Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Lennart Kollberg

    Male

    Martin Beck’s second-in-command and good friend in the books by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö is Lennart Kollberg, a bohemian, overweight (but in good physical trim) former paratrooper, conscientious objector and Marxist who finally tires of his job in the police and give his notice. Kollberg has two major interests in life: food and his family; his 14-year younger wife, Gun – with whom he often enjoys making love – and their two children.

    Further reading

  • Bjørn Beltø

    Male

    Norwegian archaeologist, who solves mysteries with religious connections in a suite of novels by Tom Egeland. Bjørn Beltø is just over 30 years old and is an albino, which means that he has poor vision and pale skin. He is single and finds it hard to get relationships to work, despite certain women being interested in him. He periodically suffers from anxiety, and then prefers to sit at home and listen to classical music.

    Further reading

  • Dave Gurney

    Male

    A well-built police detective in New York who commands respect, renowned for having caught several serial murderers, who retires already when he is about 50 years old. He moves to the countryside with his wife Madeleine and their son, but can’t resist from privately investigating murders. He admits that this affects his family life, and thus always has a bad conscience, according to his creator John Verdon.

    Further reading

  • Mma Makutsi

    Female

    She struggles with her poor skin and unflattering spectacles, but Mma Grace Makutsi has impressively high grades from her secretarial course and is a lady with skin on her nose and a sharp tongue. In Alexander McCall Smith’s suite of novels about The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana’s capital Gaborone, Mma Makutsi is first employed, but after a while becomes a part-owner of the agency. She is also happily married to Phuti Radiphuti.

    Further reading