Stieg Larsson's story is one of the more improbable true stories I've ever heard.
I mean, not THAT outlandish, but pretty remarkable when you look at his life in totality:
Quote:
Critic's view: Stieg Larsson was a very Swedish global phenomenon
On a French beach this summer, almost every sunbather regardless of nationality was reading one of Stieg Larsson's three novels in one of their numerous translations.
This phenomenon is improbable, given the project's many obstacles. The author died before the first book even went through the editorial process and, in most such cases, readers are left with a tantalising sense of the polish further drafts might have provided. And, while Swedish crime fiction already had a high reputation – through the Wallander novels of Henning Mankell – Larsson has achieved a global level of acclaim and sales which is very unusual for a story that is not originally written in English.
My theory for the phenomenon is that Larsson took a genre which has generally sold to men – thrillers turning on technology and conspiracies – and feminised it through a highly unusual central character: Lisbeth Salander, who combines the brain of Sherlock Holmes with the martial arts skills of Lara Croft. It's also likely that the history of Sweden – where an experiment in liberal government was compromised by violence and corruption – resonates with readers in other countries. And the author's sudden death – although family and fans accept that he was killed by smoking rather than a smoking gun – adds to the sense that the novels contain urgent and dangerous truths.
And yet perhaps the books' triumph should not have been so great a surprise. It is an oddity of Swedish culture that a country often easily ignored suddenly throws up an example in a certain field – Abba, Bjorn Borg, Volvo – which proves to be a world-beater. Larsson is the latest example.
The sadness is that the question which always underlies a reader's relationship with a favoured author – what will they write next? – cannot apply here, although suggestions that Larsson's laptop may have contained outlines and notes for many more books are one possible reason why his estate has been so bitterly contested...
I just read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Excellent book, and I love the Lisbeth Salander character. I didn't know anything about him or the book -- I picked it up at an airport based on the reviews. Sad that Larsson is dead. I will look for his other two books.
I just read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Excellent book, and I love the Lisbeth Salander character. I didn't know anything about him or the book -- I picked it up at an airport based on the reviews. Sad that Larsson is dead. I will look for his other two books.
Yeah, and now a battle over his formidable estate between his 37-year live-in partner and his blood relatives.
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Yes, I've read the first one and thought it was terrific. I just picked up the second in the series a month ago in South Africa (I was waiting for it to be released in paperback). I'm holding off reading it until the third one is out.
Everyone I know who has read the second one says it's even better than the first, so I'm really looking forward to it.
