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Stieg Larsson – The Man Who Left Too Soon

Stieg Larsson – The Man Who Left Too Soon

If you read a lot, it has been impossible to miss Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy in bookstores – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Most publishing industry pundits would never have believed that a trilogy of crime novels written by a Swedish journalist could dominate the American bestseller lists.

Sadly, as many know, Larsson never had a chance to enjoy his success. He died at the age of 50 before the first book was published.

For those curious about Larrson, the man behind the Millennium Trilogy, two recent books attempt to define the man.

The Man Who Left Too Soon: The Biography of Stieg Larsson by Barry Forshaw examines the Larsson that readers never had a chance to meet. According Forshaw’s biography, Larrson was a workaholic: a political activist, photographer, graphic designer, a respected journalist, and the editor of numerous science fiction magazines. Larrson wrote his now famous crime novels at night to relax.

Stieg Larsson – Our Days in Stockholm is a memoir written Kurdo Baksi – a close friend, writer, and colleague of Larsson.

From Publisher Weekly’s review:

For anyone who devoured the Millennium trilogy, this heartfelt memoir adds more to Larsson’s background. Baksi, who appears in the trilogy as himself, was a good friend and co-worker of Larsson’s for more than 10 years. So shattering was Larsson’s sudden death, it took Baksi “almost five years of mourning” before he could begin writing about Larsson. There is no doubting Larsson’s talent as a writer of thrilling and complex fiction. But Baksi’s intention in this informative piece is ensuring that a vital aspect of Larsson’s personality not be forgotten: “For most of us he was a tireless hero in the fight against racism–there was no battle for democracy and equality that he was unwilling to take part in.”

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