Stieg Larsson books just keep on coming
You thought you’d seen the last of Stieg Larsson and his fictive protagonist Lisbeth Salander?
The man may have died in 2004 but thanks to the immortality of the written word – and the insatiability of publishers eager for another "Millennium" title – Larsson lives on.
You’ll find Larsson in the long-anticipated memoir by his longtime love Eva Gabrielsson, “There Are Things I Want You to Know About Stieg Larsson and Me.”
The book, which has already been published in France, Norway, and Sweden, hits American shores June 21. In it, Ms. Gabrielsson shares some new revelations fans will be eager to learn.
She confirms that her journalist-turned-crime novelist partner wrote some 200 pages of a fourth book in the Millennium trilogy before his death in 2004. The title of the fourth book – "God's Vengeance" – was already determined before Larsson died, she writes.
She also shares some details of the family feud regarding control of Larsson’s estate, including rights to his books. Gabrielsson writes that she is still hoping to gain legal rights to complete Larsson’s fourth book.
Regarding her role in the Millennium trilogy, Gabrielsson writes, “I can simply say that we often wrote together,” adding that the books are “the fruit of Stieg’s experience, but also of mine.”
Three authors present a different perspective of Larsson’s life, death, and books in “The Tattooed Girl: The Enigma of Stieg Larsson and the Secrets Behind the Most Compelling Thrillers of Our Time,” already available on Amazon.
Authors Dan Burstein, Arne de Keijzer, and John-Henri Holmberg, a Swedish author and close friend of Larsson’s, explore the world of Lisbeth Salander – and Larsson himself – through interviews, research, and commentary. They delve into topics explored in the Millennium series, including Swedish politics, neo-Nazis, and violence against women.
In an interview with USA Today, Burstein says his investigation lays to rest any rumors that Larsson was killed by neo-Nazis, a group Larsson publicly denounced and actively worked against. “All of my work suggests there's no other story than he had an unfortunate heart attack,” said Burstein.
Perhaps more interestingly, the authors divulge details of Larsson’s early interest in science fiction and American and British crime writers, all of which became rich fodder for his beloved trilogy.
Burstein also said, “I feel pretty certain” that Larsson left “a substantive amount of material as well as extensive outlines and plots for further books" about Salander.
Something tells us this may not be the last we see of Lisbeth Salander either.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
