Quicksand

“Surely one of the most moving and intriguing farewell notes ever written…. Intensely beautiful in its spirit.” —Alexander McCall Smith, New Statesman
 
“An extraordinary book…. Profoundly moving.” —The Guardian

“Quicksand defines life not by its ending but by the creative and humanitarian content that filled—and fulfilled—Mankell’s life…. The essays sharpen with resounding poignancy.” —Financial Times
 
“An extremely moving swansong…. The reader realizes that Mankell has never really been driven by anger but by the tiny, fragile hope that his words and deeds will help in the fight for a fairer world.” —The Independent (London)
 
“[An] absorbing addition to the work of Sweden’s most internationally famous writer since August Strindberg…. Quicksand, a hybrid of essay and memoir, reflects knowledgeably on art, religion, childhood, and the ‘final insensibility’ that is our dying. Rarely has a writer contemplated the mystery of the end of life with such a wide-ranging curiosity.” —London Evening Standard

“Uplifting and, as a memoir, as unusual a creation as [Mankell’s] Nordic detective, Kurt Wallander.” —GQ (London)

“Elegant, unflinching.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)