5/5: Alan Turing’s achievements need to be known by everybody first and foremost because of their importance in putting an end to WW2. Unfortunately it is absolutely revolting how the UK treated their national hero and it saddens me to know that such a brilliant mind and personality found its end in the most tragical way.
Back to the story of the book, I liked how i got to know Detective Corell and Alan Turing at the same time, progressively diving into their thoughts and observing from a safe distance their way of coping, their aspirations and their indisputable common preference for mystery, rather than solutions - they both need challenges and adrenaline instead of a direct and easy path

Jag hade lite svårt att komma in i den här boken. Tanken är god - att berätta om Alan Turing genom polisen som undersöker om det finns något misstänkt med Turings självmord. Men det funkade inte riktigt för mig. Man får reda på mycket om Turing och tiden han levde i (till exempel synen på homosexualitet), men jag hade nog hellre läst en biografi om honom.

Really enjoyed this. It reminded me a bit of Sophie's World only with the main character learning about code breaking, artificial intelligence and computers instead of philosophical concepts.

The publishers sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of a young police detective, Leonard Corell... or is it the story of Alan Turing? In the end, it is neither and both. For me, the book would have been more enjoyable if it had remained focused on Corell's story. He is an interesting character and I enjoyed getting glimpses into his re-awakening mind as he investigated Turing's death.

To me, Corell seems lost. We meet him at a time in his life when he is struggling to come to terms with the path he has chosen (police work rather than academia). I can relate to this type of struggle. Corell is also coming to acceptance about the lives and deaths of his parents and waking up to a new world that is the 1950s. In this world, the discussion about homosexuality is starting to open up and it was interesting seeing Corell's internal struggle to discover what he really feels about homosexuality.

Alan Turing is a fascinating character and his story is a very important one but it has been told elsewhere more strongly. I think this book suffers from too much historical exposition about Turing. The story would have been better served if Lagercrantz had left his readers to do their own research about Turing if they so chose.

It's worth noting that I read the English translation of this book rather than the original Swedish. I can't know what might have been lost in translation.

Overall this was an enjoyable read but, for me, it could have been improved by staying with the Corell character. In fact, he is interesting enough that I would read more books about his life after this chapter.

"Young people are meant to go off the rails politically, aren't they?"

Ugh, ik geraak niet meer verder. Zo slecht geschreven! Plus, ik weet al wat Turing gedaan heeft voor de wereld, dan is dit boek echt saai om te lezen. Het hoofdpersonage is verschrikkelijk.
Kijk gewoon The Imitation Game, of lees andere boeken/echte biografieën. Dit is echt niet de moeite.

Recenzie : http://cititoriferoce.weebly.com/blog/looking-for-lovedavid-lagercrantz-agonia-lui-turing

This is a strange novel. The history and science is well-recounted, but the narrator (unlike most of the other characters) didn't feel quite real to me. The beginning is quite slow but Lagercrantz builds the tension well and it ultimately paid off, except for the rather pat ending.

A bit clunky - because it was translated?