Sally Jones - Murder Without a Corpse
Sally Jones - Murder Without a Corpse (Original Title: Mördarens Apa ) is an adventure novel , written and illustrated by the Swedish writer and illustrator Jakob Wegelius . It tells the story of the monkey lady Sally Jones, who takes a long and difficult journey to save her best friend and captain from prison.
The book was published in Swedish on April 16, 2014 by the Swedish publisher Bonnier Carlsen and has a length of 624 pages. The German translation with a length of 620 pages was published by Gerstenberg Verlag in June 2016 . The translator is Gabriele Haefs . It is Wegelius' seventh book.
The book is the continuation of the picture book Sally Jones - A trip around the world in pictures . Among other things, the novel was awarded the August Prize (2014) and the Nordic Council Children and Young People Literature Prize (2015).
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In Murder Without a Corpse , the courageous female monkey Sally Jones tells how she embarks on an adventurous journey to prove the innocence of her best friend, who is also the captain of the boat they share. He is wrongly in jail - for a murder he never committed. The body of the alleged victim Alphonse Morro was never found, and based on various clues, Sally Jones is certain that Morro is alive and hiding in India . But it takes longer than expected to find it. Again and again, Sally Jones faces new dangers and various detours delay her journey. For example, she has to work as an adjutant and aircraft mechanic for a maharajah before her friend Ana helps her continue the search. Eventually it turns out that the "murder victim" is on his way back to Lisbon . After Ana and Sally Jones have also returned to Lisbon, they wait there for Morro. He shows up but is killed before he can make a confession . With the help of a mysterious letter, the truth, in which the Monarchist Brotherhood is entangled, comes to light, and the chief is free again.
Part 1
Captain Henry Koskela, also known as “Chief”, and Sally Jones are in Lisbon with their boat, the Hudson Queen. Unfortunately, work is currently scarce and the two of them desperately need money. So they are all the happier when a man named Alphonse Morro offers them a job: shipping tiles. But it turns out that the cargo is not tiles, but weapons. After the chief made this discovery, there was a scandal and the Hudson Queen ran aground. When the chief followed Morro the next day to give him a statement, an accident occurred: Morro fell into the water. Before that, he loses an amulet, which Sally Jones immediately picks up. Incorrect witness reports lead to the chief being charged and convicted of murder: 25 years in prison. Even though a body was never found. Sally Jones is deeply saddened by the loss of the chief. She is rescued by a young woman named Ana who looks after Sally Jones and gets her a job with her good friend, the instrument maker Fidardo. Sally Jones likes the work there and she also befriends Fidardo, who is initially skeptical about her. Meanwhile, Ana suffers from her violent boyfriend, who also forbids her to appear in public with her beautiful singing voice. But one day Sally Jones scares her brutal friend so much that he never shows up at Ana again. She begins to perform as a singer at funerals and gradually becomes more and more famous. On this occasion Sally Jones comes across the grave of Elisa, whom Sally Jones recognizes as the woman in the photo in Morro's amulet. The saying that is in the amulet indicates that she was his lover. When one day the cemetery gardener receives a letter with money for caring for the grave of Elisha's resting place, Sally Jones realizes that it can only come from one person: Morro! Unfortunately, nothing else can be found out than that the letter comes from the Far East. Sally Jones, Ana and Fidardo have countless slips of paper printed on which the saying of the amulet and Ana's address are printed. They give these notes to all seafarers who go to the Far East so that they can hang them up at all major ports. They hope that Morro will see one of the pieces of paper and return to Lisbon to get the amulet back. However, the three friends are not too sure whether the plan will work as expected. So they are all the more delighted when a second letter arrives with money for Elisha's grave: it bears a postmark from India, more precisely: from Cochin. Sally Jones is now wanted by the police through an intrigue of the criminals who were involved in the criminal machinations of Morro, including the Bishop de Sousa. She decides to track down Morro in Cochin and thus prove the innocence of the chief. So she hires as a machinist on the Song of Limerick. But even there, not everyone is well-disposed to her - an initial betrayal almost delivers her to the police, but Captain Anderson cleverly rescues her.
Part 2
Even on the high seas, Sally Jones quickly notices that there are crew members who would rather not see them on the ship. Ultimately, she survived the journey unscathed - not least thanks to the help of the honest and good-natured captain - and reached India hopefully. But their hopes are ever dashed, because a crew member secretly sells them to director Thursgood, who in turn presents them as a gift to the Maharajah for his zoo. However, the Maharajah first made her an adjutant and spy. One day he discovers her talent for machine work and she becomes an aircraft mechanic and also his personal flight attendant. When Sally Jones discovers a record by Ana, who is now a well-known singer, in the maharaja's collection, she secretly puts it on and is caught by the maharajah. He immediately falls in love with her voice and the woman on the cover of the record. He then invites her to his palace and Ana, who sees this as an opportunity to look for Sally Jones in India, accepts the invitation. When she arrives in India and sees that the monkey lady is right in the palace of the Maharajah, she is all the happier. In India, Ana manages to get the Maharajah to leave for Cochin with her and Sally Jones to find Alphonse Morro. With the help of the secretary of the Prime Minister of Cochin, Ayesha, Sally Jones finds out where Alphonse Morro is. The man suffering from malaria had previously hidden in the city's Jewish quarter until he recently discovered a mysterious note at the port and then decided to return to his home in Lisbon. Sally Jones knows immediately what the note is about. It is one of the pieces of paper on which the saying from Morro's amulet and Ana's address are printed. Ana and Sally Jones of course know immediately what to do: They have to get back to Lisbon as soon as possible! But at first the maharajah is reluctant to let his dearest servant go. Ultimately, however, he realizes that he cannot hold Sally Jones against her will and gives her and Ana two tickets back to Lisbon.
part 3
After a three-week return trip, Ana and Sally Jones arrive in Lisbon. Fidardo and the chief, who was informed of his girlfriend's trip by telegram, are incredibly relieved. After some waiting, Alphonse Morro finally arrives in Lisbon - and is taken straight to the hospital because he is so weakened by his illness. He sends a doctor to Fidardo's address and he and Sally Jones immediately go to the hospital. Morro says he wants to make a big confession to the press the next day and Sally Jones gives him his amulet back. When Morro has disappeared from the hospital the next day and the angry detective Garretta goes to Ana's apartment to see if Morro is hiding there, Sally Jones realizes a lot. Morro is in danger! He was involved in the dark machinations of the bishop and now the bishop and Commissioner Garretta, who is also involved in the matter, are afraid of Morro's confession. Sally Jones follows the inspector and realizes that he wants to go to the cemetery with Elisha's grave, because he suspects Morro to be there. She also rushes there to prevent the worst - but she's too late. Garretta has already shot Alphonse Morro. The investigation of this murder case is now dedicated to Commissioner Umbelino. The final solution to the case is a letter that Morro had hidden in his shoe. In this letter he tells the whole story: Elisa was killed by a letter bomb from an anarchist group. Although the attack was not aimed at her, the Monarchist Brotherhood took on Morros to instrumentalize his anger and let him work for them. The Monarchist Brotherhood is an anti-anarchic and anti-republican organization that includes Bishop de Sousa and Commissioner Garretta. One day Morro was given the job of smuggling weapons for the revolution. For this he hired Koskela and Sally Jones. When the plan failed, Morro was supposed to kill Koskela. However, he could not bring himself to this. He ran away from him, whereupon the accident occurred and he fell into the water. He managed to get out of the water and fled the city. However, since Koskela knew of the machinations of the brotherhood, they made sure that he was sent to prison. Since the innocence of the chief is thus proven, he is released from prison. It takes him a while to find his way back to life, but with the help of his friends he overcomes the challenge. Most of all, it makes him happy that he and Sally Jones can free and repair the Hudson Queen. So soon nothing stands in the way of you sailing again.
characters
main characters
Sally Jones
Sally Jones is a brave and clever monkey lady. She actually works as a machinist on the Hudson Queen, Henry Koskela's boat, whom she calls "Chief". After his arrest, she first worked for the instrument maker Fidardo, where she also proved her craftsmanship. And as an aircraft mechanic for the Maharajah, she also shows that this field of activity suits her. She prefers to wear her overalls and tinker with engines. She is very smart and teaches herself a lot of things - for example, she fixes an accordion that she gives to the chief. In addition, she can not only understand people, but also read and write. But she can't speak - and she holds back with gorilla noises so that she doesn't frighten people. She loves her freedom and refuses to be taken to the zoo or other captivity. She is also characterized by her loyalty and kindness - she is always there for her friends and, if necessary, she travels halfway around the world for them.
Minor characters
Henry Koskela aka The Chief
Henry Koskela is a captain through and through. He is a good-natured, funny and cheerful man who cannot harm anyone. He has a deep friendship with Sally Jones and his greatest concern is that something might happen to her. Due to an unfortunate coincidence and a sly intrigue of the Monarchist Brotherhood, Koskela has to go to prison. To cheer him up, Sally Jones sends him her self-repaired accordion to jail. There he teaches himself to play the accordion. Sometimes Ana comes up on a hill in front of the prison and sings to him. He then accompanies them on the accordion. The music and the letters he writes with Ana and Fidardo and in which he is informed about Sally Jones' condition are the things that let him get through the sad time in prison. When he is finally freed, it takes some time to become the old man again. But above all his great passion, the Hudson Queen, the manual work and the sea make him the happy man he was before.
Ana
Ana is a beautiful young woman who lives in Lisbon and works in a shoe factory there. She is very good-natured and therefore takes Sally Jones into her home and gives her everything she needs to live. But she is too good-natured towards some people: She forgives her brutal friend again and again for his insults and beatings. But when this disappears from her life, a lot changes for her. She finds the self-confidence to perform as a singer in front of an audience with her beautiful voice. Everyone who hears her singing is touched and enthusiastic, and she quickly achieves great success. She always remains humble and continues to work in the factory. She is also characterized by courage and willingness to help: Not only does she leave no stone unturned to protect Sally Jones, she also actively helps with the liberation of Koskela and even travels to India to see the Maharajah, who fell in love with her . And not only the Maharajah raves about her: since she appeared in public she has had an admirer who regularly writes romantic letters to her, but never reveals himself. Ana is happy about it and calls it "Canson", like the brand of the stationery he writes on.
Fidardo
Fidardo is originally Italian and lives as an instrument maker in Lisbon. He plays the accordion very well and usually wears flashy white suits. He is Ana's neighbor and her best friend. They often make music together and he always advises her to appear publicly as a singer. He also tries to persuade her to break up with her violent boyfriend. At first he was very skeptical of Sally Jones - but when he discovered her technical talent and got to know her better, he made friends with her. Overall, it is often influenced by prejudices and needs a certain amount of time to break down. However, once he opens up, he is a kind and kind person. He's more realist than romantic and always wants to prevent Sally Jones and Ana from getting too hopeful. However, he helps to clear up the intrigue and protects Sally Jones wherever he can.
The Maharajah
The Maharajah is a very rich and powerful man who lives in a huge temple in Bhapur, India. He has several wives and lovers, often gives lavish parties and lives very lavishly. In addition, he is very moody and always gets his way. He quickly loses interest in his hobbies and activities, only for flying does he develop a constant passion. He is not particularly interested in the people because he is so preoccupied with himself. The only person who doesn't obey him is his mother. She thinks her son is useless and often points it out to him. In his garden the maharajah has a zoo with rare animals. That's why Sally Jones is given to him as a present. But he has other plans for her: she should spy on his mother so that he doesn't have to run into her so often. Over time, however, he noticed that Sally Jones also had other qualities: He made her an aircraft mechanic and flight attendant. After a while he comes to appreciate Sally Jones and he realizes that he really likes having her around. He is all the sadder when not only his beloved Ana refuses his proposal, but Sally Jones also wants to return to Lisbon with her. Here, however, for the first time he is not acting selfishly. He realizes that he cannot and does not want to force her to stay. As a farewell he gives her a great friendship gift: he swaps his diamond-studded turban for hers.
Alphonse Morro
Alphonse Morro grew up with his uncle, who is an undertaker. He did not have a happy childhood there, had to work a lot for his uncle and experienced little love and affection for it. Only when he meets Elisa does his life become brighter. The two become lovers and want to get married. After the assassination mistakenly killed Elisa, Morro falls into a deep hole. He loses his job and home and ends up going to the poor house. But at some point a clergyman turns to him, who tells him that he can avenge Elisha by supporting the monarchist brotherhood. This would fight against the anarchists who carried out the attack. Morro sees some hope for his life again for the first time and works for the brotherhood from that point on. However, he is by no means as ruthless and cold as the other members. When he's about to kill the chief, he can't bring himself to do it. He has a guilty conscience that he will be convicted for the alleged murder of him, but also too afraid of the brotherhood and so he hides in India. There he fell ill with malaria and ultimately felt the need to make a confession. Before his death, which he sees getting closer and closer, he would like to go to Elisha's grave one last time. He can fulfill this wish before Commissioner Garretta shoots him at this very spot.
Nominations and Awards
Mördarens Apa received various awards:
| 2015 | Nordic Council Children and Young People Literature Prize |
| 2014 | August price |
Public book presentations
The book was presented as a German premiere in the presence of the writer at the children's and youth program at the 16th Berlin International Literature Festival in September 2016.
Web links
- Original language and German language publisher website for the book
- Author's website
Individual evidence
- ^ Bonnier Carlsen
- ^ Page to the book at Gerstenberg-Verlag , accessed on May 26, 2016
- ↑ a b August price
- ↑ a b Nordic Council Children and Young People Literature Prize 2015 ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.literaturfestival.com/kjl
