The Man on the Balcony is a mystery novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, originally published as Mannen på balkongen in 1967.[1] It is the third novel in the detective series revolving around Swedish police detective Martin Beck.[2]
In the novel, Martin Beck and his team realize that a paedophilic murderer may have been seen by an unidentified serial robber on the lookout for a victim in the same area. The pressure increases when more child murders begin to occur.
At the beginning of the book Beck goes on a peaceful mission with colleague Ahlberg in Motala. His other colleagues, meanwhile, are looking for a handbag thief who is making the parks of Stockholm unsafe. In the park where the latest robbery occurred, a child's body is discovered by two tramps shortly after the crime. The 9-year-old girl has been abused and strangled. Shortly thereafter, the same fate befalls another child. As Beck returns, the police investigation is already underway.
The police are initially lacking in clues as the abduction of the second girl was only witnessed by a three-year-old boy. An elderly exhibitionist is briefly detained, but is found to have nothing to do with the murders.
Only a coincidence advances the investigation: Gunvald Larsson (making his first appearance in this novel) had a telephone call at the very beginning of the investigation with an elderly lady who complained about a man in an opposite flat, standing all day on his balcony, looking at the road, and playing with the children, among other strange behavior. After Martin Beck remembers this call; with difficulty the note written by Larsson is found and by a mixture of obstinate investigating and the coincidence that the caller had the common name Andersson, the killer is found, just before he can attack a child again.
Charactersedit
The boorish detective Gunvald Larsson is introduced, as is Einar Rönn, who comes from a rural part of the country and prefers a quiet life. Larsson was Sjöwall's favourite character, whereas Rönn was Wahlöö's.[citation needed] Also introduced are two regular street cops, Kristiansson and Kvant, who will provide some of the comic relief throughout the rest of the series.
On 26 November 1993 the film with the same name premiered in Sweden. It starred Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck and Rolf Lassgård as Gunvald Larsson. The film was a great success and won the Swedish Guldbagge Award for Best Actor (Gösta Ekman), Best Screenplay (Daniel Alfredson & Jonas Cornell) and Best Film (Hans Lönnerheden, producer).
Referencesedit
^"THE MAN ON THE BALCONY (VINTAGE CRIME/BLACK … | Kirkus Reviews". 1 September 1968.
^"Review - The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo". www.eurocrime.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
balcony, mystery, novel, swedish, writers, sjöwall, wahlöö, originally, published, mannen, balkongen, 1967, third, novel, detective, series, revolving, around, swedish, police, detective, martin, beck, first, edition, swedish, authormaj, sjöwall, wahlööorigina. The Man on the Balcony is a mystery novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo originally published as Mannen pa balkongen in 1967 1 It is the third novel in the detective series revolving around Swedish police detective Martin Beck 2 The Man on the BalconyFirst edition Swedish AuthorMaj Sjowall and Per WahlooOriginal titleMannen pa balkongenCountrySwedenLanguageSwedishSeriesMartin Beck seriesPublisherNorstedts Forlag Swedish Pantheon Books English Publication date1967Published in English1968Pages199Preceded byThe Man Who Went Up in Smoke Followed byThe Laughing Policeman In the novel Martin Beck and his team realize that a paedophilic murderer may have been seen by an unidentified serial robber on the lookout for a victim in the same area The pressure increases when more child murders begin to occur Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 Film adaptation 4 ReferencesPlot summary editAt the beginning of the book Beck goes on a peaceful mission with colleague Ahlberg in Motala His other colleagues meanwhile are looking for a handbag thief who is making the parks of Stockholm unsafe In the park where the latest robbery occurred a child s body is discovered by two tramps shortly after the crime The 9 year old girl has been abused and strangled Shortly thereafter the same fate befalls another child As Beck returns the police investigation is already underway The police are initially lacking in clues as the abduction of the second girl was only witnessed by a three year old boy An elderly exhibitionist is briefly detained but is found to have nothing to do with the murders Only a coincidence advances the investigation Gunvald Larsson making his first appearance in this novel had a telephone call at the very beginning of the investigation with an elderly lady who complained about a man in an opposite flat standing all day on his balcony looking at the road and playing with the children among other strange behavior After Martin Beck remembers this call with difficulty the note written by Larsson is found and by a mixture of obstinate investigating and the coincidence that the caller had the common name Andersson the killer is found just before he can attack a child again Characters editThe boorish detective Gunvald Larsson is introduced as is Einar Ronn who comes from a rural part of the country and prefers a quiet life Larsson was Sjowall s favourite character whereas Ronn was Wahloo s citation needed Also introduced are two regular street cops Kristiansson and Kvant who will provide some of the comic relief throughout the rest of the series Film adaptation editMain article The Man on the Balcony film On 26 November 1993 the film with the same name premiered in Sweden It starred Gosta Ekman as Martin Beck and Rolf Lassgard as Gunvald Larsson The film was a great success and won the Swedish Guldbagge Award for Best Actor Gosta Ekman Best Screenplay Daniel Alfredson amp Jonas Cornell and Best Film Hans Lonnerheden producer References edit THE MAN ON THE BALCONY VINTAGE CRIME BLACK Kirkus Reviews 1 September 1968 Review The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo www eurocrime co uk Retrieved 2023 09 20 Preceded byThe Man Who Went Up in Smoke Martin Beck timeline part 3 of 10 Succeeded byThe Laughing Policeman nbsp This article about a mystery novel of the 1960s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Man on the Balcony amp oldid 1176253244, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
