En annan tid, ett annat liv

En annan tid, ett annat liv Another Time, Another Life

Fall of the Welfare State #2

This large-scale crime novel takes off from a well-established historical fact: the occupation of the West-German embassy by terrorists in 1975. The story moves rapidly to 1989 and the unsolved stabbing of a civil servant, and then to 1999, when Swedish intelligence investigates the newly instated Minister of Justice, finding unexpected links with crimes in the past. With his usual sardonic wit and knowledge of police jargon, Persson weaves a particularily nasty web of extortion, Stasi agents and greed that reaches all layers of Swedish society.

The No.1 national bestseller, Another Time, Another Life, is the second part of Leif GW Persson’s Story of a Crime trilogy.

Awards

Shortlisted for the Petrona Award (Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year) UK 2013
The Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award (Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year) Sweden 2003
Close award list

Reviews

  • “This may be just what fans of Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson are looking for.”

    Booklist *Starred Review*, US

  • “A whopper of a thriller!”

    Jyllands-Posten, Denmark

  • “An astonishing novel. Once again, Leif GW Persson has written a masterpiece of a crime novel. Spectacular and thrilling, arrogant and titillating, entertaining and well-written.”

    Västerviks-Tidningen, Sweden

  • Another Time, Another Life is a beautiful book of top quality, already a little classic in its genre.”

    Il tempo di leggere, Italy

  • “A detective story right from the top!”

    Savon Sanomat, Finland

  • “As usual the reading matter is composed masterly, with indirectness to the Swedish mystery-scene and particularly thrillingly written, that one flies through the pages.”

    Hamburger Abendblatt, Germany

  • “A masterly political thriller that plays in a league of its own. /…/ a Thackerayan Vanity Fair, a Balcazian comédie humaine, a Tom Wolfian Bonfire of the Vanities or why not the Strindberg who wrote Black Banners.

    Aftonbladet, Sweden

  • “It is essential to discover this strong mystery writer from Sweden: not as depressive as Henning Mankell, less folksy than Hakan Nesser and in a league of his own: Leif GW Persson.”

    Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany

  • “This is a worrying read, entertaining in a broad and bitingly funny manner, that has lead to well-deserved comparisons with Balzac.”

    B.T., Denmark

  • “The second novel in Persson's trilogy featuring Swedish cop Lars Johansson is as exceptional as his debut, Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End /…/ Persson, a noted criminal profiler, writes with a sure hand and sharp insight. His detectives are human, interesting, and fallible /…/ Another winner from Persson. If anything, it's even better than the first book. Fans of Scandinavian crime fiction will eat it up.”

    Library Journal, US

  • “Ambitious /…/ the look at the fictional individual detectives and their fates through the years enriches the story.”

    Publishers Weekly, US

  • “Dark, politically charged thriller from Swedish crime writer Persson, one of many literary heirs of Stieg Larsson. … Persson unfolds a carefully plotted story … Persson himself figures in the proceedings, in the sly way that Alfred Hitchcock figured in his films. And while there’s humor, if mostly black .. Persson writes with unrelenting grimness, as if needing a strong dose of Mediterranean sunshine to cure the police-beat blues. … A practiced, Larsson-worthy procedural.”

    Kirkus Reviews, US

  • “I have long held that Scandinavian mystery novels are among the finest on the planet, and Leif G.W. Persson's police procedural, Another Time, Another Life, strongly supports that assertion. … It would be impossible to summarize the complexities of this story here, but I’ll say this: If you enjoy Scandinavian mysteries, this one will be right up your alley. If you haven’t been hooked by the subgenre, Another Time, Another Life should do the trick.”

    Bookpage, US

  • “Persson cleverly blends Swedish politics, corruption and police procedural in a way that will appeal to fans of the current crop of Danish TV dramas.”

    The Times, UK

Author
Photo: Thron Ullberg Leif GW Persson
Published
2003
Genre
  • Crime
Pages
430
Reading material

Swedish edition

English edition

German edition

French edition

Spanish edition

Rights sold

Czech Republic, Moba

Denmark, Modtryk

Estonia, Varrak

Finland, Otava

France, Rivages

Germany, Btb

Italy, Marsilio

Netherlands, Cargo

Norway, Cappelen Damm

Poland, Czarna Owca

Russia, Inostranka

Spain, Paidós (World Spanish)

Sweden, Albert Bonniers

Turkey, Pegasus

UK & Commonwealth, Doubleday

US, Knopf

Film rights sold

Sweden, SVT (Swedish National Television)

More From Leif GW Persson

Memoir

Bäckström

Fall of the Welfare State

Stand-alone