Author: Henning Mankell

I’ve always liked Mankell’s Wallander books; I’ve read at least one book outside of that series and didn’t like it much. This one was on the bookshelf on the day I was looking for a new stack to add to my bedside table so I picked it up.

The book isn’t a mystery; it follows a young woman who leaves her home in Sweden to move to a larger city for a better life. She ends up as a cook on a ship sailing to Australia but jumps ship in Portuguese East Africa. From there her life takes several turns before she heads for home, a rich widow.

Many years after the main story takes place her diary is found in a run-down hotel in Mozambique. Although the details of the story are fictional, they are based somewhat on fact.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *