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.
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