Stieg Larsson: The Real Story of the Man Who Played with Fire

by Jan-Erik Pettersson

Stieg Larsson's former publisher reveals the real man behind the mega-bestselling Millennium Trilogy--a man who fought heroically for human rights, and who brought that same political and moral passion to his writing.

Until the trilogy's posthumous publication, Larsson was best known for his devotion to left-wing causes and as a tireless anti-fascist activist. Horrified by the rise of far-right extremism in Sweden, he dedicated himself to exposing these often shadowy and violent groups--at great personal risk--gaining international respect for the depth of his commitment and knowledge.

Jan-Erik Pettersson shows how Stieg's energetic championing of social justice and women's rights characterized his life as well as his work, finally animating the Millennium Trilogy and particularly the character of the unforgettable Lisbeth Salander. Throughout the book Pettersson explores the issues, people, and places who inspired Larsson's portrayal of Salander and her champion, journalist Michael Blomkvist.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Adam Snider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could almost have been written by Stieg Larsson himself, in that it shares many of the quirks of the latter's novels - a tendency to wander off topic for extended periods, an intense moral underpinning, and a deep need to explore where remarkable people come from, and how they are shaped. Pettersson uses his subject's life as a window into Sweden's postwar history, and especially into the extreme political and social movements of Left and Right in which Larsson embroiled himself: an activist and participant on the Left, and the scourge and biographer of the Right.

Some readers may, in fact, get somewhat frustrated by Pettersson's willingness to essentially sideline Larsson in large sections of the book, but he does eventually bring things back around again. The book has exceedingly few, and exceedingly long, chapters, which makes it difficult to read in short bursts. Larsson's death and odd afterlife as bestselling crime thriller novelist gets rather short shrift, in fact, something which will surprise readers who know him as that and only that, but this isn't an oversight. Like many of Larsson's close friends and colleagues, Pettersson was surprised and vaguely skeptical of the whole novelist enterprise when Larsson embarked upon it, and as a biographer he is more interested in showing to the world a Larsson they've never encountered before.

That Larsson has many qualities that could be gleaned from a close reading of his novels - egotistical, opinionated, strongly critical of the society he lived in. His protagonist Michael Blomkvist has been portrayed by some critics as Larsson's more glamorous and adventurous Mary Sue insert, but it must be said that Larsson himself had a quite adventurous (and dangerous) life, involving himself in the turmoils of postwar Grenada and putting himself at the top of the Swedish neo-Nazi movement's Most Wanted list.

It's not a perfect book, and anyone looking for a more personal, psychological portrait of Larsson, especially one focussing more on family and close relationships, is not going to come away satisfied. For those who appreciate biographers who use individuals as windows into societies - members of the Taylor Branch and Robert Caro school of biography - will find this an engaging read.

[Marren · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some interesting tidbits about Larsson and what made him tick, as well as some commentary on development of Swedish crime fiction. But 75% of this book went off on tangents about left wing history. While Larsson was active in his political activities, a lot of the history had little to no connection to his life and didn't add to understanding Larsson himself. It seemed like the author didn't have enough actual material on Larsson, so instead filled up pages upon pages with history of communism in the Caribbean.

[Daniel Staud · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts off with an exploration of Steig's childhood, from where he lived to how his parents influenced him and where Steig wrote most of his material. From there on, it traces the history of him mixed together with Swedish history. It is a fascinating read but I felt it was very clunky and the integration of historical facts with Steig's own journey didn't gel well together. I was left wanting more about the man himself.

[Tal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book introduces the reader to the greater-picture surrounding Stieg Larsson's work in both its national and global contexts, but too detached for my liking. Tom Geddes' translation flowed for the most part, but there were places where the language felt choppy and awkward.
I'm glad to know more about the events that inspired and led up to the creation and publication of the "Millennium" trilogy, but a better job could have been done...

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like author Jan-Erik Pettersson had a book about activism, political parties, etc. that he couldn't get published so he added information about his friend, Stieg Larsson, to the book and got it published that way. The information about Larsson is interesting, but it is few and far between in these pages.

[Deb Holden · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting in that it gave a lot of history about Sweden and the neo-Nazi movement during the last half of the 20th Century but the writing and/or the translation was not good. I also would have liked to know much more about the author and that a very minor part of the book.

[Mathilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Millennium-trilogie vind ik ronduit fantastisch. De schrijfstijl die Larsson hanteert is er 1 van een hele goede thriller gemixt met een hoofdpersoon die werkt vanuit een traditie van onderzoeksjournalistiek. Bedankt, Larsson voor het schrijven van deze 3 boeken! 🙏 Ik heb oprecht bewondering voor de schrijfstijl.

Tijdens het lezen vielen mij 2 dingen op: 1. hoe Larsson als onderzoeksjournalist te werk ging en 2. de focus op extreem-rechts.

Daarom ben ik op zoek gegaan naar een ander boek over de onderzoeksjournalistiek. Ik stuitte op Jan Stocklassa en zijn boek over Larsson en zijn Olof Palme-moord-onderzoek. Door het lezen leerde ik veel van de methodieken in Larsson zijn werk (en schrijven). En ik begreep veel meer waarom de Palme-moord zo heftig en zo beroemd is.

Tijdens het wandelen van mijn werk naar de bushalte ergens in Friesland kwam ik een minibieb tegen. Daar lag de biografie over Larsson geschreven door zijn vriendin Eva Gunnarsson. Yeah! Die ging dus mee en heb ik in de trein tussen Drachten en huis in 1 ruk uitgelezen.

Ik werd door het lezen van de “achtergrondboeken” nog meer nieuwsgierig naar hoe extreem-rechts zich heeft ontwikkeld in Zweden en wat de Zweedse geschiedenis laat zien aan bewegingen waardoor het extreem rechts naar voren heeft kunnen komen, meer dan bijvoorbeeld in Nederland.

Heb lang gezocht naar zo’n boek tot ik op een prachtige boekenplek in Leiden dit boek van Jan-Erik Pettersson tegenkwam. Ik kan nu beter begrijpen waarom de SD (Sverige Demokraterna) nu prominent naar voren komt in de Zweedse politiek.

Pettersson schrijft uitstekend over het Zweden tijdens Larsson’s jeugd, adolescentie, journalistiek werk en ook kort nadat hij overleed. Hij neemt het hele leven van Larsson en kristalliseert mooi uit hoe Zweden zich in die periode heeft ontwikkeld. Dat beslaat 6/8 deel van het boek. 7e/8 en 8e/8 deel is voor de ontwikkeling van het Zweedse misdaadliteratuur. En ook: hoe het Zweden en alle politieke gebeurtenissen zichtbaar doorsijpelen in de misdaadthrillers.

Ben je dus geïnteresseerd in geschiedenis van Zweden inclusief het meebewegende extreem-rechts en/of het begrijpen waarom Zweedse misdaadliteratuur zo’n succes heeft kunnen worden? Dan is dit echt een boek voor jou!

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Stieg Larsson's life and background about how he became a writer. I especially liked how Stieg was influenced by Astrid Lindgren and other writers in order to come up with Lisbeth Salander and the Millennium trilogy. Another thing I found out from this book: it was a surprise to discover how much Stieg liked American and British writers.

Stieg was also a dreamer, wanting to write a bunch of best-selling novels after his career at "Expo" magazine. He went after it, intending to write a series of ten novels. Unfortunately, Stieg Larsson passed away in November of 2004 about a year before the fruition of his labors would pay off. Only three of his books were done or near completion to see the light of day.

I did enjoy reading the Millennium trilogy plus the two sequels. ("The Girl Who Played With Fire" is my favorite book.) Yet I wonder about the fourth novel Stieg had almost completed. Was that used for "The Girl in the Spider's Web"? If not, maybe it's time for Stieg's fourth novel to finally see the light of day. His father, brother and girlfriend need to find a happy medium as well. Then he could have closure in order to eventually rest in peace.

[Sami Eerola · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the worst biographies that i have read. It does not dwell very deepely in the Larsson´s personal life, it is more of a hagiography of his writing and anti-fascist activism. All good in themself, but the book does not go deep in the relationship of Larsson and his wife, his ideology (trotskyism) or why he died of hearth attack. Did Larsson struggled with a hearth desease? It remains a mysteri after reading this book. The autohr just states that Larsson died sudenly of a heart attack and thats it! No analyses of what kind of desease he had. It was genetic or more of a lifeslyte problem? Did Larsson suspect that he may died for this desease? How it affected his thinking? We do not know!

Worst still is that the auhtor writes a blatand factual error in this book that made me question evertying else in it.

[Bobby House · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although, I liked that rather than focus on all the innocuous details of his life, there was more of an overview emphasizing his political leanings and the evolution of his sociopolitical involvement leading up to the Millennium series, some of his personal relationships could have been expounded upon, especially his relationship with Eva Gabrielsson since she had a distinct influence on his life. Some of the listing of names of Swedish writers becomes sort of tedious, and could have been forgone in favor of other, more personal aspects of his life.

[Filipe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is good and very well written. However, it seemed to me that the author, Jan-Erik Pettersson, uses Stieg Larsson's life as a backdrop to discuss Sweden's political landscape from the 1970s until the release of the books, between 2002 and 2004. I understand that using this approach to explain the reasons behind the Millennium trilogy’s storyline is valid, but I missed learning a bit more about the life of the great author Stieg Larsson.

[Marvin Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for more from this book. It is crammed with facts, deductions and surprises, but ultimately we are left to share the author's informed guess as to who murdered Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme and why. Well written but filled with Swedish acronyms and cultural references that went right over my head.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is primarily about the still unsolved 1986 murder of Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme. Steig Larsson, Swedish journalist and author of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo series, investigated the crime before his death. Pettessson gained access to Larsson's files and pursued his own research into the assassination. It is a fascinating journey into the world of investigative journalism.

[Damien Hanrahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot more interesting than I thought it would be, not like other biographies it focuses on what he did rather than a load of unnecessary bits about 'who he was'

[Emery Chase · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it generally boring

[Jen Warnock chace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish reading. Did not like what I read at all.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives some a much needed depth to Stieg Larsson's life. It also made me wonder if anyone has give thought he may have been murdered.

[Kim Deutschman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh .... gave up after the 1st 50 pages.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

A terrible biography. While parts regarding antifacist and nazi activity in sweden were interesting, the book is not really about larsson.

[Aaron Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a lot of info on Stieg Larsson this might not be for you. If you're looking for an interesting history of white supremacists in Sweden then this is for you.

[Clair Kiffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I thought it would be. I’m not a fan of history books and this book not only included a history lesson but also political history - not good timing and for me personally = boring.

[Loly De Souza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Não gostei. Esperava uma biografia mas o livro analisa os vários movimentos políticos da Suécia e escreve muito pouco de Stieg Larson. Pra quem gosta de política vai ser uma boa leitura.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful background about an intriguing author

[Alysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not about Stieg Larsson.

The title is misleading. The book is about the historical events in Sweden that form the background for the Millennium series.Stieg Larsson occasionally pops into the story, but he remains a shadowy figure, still unknown to the reader—a flat character, in literary terms. The structure of the story was also difficult to follow; although there was some sense of moving forward chronologically through the story of Millennium's development, it was by no means linear, and the author had a tendency to wander about in the chronology. It seemed initially that the story would follow Larsson's life, culminating at his death, with perhaps a chapter beyond to clarify the events that followed, but Larsson's death occurred about 2/3 of the way through the book, and a substantial section followed. This following section (which was about the rise of Swedish crime fiction and the publication of the Millennium series) made sense at the end of the book, but because the author had already built up to Larsson's death, but then had to go back along the timeline to explain this final section, it ultimately felt a bit anticlimactic.

Yet this book was very interesting for the extensive background it provides, both on the historical elements that are referenced in Millennium, but also the background for the social setting of Sweden at the time that allowed these books to become so popular, Toward the end of this book, there is also a brief—but intriguing—analysis of the character of Lisbeth Salandar and Stieg Larsson's writing of her. Lisbeth is, of course, a character that fascinates many, and these few short paragraphs regarding what she stood for, what she represented, and how she (perhaps) was meant to be interpreted, will certainly give me some things to think about next time read Millennium!

Overall: Probably not the book you expected it to be when you picked it up. But if you found yourself intrigued by the detail of the Millennium series, it's worth a read to learn more about the background that inspired the popular novels.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting biography of the man who wrote the dragon tattoo series. There is a generous analysis of the Scandinavia evolution of the police procedural, detective, true crime, and their influences from Nordic socio-economic history.
Here we are with the reading pleasures of Nordic Noir!
Larsson was short lived but his literary impact is large and influential. Gifted fellow.

[Violet Aderes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history book. I bet if I read it sooner, I wouldn’t have any problems at school. Seriously, that was a hella great history lesson.

But anyway – I felt a little lost when I read “Stieg Larsson died”. This short sentence made my brain stop right in this moment. I was trying to pretend that nothing bad happened, but after reading he did have fourth part almost ready, I had a strange feeling like I have lost someone in my family.

Also – topics about politicians are mind-blowing. Don’t feel offended by using this word, but I have read that what kind of future will look like is what really looks like. Like right now, in 2017. Even though everything was meant to happen earlier, it’s all happening now and I had to stop for a moment to realize I am not reading about something that will happen. I was reading about what is right now and Stieg, as well as everybody else who predicted that kind of future, were right about everything. I wonder how many people who decided to read it years since it was published, realized this book is about today. I am one of them.

[Lukas Dufka · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for an intimate account of Larsson's personal life, you won't find very much of it here. What you will find is a solid placement of Larsson the activist and Larsson the crime writer into the wider contexts of those two sides of this extraordinary man. Pettersson takes great care to explain Larsson's genesis into an anti-fascist crusader and, consequently, a novelist. To this end, he provides detailed analysis of the historical and cultural developments that influenced Larsson's life, his views and his writing. This, I estimate, takes up nearly two thirds of the book, but rewards the reader with a picture of Stieg Larsson that is deeper than a book solely focused on the man himself could be.

[Matt Saze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting analysis of fascism and anti fascism in Sweden, as well as the political background of Stieg Larrson. I think this crucial aspect Larrsons life is overlooked or downplayed by the media as he has become so popular and it is inconvenient to have such a successful left wing character, so it is good the author has emphasised the import of this.

Saying that there is not too much about the man himself and the book does become a little disjointed at times, but overall an interesting and satisfying read.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

From my perspective Stieg appears as a shadowy figure in the background of this book. The book seems to be more about 20th century Swedish politics of the far left and far right, which Stieg was very much involved in, admittedly. However I never felt that I got anywhere near knowing the real Stieg, only that he somehow managed to produce three of the most popular books of recent years, and so unfortunately died before they were published.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a man who died much too young. Never mind the world will be without whatever Stieg Larsson had yet to write, he was brilliant and interesting and remarkable. I wish I could have known him too!