Merger: vesting of the control of different corporations in a single one by the issue of stock of the controlling corporation without dissolution of the consolidating companies.
merge: to cause to combine or coalesce, to lose identity by absorption or immersion in something else.
Whose identity, what identity is merged with another? The financial relationship with the Vanger family was not a merger of the magazine. Has anyone lost their identity to something? Hmmmmm.
Mikael returns from prison and begins again to research Harriet's disappearance. Just about the first thing he does is to go see his girlfriend, Henrik's niece, Cecelia, looking for a little comfort, I am sure. She does not wish to continue their sexual relationship. One wonders why but there is normal emotional reality here because it is all too complicated for Cecilia. (Thank God the author is back on earth. This improbable affair with his business partner flies in the face of emotional logic. Cecilia doesn't like it.) But Cecilia does have something to hide. In the past she consistently asked him if her answers were on or off the record.
Mikael focuses most of his renewed search reliving the day that Harriet disappeared by reviewing the photographs. This is an interesting line of approach and perhaps brilliant. It’s a time machine and he is the ghost who observes. He puzzles over the phone numbers from Harriet’s diary.
The photographs in Henrik’s album were taken by the local reporter from the small newspaper. He delves into the paper’s archives. A photographer takes hundreds of photos and prints only a few because of focus and composition. He finds three things: that Harriet looks in one direction and the change in her facial expression indicates that she sees something that upsets her. What is it? Second, it is obvious that a couple in the crowd was taking pictures of the bridge accident at the same time the local reporter was photographing the incident. Their camera was turned so that they may have snapped in the direction that Harriet looked. Third, in an archive photo, out of focus but visible, he sees a figure in Harriet’s bedroom window. It is a blonde girl wearing a light dress. The only person fitting that description is the young Cecilia. Cecilia said she never entered Harriet’s room that day.
Cecilia has left the island and rather than turn over heaven and earth, Mikael tries to contact her gently and privately to ask her why she lied to him. He doesn’t tell Henrik either. Weeell, Henrik gets sick so it makes sense that Mikael would wait for him to recover. But the rest of the family becomes aware that Mikael may have discovered new evidence.
The “phone numbers” are scripture verses. Aaahhh. Very clever. In English, the convention is Lev. 20:16 but obviously in other cultures, it is 3 20 16. and that clever Harriet pushed the numbers all together. But the female names associated with the numbers? Mikael thinks that they are murder victims because the horrid murder of one girl back in the 50’s appears to be patterned after one of the scripture verses.
Three pieces of new evidence to track down. Why did Cecilia lie to him? Can he get photos from the tourist couple? Do we have a serial murderer?
Who were the religious people at this time? Harriet had found religion. Mikael finds out from the old pastor that Harriet may have dabbled in the apocryphal texts – which could mean Roman Catholicism or satanic texts. (One and the same it would seem to some very fundamental Swedish Protestants.) The passel of nasty Nazi brothers are candidates. Although, German Nazis were not Christians per say. But I guess our Trotsky author may be blurry about that since he doesn’t like religion at all. (Obvious.) And you know religious crazies are as bad as Nazis. Ergo.
Go after the easy one, I say. Confront Cecilia first.
He doesn't.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Part 2: Consequence Analyses, 2nd blog on this part of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
But Henrik Vanger is an accomplished consequence analyser.
He brings Erika Berger to Hedestad and proposes to back the magazine with significant sums and to reorganize the Board of Directors to include the Vanger family. Mikael returns as executive editor. Why does Henrik do this? He says to get Wennerstrom. Perhaps also to calm Mikael. Hmmmmm.
Henrik proposes to announce the changes at the magazine on the day that Mikael goes to prison. Ooooh. Niiice. Stick Wennerstrom in the eye.
What this will do (it will come out later) is flush out the mole in the editorial offices of the magazine. Good thing. I think Erika sees this as a possibility but we do not hear her internal voice.
In Part 2, Mikael goes through all the material that Henrik has amassed about the day that Harriet disappeared. The material focuses on that day and on the police investigation. I notice that Henrik does not follow the suspects and family through the 37 years to the present. Much discussion is expended on Henrik's brothers (and their Nazi sympathies) during the war and until 1966. We hear about their children and grandchildren only through current conversations with family. If I were Henrik, I would have watched all these people closely through the years and just noted what they were doing. To be true to real life, this is how it would have been. I suspect most readers slide by this fault but I wonder, is this a reflection of Henrik's involvement or a literary fault to be attributed to the author.
I am inclined to think it is the author's fault. I really like Henrik, this octogenarian. I'm sure Henrik is a crafty businessman. But he has won my heart over with his stance on the Nazis, his love for Harriet, and because he saved, loved and married a German Jewish girl. He has a blind spot for his family -- either disgusted by members or reliant on members. On whom does he rely that he should not? Who does he rely on? Cecilia (lover of Mikael), Martin, Anita (who is absent since the '70's). If he were to be involved in Harriet's fate, I would feel betrayed.
I continue to be critical of Mikael's sexual relationship with the married Erika. We are supposed to admire her -- business woman, confident, genteel ... Nope. Not enticed. She is a flat character. Two dimensional. Male fantasy.
This part ends with Mikael's entrance into prison for three months.
With all my criticisms of plot and character details, I still like the voice and cadence of the novel. I enjoy the tutorial on war-time Sweden, descriptions of the land, and the peek into current Swedish culture. (How much coffee do they drink in a day? I'd be flying.)
I am intrigued by the girl with the dragon tattoo -- Lisbeth.
He brings Erika Berger to Hedestad and proposes to back the magazine with significant sums and to reorganize the Board of Directors to include the Vanger family. Mikael returns as executive editor. Why does Henrik do this? He says to get Wennerstrom. Perhaps also to calm Mikael. Hmmmmm.
Henrik proposes to announce the changes at the magazine on the day that Mikael goes to prison. Ooooh. Niiice. Stick Wennerstrom in the eye.
What this will do (it will come out later) is flush out the mole in the editorial offices of the magazine. Good thing. I think Erika sees this as a possibility but we do not hear her internal voice.
In Part 2, Mikael goes through all the material that Henrik has amassed about the day that Harriet disappeared. The material focuses on that day and on the police investigation. I notice that Henrik does not follow the suspects and family through the 37 years to the present. Much discussion is expended on Henrik's brothers (and their Nazi sympathies) during the war and until 1966. We hear about their children and grandchildren only through current conversations with family. If I were Henrik, I would have watched all these people closely through the years and just noted what they were doing. To be true to real life, this is how it would have been. I suspect most readers slide by this fault but I wonder, is this a reflection of Henrik's involvement or a literary fault to be attributed to the author.
I am inclined to think it is the author's fault. I really like Henrik, this octogenarian. I'm sure Henrik is a crafty businessman. But he has won my heart over with his stance on the Nazis, his love for Harriet, and because he saved, loved and married a German Jewish girl. He has a blind spot for his family -- either disgusted by members or reliant on members. On whom does he rely that he should not? Who does he rely on? Cecilia (lover of Mikael), Martin, Anita (who is absent since the '70's). If he were to be involved in Harriet's fate, I would feel betrayed.
I continue to be critical of Mikael's sexual relationship with the married Erika. We are supposed to admire her -- business woman, confident, genteel ... Nope. Not enticed. She is a flat character. Two dimensional. Male fantasy.
This part ends with Mikael's entrance into prison for three months.
With all my criticisms of plot and character details, I still like the voice and cadence of the novel. I enjoy the tutorial on war-time Sweden, descriptions of the land, and the peek into current Swedish culture. (How much coffee do they drink in a day? I'd be flying.)
I am intrigued by the girl with the dragon tattoo -- Lisbeth.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Part 2: Consequence Analyses, 1st blog on this part of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
A consequence analysis is an examination of the sequence of interrelated events a proposed action will logically produce.
Mikael does not carry out a competent consequence analysis of his flight to the hinterland.
* He wants to get out of Wennerstrom's view and therefore save his magazine from the onslaught of bad press and a shaky financial status, orchestrated by Wennerstrom. He leaves it up to his lover/business-partner and the staff to handle the storm that will decend on them.
* He does not consider fully the impact of his investigation into Harriet's disappearance. In this closed room mystery all the players in the drama can be identified, and if the perpetrator is not dead, Mikael himself could be in danger as he gets close to the mystery.
* He does not question how Henrik is connected to Wennerstrom and what kind of information Henrik has that would be damaging to Wennersrom, but instead proceeds to enter in a contract with Henrik where one of the rewards is a good "Wennerstrom shellacing" with new -- and one would hope -- damning information.
* He does not consider the downside of starting a sexual relationship with Henrik's niece.
* He doesn't consider -- and this is his biggest failure -- what if all this information provided him by Henrik about the day Harriet disappears, what if something Henrik fully documents is not true.
He seems to not care. He is prone to laziness. Intellectual laziness is my judgement.
On the other hand, Lisbeth is quite proficient at consequence analyses since she has reaped the rewards of not caring; she is a ward of the state, vulnerable to the excesses and whims of its representatives, specifically its social workers. She is legally a minor, unable to conduct her life without intrusion.
Lisbeth gets into a fix. Lisbeth's guardian (who really cares about her) was removed because he falls ill. She gets a pervert assigned to her by social services. It's fairly disgusting. Her plan of action is astonishing. And from this we come to understand that she will exact revenge and safeguard herself even if she gets hurt in the process. Wow. I won't ruin it for you.
Mikael does not carry out a competent consequence analysis of his flight to the hinterland.
* He wants to get out of Wennerstrom's view and therefore save his magazine from the onslaught of bad press and a shaky financial status, orchestrated by Wennerstrom. He leaves it up to his lover/business-partner and the staff to handle the storm that will decend on them.
* He does not consider fully the impact of his investigation into Harriet's disappearance. In this closed room mystery all the players in the drama can be identified, and if the perpetrator is not dead, Mikael himself could be in danger as he gets close to the mystery.
* He does not question how Henrik is connected to Wennerstrom and what kind of information Henrik has that would be damaging to Wennersrom, but instead proceeds to enter in a contract with Henrik where one of the rewards is a good "Wennerstrom shellacing" with new -- and one would hope -- damning information.
* He does not consider the downside of starting a sexual relationship with Henrik's niece.
* He doesn't consider -- and this is his biggest failure -- what if all this information provided him by Henrik about the day Harriet disappears, what if something Henrik fully documents is not true.
He seems to not care. He is prone to laziness. Intellectual laziness is my judgement.
On the other hand, Lisbeth is quite proficient at consequence analyses since she has reaped the rewards of not caring; she is a ward of the state, vulnerable to the excesses and whims of its representatives, specifically its social workers. She is legally a minor, unable to conduct her life without intrusion.
Lisbeth gets into a fix. Lisbeth's guardian (who really cares about her) was removed because he falls ill. She gets a pervert assigned to her by social services. It's fairly disgusting. Her plan of action is astonishing. And from this we come to understand that she will exact revenge and safeguard herself even if she gets hurt in the process. Wow. I won't ruin it for you.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Part 1: Incentive - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Incentive: that which arouses to action, spurs on, urges on; the motive behind an action.
There will be a wide range of characters in this complex plot. Larsson assists the reader by leaving nameless lesser players in the action. Thank God becasue we have so many characters to watch. The protagonist, the antagonist, the uncle, the uncle's right-hand man, the Vanger family, the people in the village, the supporting personalities around the main characters, and all their impulses and motives.
The obvious protagonist is Mikael Blomkvist. "St. Michael, the Archangel, be our defender this day in battle. Protect us against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke [the evil one] we humbly pray..." [Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel]
Larsson sees himself in real life as a St. Michael, exposing evil and protecting children, "counteracting the growth of the extreme right and the white power-culture in schools and among young people", "exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations; he was an influential debater and lecturer on the subject." [from Wikipedia]. Mikael Blomkvist is a reflection of a cleaned up Stieg Larsson.
As Part 1 opens, our Protagonist Mikael has been convicted of 15 counts of aggravated libel in a Swedish court. Mikael libeled Wennerstrom, a shadowy Swedish financial figure in an Eastern Euorpean development deal. Mikael is fined a hefty sum and sentenced to three months in jail. He was set up to be taken down it is revealed. Mikael has enemies.
Do I have sympathy for Mikael? A crusading journalist, handsome, tall, a ladies man, proud. He's having an open sexual relationship with the married business partner in their weekly news magazine. (The husband of said woman doesn't care we are told. She goes from bed to bed as she wishes.) Mikael is pretty pleased with himself (Lisbeth makes this observation in the course of her investigation of the Wennerstrom affair). Mikael's resume is presented so that we should at least admire him if not like him. I am not persuaded at this point to respond either way.
We soon meet Lisbeth Salander, described on the back cover as a pierced and tattooed punk podigy. She's a very closed, icy, contained, controlled personality. A victim of child abuse, but we don't know the details yet. She works for a security organization as a Personal Investigator. (One would not enjoy having her looking into your background because she will find all your secrets. She has so many secrets herself, she knows how to find everyone else's.) I like Lisbeth very much and read with great interest when she enters the scene. Later on we find she is under guardianship of the state social worker system. I have a feeling her experiences with the system will not be pretty.
But it is not Lisbeth who has been approached to unravel the center mystery. The 82 year old, wealthy uncle of an industrial family approachs Mikael the investigative journalist to discover what happened 37 years ago in the disappearance of the then 16year old niece Harriet. Uncle Henrik has puzzled over her apparent murder, has kept copious notes and detailed photographs, and he wants to solve the mystery before he dies. She disappeared just before Michaelmas term. Henrik offers Mikael millions of kroner to solve the mystery. Here's a nice dramatic touch: every year on his birthday Henrik receives a pressed flower from ... Harriet? Someone who wants to keep him obsessed with her disappearence.
We have four characters here: Mikael, Henrik, Lisbeth and Harriet. Lisbeth and Harriet are mirrors of each other. Lisbeth has been abused and broken by her past but not crushed. She is loved and protected by two men: her employer (a wonderful Croatian) and her state appointed guardian (a thoughtful, warm-hearted lawyer). Harriet was ignored and finally abandoned by her parents to Uncle Henrik who adored her and raised her in the family compound in northern Sweden.
We see the mysteries.
Why and by whom was Mikael set up to take a fall in the Wennerstrom deal? He has enemies but what caused them to castrate him? Who betrayed him?
What happened in the disappearance of Harriet? Who murdered her? Why? There is no apparent motive. (Her murder is a "closed room mystery", as they say in the genre.)
What is Lisbeth's story of childhood abuse? How will Lisbeth impact the solving of the mystery of Harriet and the Wennerstrom mystery? How are all these nasty family members interconnected?
Is Mikael's odd "domestic" situation with married Erika a factor in his betrayal? (I always have trouble when male authors negate the natural female impulse to be at least serially sexually exclusive. Any real woman who humps two men at the same time without emotional consequences has a twisted story of emotional abuse in her past. Period. Don't argue with me. Sleeping around is a male fantasy not a female truth.)
What is Henrik's connection with Wennerstrom? Henrik uses this bait to lure Mikael into this investigation. Well, the millions of kroner help, otherwise who would leave comfortable Stockholm for the back of the beyond in Northern Sweden in wintertime?
Why does Henrik's right-hand man suddenly drop the investigation of Wennerstrom with no explanation? Lisbeth was put on the trail. Will she drop the scent now?
The book was first published under the title: Men Who Hate Women. Who are the men who hate women in this story? They are not yet revealed yet.
What are the incentives? What has caused the characters to be aroused to action? What urges them on?
There will be a wide range of characters in this complex plot. Larsson assists the reader by leaving nameless lesser players in the action. Thank God becasue we have so many characters to watch. The protagonist, the antagonist, the uncle, the uncle's right-hand man, the Vanger family, the people in the village, the supporting personalities around the main characters, and all their impulses and motives.
The obvious protagonist is Mikael Blomkvist. "St. Michael, the Archangel, be our defender this day in battle. Protect us against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke [the evil one] we humbly pray..." [Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel]
Larsson sees himself in real life as a St. Michael, exposing evil and protecting children, "counteracting the growth of the extreme right and the white power-culture in schools and among young people", "exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations; he was an influential debater and lecturer on the subject." [from Wikipedia]. Mikael Blomkvist is a reflection of a cleaned up Stieg Larsson.
As Part 1 opens, our Protagonist Mikael has been convicted of 15 counts of aggravated libel in a Swedish court. Mikael libeled Wennerstrom, a shadowy Swedish financial figure in an Eastern Euorpean development deal. Mikael is fined a hefty sum and sentenced to three months in jail. He was set up to be taken down it is revealed. Mikael has enemies.
Do I have sympathy for Mikael? A crusading journalist, handsome, tall, a ladies man, proud. He's having an open sexual relationship with the married business partner in their weekly news magazine. (The husband of said woman doesn't care we are told. She goes from bed to bed as she wishes.) Mikael is pretty pleased with himself (Lisbeth makes this observation in the course of her investigation of the Wennerstrom affair). Mikael's resume is presented so that we should at least admire him if not like him. I am not persuaded at this point to respond either way.
We soon meet Lisbeth Salander, described on the back cover as a pierced and tattooed punk podigy. She's a very closed, icy, contained, controlled personality. A victim of child abuse, but we don't know the details yet. She works for a security organization as a Personal Investigator. (One would not enjoy having her looking into your background because she will find all your secrets. She has so many secrets herself, she knows how to find everyone else's.) I like Lisbeth very much and read with great interest when she enters the scene. Later on we find she is under guardianship of the state social worker system. I have a feeling her experiences with the system will not be pretty.
But it is not Lisbeth who has been approached to unravel the center mystery. The 82 year old, wealthy uncle of an industrial family approachs Mikael the investigative journalist to discover what happened 37 years ago in the disappearance of the then 16year old niece Harriet. Uncle Henrik has puzzled over her apparent murder, has kept copious notes and detailed photographs, and he wants to solve the mystery before he dies. She disappeared just before Michaelmas term. Henrik offers Mikael millions of kroner to solve the mystery. Here's a nice dramatic touch: every year on his birthday Henrik receives a pressed flower from ... Harriet? Someone who wants to keep him obsessed with her disappearence.
We have four characters here: Mikael, Henrik, Lisbeth and Harriet. Lisbeth and Harriet are mirrors of each other. Lisbeth has been abused and broken by her past but not crushed. She is loved and protected by two men: her employer (a wonderful Croatian) and her state appointed guardian (a thoughtful, warm-hearted lawyer). Harriet was ignored and finally abandoned by her parents to Uncle Henrik who adored her and raised her in the family compound in northern Sweden.
We see the mysteries.
Why and by whom was Mikael set up to take a fall in the Wennerstrom deal? He has enemies but what caused them to castrate him? Who betrayed him?
What happened in the disappearance of Harriet? Who murdered her? Why? There is no apparent motive. (Her murder is a "closed room mystery", as they say in the genre.)
What is Lisbeth's story of childhood abuse? How will Lisbeth impact the solving of the mystery of Harriet and the Wennerstrom mystery? How are all these nasty family members interconnected?
Is Mikael's odd "domestic" situation with married Erika a factor in his betrayal? (I always have trouble when male authors negate the natural female impulse to be at least serially sexually exclusive. Any real woman who humps two men at the same time without emotional consequences has a twisted story of emotional abuse in her past. Period. Don't argue with me. Sleeping around is a male fantasy not a female truth.)
What is Henrik's connection with Wennerstrom? Henrik uses this bait to lure Mikael into this investigation. Well, the millions of kroner help, otherwise who would leave comfortable Stockholm for the back of the beyond in Northern Sweden in wintertime?
Why does Henrik's right-hand man suddenly drop the investigation of Wennerstrom with no explanation? Lisbeth was put on the trail. Will she drop the scent now?
The book was first published under the title: Men Who Hate Women. Who are the men who hate women in this story? They are not yet revealed yet.
What are the incentives? What has caused the characters to be aroused to action? What urges them on?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Looking Over the Book from the Outside
Three separate women at a restaurant last night came over to the table to ask me if I liked the book! I took it along with me to steal a minute or two to read at the table. I've never seen such interest from strangers in what I am reading.
The novel is separated into Prologue, four parts, and Epilogue: "Final Audit". Each of the four parts quotes a statistic of violence against women. Part 1, Incentive, says, "Eighteen percent of the women in Sweden have at one time been threatened by a man." Part 2, Consequence Analyses, says, "Forty-six percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to violence of a man." Part 3, Mergers, says, "Thirteen percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to aggravated sexual assault outside of a sexual relationship." Part 4, Hostile Takeover, says "Ninety-two percent of women in Sweden who have been subjected to sexual assault have not reported the most recent violent incident to the police."
This novel was first published 2005 in Swedish under the title "Man som hatar kvinnor" -- "Men Who Hate Women".
"Larsson, witnessed the gang rape of a girl when he was 15 which led to his lifelong disgust of violence and abuse of women. The author never forgave himself for failing to help the girl, whose name was Lisbeth - like the young heroine of his books, who is herself a rape victim. This inspired the themes of sexual violence against women in his books." from Wikipedia.
"Larsson was initially a political activist for the Kommunistiska Arbetareförbundet (Communist Workers League), a photographer, and one of Sweden's leading science fiction fans. In politics he was the editor of the Swedish Trotskyist journal Fjärde internationalen. He also wrote regularly for the weekly Internationalen. He worked as a graphic designer at the largest Swedish news agency, Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (TT) between 1977 and 1999." from Wikipedia
"Larsson's political convictions, as well as his journalistic experiences, led him to the founding of the Swedish Expo Foundation, similar to the British Searchlight Foundation, established to "counteract the growth of the extreme right and the white power-culture in schools and among young people." He also became the editor of the foundation's magazine, Expo. Larsson quickly became instrumental in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations; he was an influential debater and lecturer on the subject, reportedly living for years under death threats from his political enemies." from Wikipedia
Mr. Larsson died of a heart attack.
Okaaay then. Mr. Larsson is a Trotsky man -- permanent revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat by "democratic principles rather than an unaccountable bureaucracy" (good luck with that one), very very far left even of the very far left Marxism. It is facinating to note that Mr. Larsson's political convictions are not discussed on his own website. His resume underscores his strongly held beliefs -- but I guess putting that fact up front would not sell books. Or ideology. Stealth?
Now that's quite a filter to consider in reading this novel.
The novel was translated into English by Reg Keeland. Mr. Keeland must be an accomplished translator (and Vintage Books must have accomplished editors) because the novel's prose has a lovely cadence and beautiful voice.
The novel is separated into Prologue, four parts, and Epilogue: "Final Audit". Each of the four parts quotes a statistic of violence against women. Part 1, Incentive, says, "Eighteen percent of the women in Sweden have at one time been threatened by a man." Part 2, Consequence Analyses, says, "Forty-six percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to violence of a man." Part 3, Mergers, says, "Thirteen percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to aggravated sexual assault outside of a sexual relationship." Part 4, Hostile Takeover, says "Ninety-two percent of women in Sweden who have been subjected to sexual assault have not reported the most recent violent incident to the police."
This novel was first published 2005 in Swedish under the title "Man som hatar kvinnor" -- "Men Who Hate Women".
"Larsson, witnessed the gang rape of a girl when he was 15 which led to his lifelong disgust of violence and abuse of women. The author never forgave himself for failing to help the girl, whose name was Lisbeth - like the young heroine of his books, who is herself a rape victim. This inspired the themes of sexual violence against women in his books." from Wikipedia.
"Larsson was initially a political activist for the Kommunistiska Arbetareförbundet (Communist Workers League), a photographer, and one of Sweden's leading science fiction fans. In politics he was the editor of the Swedish Trotskyist journal Fjärde internationalen. He also wrote regularly for the weekly Internationalen. He worked as a graphic designer at the largest Swedish news agency, Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (TT) between 1977 and 1999." from Wikipedia
"Larsson's political convictions, as well as his journalistic experiences, led him to the founding of the Swedish Expo Foundation, similar to the British Searchlight Foundation, established to "counteract the growth of the extreme right and the white power-culture in schools and among young people." He also became the editor of the foundation's magazine, Expo. Larsson quickly became instrumental in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations; he was an influential debater and lecturer on the subject, reportedly living for years under death threats from his political enemies." from Wikipedia
Mr. Larsson died of a heart attack.
Okaaay then. Mr. Larsson is a Trotsky man -- permanent revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat by "democratic principles rather than an unaccountable bureaucracy" (good luck with that one), very very far left even of the very far left Marxism. It is facinating to note that Mr. Larsson's political convictions are not discussed on his own website. His resume underscores his strongly held beliefs -- but I guess putting that fact up front would not sell books. Or ideology. Stealth?
Now that's quite a filter to consider in reading this novel.
The novel was translated into English by Reg Keeland. Mr. Keeland must be an accomplished translator (and Vintage Books must have accomplished editors) because the novel's prose has a lovely cadence and beautiful voice.
I'm Reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Last weekend in Estes Park (CO) on vacation, my husband bought me Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so that I could relax at the end of the day with a good book. He has seen many people reading Larsson's books in airports. Knowing my preference for mystery novels, he thought I might like to try out a new author and start at the beginning of a series.
I was "up a creek without a paddle" (as my mother would say) because I had left my latest book at home in the rush to pack the car for the long weekend. (Mr. Man has it easier; he has a Kindle. I am envious.)
The cabin we rented for the weekend has books left behind by former vacationers. In the past the cabin had a collection of at least seven books from which to choose. I enjoy glancing through titles and wondering why people left them for the next occupants. This time, only three books sat on the shelf: a book of short stories about wildly horrendous (and improbable) horror, a religious tract of sickly sweet (and improbable) musings, and a history coffee-table style book about Vail, CO (pretty good).
Stieg Larsson lived in Sweden, was the editor-in-chief of the magazine Expo, and a "leading expert on antidemocratic right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations."
I am not familiar with current Swedish culture enough to guess how people there might define antidemocratic right-wing extremism, especially when paired with "Nazi organizations". I will keep Mr. Larsson's filter in mind as I proceed through his novel. For all I know, he might consider mothers who want influence in public school educational content to be right-wing extremists. Nazi organizations are a little easier to identify, what with that swastika and fake-tough clothing thing so openly displayed at their meetings.
Mr. Larsson died in 2004 after delivering manuscripts for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. He was fifty years old. Reg Keeland translated these manuscripts from Swedish into English.
It is my plan to blog as I read, so don't let me spoil the story for you, but I invite you to read along.
I was "up a creek without a paddle" (as my mother would say) because I had left my latest book at home in the rush to pack the car for the long weekend. (Mr. Man has it easier; he has a Kindle. I am envious.)
The cabin we rented for the weekend has books left behind by former vacationers. In the past the cabin had a collection of at least seven books from which to choose. I enjoy glancing through titles and wondering why people left them for the next occupants. This time, only three books sat on the shelf: a book of short stories about wildly horrendous (and improbable) horror, a religious tract of sickly sweet (and improbable) musings, and a history coffee-table style book about Vail, CO (pretty good).
Stieg Larsson lived in Sweden, was the editor-in-chief of the magazine Expo, and a "leading expert on antidemocratic right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations."
I am not familiar with current Swedish culture enough to guess how people there might define antidemocratic right-wing extremism, especially when paired with "Nazi organizations". I will keep Mr. Larsson's filter in mind as I proceed through his novel. For all I know, he might consider mothers who want influence in public school educational content to be right-wing extremists. Nazi organizations are a little easier to identify, what with that swastika and fake-tough clothing thing so openly displayed at their meetings.
Mr. Larsson died in 2004 after delivering manuscripts for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. He was fifty years old. Reg Keeland translated these manuscripts from Swedish into English.
It is my plan to blog as I read, so don't let me spoil the story for you, but I invite you to read along.
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