The Man Who Left Too Soon: The Life and Works of Stieg Larsson (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

I share much of the disappointnment which others have expressed above about this book. Barry Forshaw is an excllent commentator on contemporary crime fiction but it is his lack of political awareness, and left-wing politics in particular, which largely explains why he fails to draw out the unique qualities of Steig Larsson as a political crime writer. Forshaw comments inadequately on Larssen's polical background - the Vietnam War, Communist Party sympathies and finally the anti-fascist involvement. But none of this is woven into a sufficient political biography and yet it is that political biography which does so much to explain both the Milennium Trilogy and the writer's unique viewpoint. For example, there is no analysis of Stieg's shift from Stalinist politics to his predominant Trotskyist position if Forshaw even appreciates that distinction. Forshaw is not alone in that failing for no other commentary on the author, to my knowledge, has tackled that political development. But without that Forshaw is left to paint Larsson as a mere synthesis of Agatha Christie, Chandler and Scandinavian crime fiction (sadly without mentioning Jo Nesbo, the one other Scandinavian writer who comes anywhere near Steig in terms of a politicised crime fiction). Similarly Forshaw fails to draw on what was probably another major influence on the Trotskyist Larsson, the Pluto crime series of the 1970's and 1980's which produced a very fertile growth of new radical crime British crime fiction writers - Julian Rathbone and Sarah Dunant to mention only the two best known. I feel sure Steig would have come into contact with and been influenced by this series, though in the end he transcended it and every other influence quite brilliantly.

I had high hopes when I first opened Barry Forshaw's biography of Stieg Larsoon, not least the hope that it would enable me to know more about the author of the best selling Millennium Trilogy. This hope was, however, shattered very early on. Forshaw's book is not strictly a biography of Larsson (though it does contain a biographical interlude at the beginning of the book). Rather it is a book about the Millennium Trilogy and the part Larsson has played as its author - the book remains (and its franchise) remains the main focus of the book, Larsson's life remains merely an interlude to the main action.

What biographical detail there is in Forshaw's book is dealt with fairly swiftly, at the beginning of the book. We are given a brief outline of the trajectory of his life as a journalist and of the controversy which has surrounded his legacy as an author. However, the biographical detail is merely a sketch, designed to give an outline of his life, with no colour or detail. We are told, for instance that Larsson enjoyed his period of National Service, but are given no details of what form his service took or why he enjoyed it so much. We are also told that his relationship with his immediate family was not close, but no why it was not so. Such missed opportunities mean that we do not get a full picture of who Larsson was, just an impression and one that is subservient to his role as author of the Trilogy. It is, however, interesting to note that for Forshaw, Blomkvist (in particular his work ethic), can be viewed as Larsson writing himself as a charecter in his novel, and that he services as an image of how Larsson saw himself. Indeed, Larsson seems to have written himself into the text through Blomkvist. It would be unfair, however, to say that Blomkvist is Larsson, he is not, it is more a case of art imitating life. One could also argue that we learn more about Larsson from the Trilogy (via Blomkvist) than we do from Forshaw.

As I noted above, this is a book about the Millennium Trilogy not Larsson. It deals with the Trilogy's franchise/ merhcandise - its reception in the UK/US and its translation from Swedish into English. The Trilogy itself is something of a zeitgeist novel - one which captures the popular imagination, and therefore the bestsellers lists. Other novels in this category include the Harry Potter novels (with their meta-narrative - Christian ethos) or the Dan Brown novels (with their emphasis on Gnostic knowledge/ secret histories). For the Trilogy, its meta-narrative(s) focus on women's' rights, the rights of the voiceless in Swedish society, human trafficking and Nordic fascism are all grist to Larsson's mill. (These are, of course, interests of Larsson - an anti-fascist, feminist socialist and investigative journalist, someone who had links with the far-left and the anti-fascist 'Searchlight Foundation' and magazine in the UK.)

A good portion (almost two thirds) of the book is a retelling of the three Millennium novels, working through the finer details of the novels and reading between the lines to further explore and expand our knowledge of the books. To my mind, this retelling is somewhat superfluous, especially when one is looking for a biography of Larsson. For those who have already read the Trilogy, a further retelling may serve as a diversion away from the main question, 'Just who was Larsson? What made him tick? And what caused him to write the Trilogy?' and perhaps most importantly of all 'What is it about the Trilogy that has captured the attention of so many readers, not just in Northern Europe, but also Britain and increasingly the US?' (Questions which remain unanswered by this book.)

What the book does do is throw up some interesting ideas which may not have occurred to the casual reader of the Trilogy. In particular the thesis that in Blomkvist and Salander, the traditional literary roles usually ascribed to male and female charecters, have been reversed. Salander takes on the traditional male roles (of thoughtful strength) more Blomkvist the female roles (he is impulsive, promiscuous - almost every girl falls for him and he uses this and them to his advantage). By challenging and reversing these traditional roles, and by turning them on their head, Larsson demonstrates his feminist credentials to good effect. (It is also refreshing to see this happen and I applaud Forshaw for highlighting this fact, which whilst obvious when highlighted, might otherwise have gone unnoticed.)

Forshaw places the book within the context of Swedish literature, e.g. that of Henning Mankell. (Though one will have to look to other sources to understand who 'Pippi Longstocking' is and how she relates to Salander/ Blomkvist.) Again, Salander is described as being 'Sociopathic' (which makes sense in the context of the novels) but is not explored in any great detail giving the impression of supposition without supporting evidence. There is a good book here, and it has to be said that Forshaw is a very engaging writer, but it is also a book that needs expanding (and building upon). More importantly, there is a need for a good biography of Larsson in English (Kurdo Baski's biography of Larsson is due to be published in September 2010, but Forshaw has already cast doubt on the veracity of what Baski has written his own book.) Unfortunately this is not that biography, better wait to Sept 2010 to see what Baski's one brings.

I bought this book some time ago and put it on one side as a treat for my holidays it was a bitter disappointment. Most of what I have to say has already been said but I am so outraged I want to reinforce it. This book was obviously rushed to market and it can in no way be called a biography.

The book is 292 pages long and 1% of these pages are blank. The rest comprises:-

1. pp 1 - 62 (about 21% of the book) biographical material
2. pp 63 - 214 (about 52% of the book) detailed outlines of the millennium trilogy
3. pp 215 - 225 (about 4% of the book) an outline of other Scandinavian authors
4. pp 227 - 231 (about 2% of the book) a description of the "Millennium" tour
5. pp 233 - 285 (about 18% of the book) interviews with other authors Larsson
6. pp 287 - 292 (about 2% of the book) details of the three films based on the books

Part 1 is light on information in my mind. To be honest it contains very little information that isn't available by reading just a few internet sites such as Wikipedia. It certainly isn't a detailed account of Larsson's life. In fact if it wasn't for the fact that it was a biological certainty one would assume that he didn't have a mother unless we assume that the few references to his Father's wife was Larsson's mother. We are left with little idea of Larsson as a child or a young man. If it wasn't for a picture of him sailing we would have to assume that his interest were solely in writing.

I take issue with other reviewers that it was well written. For example on page 19 we are told:-

"... Erland Larsson [...] speculated that Stieg's interest in journalism may have been prompted [...] by the Vietnam War."

On the same page 10 lines later we are told:-

"According to his father, Stieg's interest in journalism [...] came at the same time as his growing involvement in Vietnam issues."

As to the 52% of the book outlining the trilogy: this is nearly all padding most of it is repeating the plot. There is by comparison a small amount of critical observation by Barry Forshaw but this hardly counts as biography.

Stieg Larsson was I understand a tireless advocate of democracy and a courageous adversary of Fascism. Why then is 78% of the book focussed on his millennium trilogy? Why are there just interviews with authors, don't politicians, colleagues at Expo and people from other international Anti-Fascist organisation have anything to add about Larsson?

If this biography is the only testament to survive about Stieg Larsson's contribution to our world then future generations would be forgiven for assuming that he was merely a successful author whereas it is my understanding that not only did he contribute to our literary heritage but to our moral one too.