Over at The
Rap Sheet, there is an interesting interview feature with the award-winning
cult horror writer Conrad
Williams, discussing his crime-fiction debut novel Dust and Desire.
And then earlier
this year, before I had to turn so much attention to my programming duties for
Bouchercon 2015, I attended the latest Crimefest
convention in Bristol, England. While there, I was drawn to one event that I
eventually mentioned in my report for The Rap Sheet:
There was also a very interesting
Spotlight Session featuring horror writer-turned-crime fictionist Conrad
Williams (Dust and Desire), who talked about
the line that separates--or binds--those two literary genres. Not surprisingly,
Nic Pizzolatto’s TV series, True Detective, merited a mention, as
many of us are awaiting the start of its Season 2 with impatience and
expectation.
I was already then planning a panel discussion for
Bouchercon in Raleigh titled “Where Crime & Mystery Meet Horror & the
Weird,” to be moderated by my dear friend Nanci Kalanta, so I had a
professional interest in hearing what Williams had to say. Well, this bloke
knew his mustard, as the saying goes. He was erudite and well-read, and his
analysis of the subject flowed down the same pathways as my own. After the
event, I went up to thank Williams for his part in the presentation and said
that I would pick up one of his novels in the convention book room. (I was
embarrassed to admit to a complete unfamiliarity with his work, which I later
learned has a distinct cult following). He smiled at my enthusiasm, and then
said, “You’re Ali, aren’t you?” In response to my nod he continued, “You
probably don’t remember, but I e-mailed you several months ago--via a mutual friend--that I was
wondering if you’d be interested in reading my first crime novel.” And then the
penny dropped.
I have always considered the axiom ‘the
past is never dead, for it lays the foundations for the future’ to be true – and
the name Martin Beck is proof.
It might count as one of
the most remarkable writing collaborations in the history of publishing. A man
and a woman, a couple, sit down every evening to write. Dinner is over, their
children are in bed. She's never written a book before. He's a published author,
but not with anything like this. They write in long hand, through the night if
necessary. One chapter each. The following evening they swap chapters and type
them up, editing each other as they go along. They don't argue, at least not
about the words. These seem to flow naturally.
Ten
years, 10 books. Each book 30 chapters, 300 chapters in all. Every one centred
on the same group of middle-aged, mostly unprepossessing policemen in
Stockholm's National Homicide Department. Often, very little happens. Sometimes
for pages on end. What is more, each book is a Marxist critique of society.
Their mission – or "the project" as the authors call it – is to hold
up a mirror to social problems in 1960s Sweden.
Unlikely
as it may sound, the books have become international bestsellers, over 10m copies
sold and counting. Classics of the thriller genre, they've been made into films
and adapted for television. Subsequent generations of crime writers are fans.
There's no doubt that the latest left-leaning Swedish author to hit the
bestseller lists, Stieg Larsson, would have read them. Some say the couple
wrote the finest crime series ever; that without them we would not have Ian
Rankin's John Rebus or Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander.
In
my travels, so many writers, especially from mainland Europe credit Maj
Sjöwall and Per
Wahlöö for ‘opening the door’ for them, such as Erland
Larsson [the late Stieg Larsson’s father] in an interview I recorded a few
years ago [for Jeff Pierce’s The Rap Sheet] and archived
here, Roslund and Hellstrom also credited their influence here
and here
– and list goes on, for Martin Beck was the precursor for the contemporary police
procedural.
The
BBC in the UK produced audio
plays of all ten novels featuring the laconic Martin Beck, and can be purchased here
from the BBC
So
last year at the close of Crimefest 2014’s key note event on the British Golden
Age of Crime Fiction from writer / critics the Talented Mr [Mike] Ripley,
Professors Barry Forshaw and Peter Guttridge, [ you
can view that presentation here ] - Adrian Muller announced that [with
thanks to Barry Forshaw, Lee Child and many others], he had secured a very rare
visit to the British Isles of Maj Sjöwall, to speak at Crimefest 2015
As
Shots Magazine have readers scattered throughout the world, we have recorded
what must be considered one the key events in 2015’s crime fiction calendar, Maj Sjöwall in conversation with Lee Child.
A note first; the filming is a tad “gonzo” [and split into
5 x 10 minute sections] so you are unlikely to see this film screened at Cannes
anytime soon, and you will see a guest performance from Detective Peter
Rozovsky [the man behind Detectives Beyond Borders]
as he was photographing the event; and I asked the first question related to Stuart
Rosenberg’s film adaptation, transplanting the action from The Laughing Policeman
to San Francisco, and here’s the trailer
So
without further ado, please take your seats for Maj Sjöwall in conversation with Lee Child at Crimefest 2015, in
Bristol, England recorded 16th May 2015
Part One : Maj Sjöwall in conversation with
Lee Child
Part Two : Maj Sjöwall in conversation with
Lee Child
Part Three : Maj Sjöwall in conversation
with Lee Child
Part Four : Maj Sjöwall in conversation
with Lee Child
Part Five : Maj Sjöwall in conversation
with Lee Child
The
ten novels that make up the Martin Beck mysteries are published by Harper Perennial
and all available from the Shots
Magazine Bookstore here
If you’ve
enjoyed the Crimefest 2014 presentation on the Golden Age of British Crime
Fiction, then we’d urge you to explore the work of these key writer/literary
[and film] critics. Their work can be purchased with discounts from the Shots
Bookstore –
We
urge you to plan ahead for Crimefest 2016, details for all Crimefest information
is available from www.crimefest.com and
here’s a little video about what to expect, with commentary from some faces you
will recognise
We
hope to see you next year, as Crimefest is to quote Detective Peter Rozovsky “Bloody Top Biff”
Lee Child with Peter 'Detectives Beyond Borders' Rozovsky at Crimefest 2015
