The cozy offers a softer approach that provides few gory descriptions or explicit portrayals of sex . The amateur sleuth finds bodies and solves murders , while not working in the field of law enforcement , but rather being in an unrelated field like novels feature a main character , typically a police officer or private detective , who employs rough and tumble tactics to work a case , often cursing and using his muscles . Noir ( French for dark ) crime fiction , which may overlap with novels , presents particularly dark stories , where the hero is greatly flawed and the crime 264

EUROPE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 265 graphic and heinous . In the last two decade , a popular ofthe murder mystery novel is Scandinavian noir ( sometimes expanded to Nordic noir ) Murder mystery novelists also choose perspectives for telling the story . The classic Perry Mason mysteries by Stanley Gardner are . Although readers of the series gain a great affection for Perry Mason , his secretary Della Street , and his detective Paul Drake , readers know almost nothing of Mason personal life . Instead , readers are intrigued by Mason courtroom skills and the author presentation of plot twists . Other mysteries are . While the elements of the plot are important , the author writes detailed accounts of the characters physical appearance , thoughts , and emotions . The reader understands the motivations of the protagonist , and often that of the killer too . but in truth rarely , these novels may be . The author takes great effort to describe the setting , physical and cultural , of the location of the crime and the investigation . If location is the primary focus of the novel , then certainly this is a very geographic perspective . In most cases , though , the setting of the novel serves as an important , but secondary , element of the book . This is certainly true of Martin Cruz Smith Park , where the author description of Moscow and of Soviet life gives the reader an excellent feel for the location thus , a sense Child 44 , author Tom Rob Smith characterization of the tense lives of Soviet peoples in the Stalinist USSR , also demonstrates this understanding , while still being a mystery novel . Whether a primary or secondary element of the story , locational description aids the reader in having a geographic sense of place . This geographic concept is a person understanding of a place that goes beyond factual observation to include emotional attachment . An American sense of place of a home state includes the factual quantities and qualities of the physical landscape ( mountains , rivers , and the social landscape ( religion , economy , but also comprises intangibles of affection ( or other emotions , even dislike ) for regions , towns , and other locations in that state . Internationally , this is often true for countries , certainly for States common in Europe , where citizens possess a bond of nationalism as part of their sense of place for their country . This may be true even for specific features of the landscape , perhaps a In the case of Scandinavian noir , this sense is an prime element ofthe murder mystery novel . The origin of this Northern European style of murder mystery novel can be debated . The book The Laughing Policeman , a police procedural featuring officer Martin Beck , was the first of ten related novels by Maj and Per . Some would cite this pair of authors as beginning a new trend , though their socially critical novels are not as harsh as later writers works . It is fair to cite Sense of Snow by Peter ( 1992 ) as offering a gritty plot , a conflicted protagonist , and a visit to frigid . Perhaps Henning should be listed . For the American audience , the breakthrough came with trilogy that began in 2005 with The Girl with the Dragon If , oi . Norwegian . Norm ' Sea ' in In rill , Physical Landscape in . Cartography by Steve . I had to pick , I would cite these as their respective countries most notable writers in this Norway , Sweden , Denmark . While across the region there now are several dozen authors who fit into this , let us note a few examples to guide an understanding of the patterns of sense these novels .

266 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL The irony of Scandinavian that while the stories feature dark heinous crimes , the actual crimes rates in are quite low . In trilogy ( particularly the first of the set ) the key crimes are the violent torture and murder of women . Strikingly , the original Swedish title was Man som which translates as Men who hate In Department series , the first novel The Keeper of Lost Causes portrays a sadistic imprisonment of a woman inside a decompression chamber , adjusted to torturous settings . Jo The Redbreast examines in Norway , while The Nemesis follows a gruesome serial killer . Understandably , a is not a cozy mystery where the killer slays with a mildly poisoned cup of chamomile tea . These novels highlight the grisly outlier in very safe settings . See these statistics on intentional per per year . Country Homicides per per year Norway Iceland Sweden Denmark USA El Salvador ( highest in the world ) Or measure by the Global Peace , measuring peace and safety Country Global Peace Index Iceland ( most peaceful country in the world ) Denmark Sweden 18 Norway 20 USA 128 Afghanistan ( least peaceful ) 163 The heroes or protagonists in these novels display numerous character flaws , physical weaknesses , and emotional baggage sometimes all of these together . Lisbeth Salander , the girl with the dragon tattoo on her back , is a tiny young woman who survives physical confrontation only by the ferocity of her attacks . Definitely on the autism spectrum , she is a computer genius with no social skills . Beaten by her abusive father , raped by her guardian , and crushed by the system , she survives by her drive for vengeance and her computer hacking abilities . Eventually , she joins with journalist Mikael Blomkvist in an awkward , sometimes sexual , investigative pairing . Blomkvist is a serial womanizer , but is compelled to help Lisbeth Salander and to expose the horrors of sexual predation against women . lead police investigator is Carl . is an antisocial slacker , traumatized by the shooting of his now paralyzed police partner Hardy . Already on page five of The Keeper of Lost Causes , the reader learns that Hardy had taken his last steps and the fire inside Carl had been extinguished . Add a troublesome and a son , mix in a bit or more than a bit of alcohol consequently , Carl does much care . The boss figures that Carl can be pushed aside to take on the new Department , pursuing old unsolved cases that likely have no leads or solutions . Harry Hole ( what a name ! but in Norwegian , the surname is pronounced ) is the Norwegian police investigator in the works of Jo . Like Carl , Harry Hole is a

EUROPE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY II 267 miscreant , noted on page thirteen of Devil Star , as the lone wolf , the drunk , the department enfant For Scandinavian noir , the frequent winter setting is cold and forbidding . In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , a noteworthy portion of the novel is set on Island in Sweden . Mikael Blomkvist , one of the two main characters , laments the cold when day temperature dropped to no matter how much wood he put in the stove , he was still . In The Marco Effect by , two characters searching in the winter woods note that Frost and wind had banished all scent from the landscape , the glare and glittering crystals of snow conspiring to conflate all visual impressions . It was sheer hell to be out in such weather . brings her heroine ' ra from Iceland to , going from cold and remote to even colder and even more remote as the reader learns in the aptly named Day is Dark . Often these novels offer insights into Scandinavian society . Issues of immigration are highlighted through Olsen character Assad , an Arab migrant assigned to Carl Miz ) Department . In The Marco Effect , teenage Marco seeks to leave behind his Gypsy life and become a Danish citizen . In book three The Girl who Kicked the Hornet Nest , Mikael Blomkvist gains a key bit of help from Kurdish immigrant . In fact , Sweden has the fourth most Kurds in Europe . In the series , Blomkvist is a regular customer at Samir Cauldron , a Bosnian restaurant . Indeed , a whole book could be written on the subject of the sense in murder mysteries , as was done by geographer Gary in He examined novels from across the world , directed a bit of attention to however , his book was published before most of the flourishing of Scandinavian noir . If you read one of these novels , be sure to absorb the understandings of people and places , in other words the , of their settings . For the Scandinavian setting , this usually means an atypical vicious murder , a cold and dark climate , and a progressive yet not unflawed society . Did You Know ?

Remember that Finland is not in , so the inclusion of Finnish authors in this would prompt the term Nordic noir . Meanwhile , recall that is in Northern Europe . Apothecary and the Mystery Of St Church by is the first Estonian crime novel to be published in English ( 2016 ) Is this a Nordic noir ?

In 2019 , Norwegian millionaire Tom Hagen wife A ransom note was found at the home , but the wife has not been recovered . Officials fear that the wife was murdered and that the husband may have been involved . The story is a hot topic in Norway .

268 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY I Quam , Joel . or Perish . St Cloud , Minnesota North Star Press of St Cloud . Gary . 2000 . Dead Bodies . Austin University of Texas Press . Monger , Christopher , dir . 1999 . The Man Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain . Film . Wikipedia Contributors . 2019 . List of Countries by Intentional Homicide Rate . Wikipedia . Foundation . March . GLOBAL PEACE INDEX MEASURING PEACE IN A COMPLEX WORLD . Thomas , and Henrik . 2020 . A Mogul Wife Vanishes . Now Norway Has a National The New York Times , May 16 , 2020 , sec . World . Steve . 2020 . Physical Landscape in . College of GIS class .