Customer Reviews

The Man Who Left Too Soon: The Biography of Stieg Larsson

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1 star:		(9)

 

 

I strongly suggest you read this book AFTER you have completed the Millennium Trilogy! Forshaw devotes over half the book discussing in detail each of the three books of the Trilogy!

Forshaw provides all of the biographical basics regarding Larsson's life and his career and examines the current turmoil that exists regarding his late estate. He gives a very thorough account of the relationship between Eva Gabrielsson (Larsson's life long companion) and Larsson's father and brother. There are some great pictures included as well that put faces to the names in the headlines.


The best part of the book is when Foreshaw writes about the books themselves. He has a chapter devoted to each of the titles which provides a complete synopsis of what happens in the book as well as his own insights. Foreshaw is quick to point out any parts of the book that have a strong bearing on Larsson's personal life and his career. (There are many many references as such.) These chapters would act as a complete spoiler for anyone not familiar with the actual storyline.

Foreshaw provides some very interesting insights into the literary references provided in the books. He states the obvious ones that are actually referenced in the books themselves but also delves into the style and structure of Larsson's novels as they compare to writers such as Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming among others. Larsson was a devout reader of mysteries and knew them well!

Two of the chapters are key to understanding Larsson's thoughts on his creation: "Publishing Larsson" and "What I Want To Say"
Here are Larsson's own notes and communications between his editor and himself discussing the approach to the characters and the story line. For any Trilogy fan this is must reading! It is amazing how much of Larsson's real life has worked it's way into the trilogy; both on a personal level and regarding his strong convictions and career.

Forshaw holds no punches and even though he is a big fan he does point out the 'flaws' or 'weaknesses' that he sees in the books. To the casual reader this would be the extreme amount of background details that are provided for some of the 'extra' characters. But, Foreshaw is also quick to point out that this could just as easily be a plus for the true fan... who wants to know as much as possible about everything that is happening.

Besides his own views Foreshaw also provides a chapter of comments by some of the better authors of the day and what their views are regarding Stieg Larsson and his trilogy- this chapter provides some interesting perspectives. As somewhat of a bonus he also includes a chapter of Stieg Larsson 'rivals' which examines some of the best Scandinavian writer's of today and gives a summary of what their writing is about!


Besides the past the book also takes a snapshot of today and also a little of what the future may hold for the Larsson legacy. First; we have the Millennium tours that are now being offered by travel agencies to allow readers to take their own tour of the places in the book. Second; Foreshaw talks about the movies that either have been released or will be made going forward. Last; he discusses a little about the possibility of a Part Four?(Eva Gabrielsson has 250+ pages that Stieg Larsson had written before his death)

I would say that "The Man Who Left Us Too Soon" is a perfect 'after dinner mint' or even 'dessert' for anyone who is a fan of the Millennium triology! It is both a quick and highly enjoyable read.

My original enthusiasm for "The Man Who Left Too Soon" has faded --and I'm only on pg. 35. This British writer, Barry Forshaw, has jumped on the Larsson bandwagon and will make mega bucks on this very superficial book. Made my journalistic blood boil re the holes in the narrative big enough to drive a semi through. For example, he talks about Steig's brother, Joakim, without giving a clue as to what he does. And, in relation to the father, he's an "artist" but what kind? And mother is mentioned and then disappears. Did she die? Divorce? What?

Best to wait for Eva Gabrielsson's book. zb

First, this is a welcome volume. The Millennium Trilogy phenomenon and the untimely death of author Stieg Larsson is compelling material. There is enough here to make this a worthwhile purchase. Still, it is, in the end, a bit disappointing.

Why? For one thing, the summary/.synopsis of the books is not representative of what I read. Maybe the author read the book in the original language and the translation didn't capture things clearly. Examples: On page 178, Forshaw notes that Salander--after coming back from her grave--is back in Zalachenko's house holding on to Niedermann's P-83 Wanad gun. The giant had a Sig Sauer--the Wanad was from someone else. Page 130. Forshaw notes that Salander fantasizes setting her abductor (presumably Teleborian afire); unless I misread the thing, she is remembering her attack on Daddy Dearest, not Teleborian. Pages 116-117. He doesn't mention that Salander had identified additional possible victims beyond the original five that Blomkvist was aware of. Page 202: The doctor in the emergency room who did surgery is identified as a psychiatrist. While that had been an interest, he was a surgeon. This takes away from this book.

There is a useful portrayal of Larsson and his family and his partner, Eva Gabrielsson. But it seems to be rather cursory. There is not a lot of detail. I come to see Larsson as not taking care of himself very well, perhaps contributing to his early death. We see him as driven by political concerns. And so on. But I don't get a clear sense of Larsson the person.

Toward the end of the book, there is a fine discussion of other Scandinavian crime fiction and I did truly enjoy other writers' comments--both critical and laudatory--of Larsson's trilogy. There are a handful of pages on the Swedish movies that have come out of the books. A bit brief, but I did find this helpful.

So, there are some good aspects of this work, but it gets some details wrong in the synopsis of the three books and I don't really get an insight into Larsson the person and those close to him.

This book will probably seel moderately well, as its subject is hot property; however it is a big disappointment and cannot be called a biography.

It opens with the briefest overview of Larsson's life and work, mostly lifted from other publications. Then the bulk of the volume is spent going over the plots of Larsson's three published volumes, interspersed with brief commentary. Then follows a drawn out and tedious chapter telling you what various other crime writers think about the work of Larsson, at this point I pulled out what remaining hair I have! Thankfully, the following chapter on the movies was a short one.

It is stiffly written in style and offers nothing really new. I enjoy a good biography and received this one as a gift; it is probably amongst the worst biographies I have ever read. Do I tell the person who gave it to me? That, is the mystery.... Avoid this volume at all costs, unless you feel you have to sleep with Blomkist!

I was very disappointed in this book. Nothing new was in it. I think I learned more from the Christopher Hitchens' article in Vanity Fair or the NYT extended article a year ago. Most of the book contains summaries of each of Larsson's novels (in the trilogy). The author maintains he never knew Larsson, and the book reads like someone who just wants to make money off the legacy of this world class crime novelist.

I agree with Stephen of Australia. I found this book to be a great disappointment. The re-hashing of each book in the Millenium series was complete filler. The only part of the book I found somewhat interesting was the chapter on other Scandinavian authors. I would not recommend this book.

Despite its attractive title, this poorly written book is not a biography; it is filled with fluff and long on repetition, containing almost nothing of substance about the life of Stieg Larsson. Nothing about this unsubstantial "bio" is useful, except perhaps the small selection of photos leafed in. I learned little more about Larsson than I did from reading the blurbs on his books. I would caution would-be readers of this volume against investing their time, money, and hope for info on the life of the wonderful Larsson here.

Forshaw's title is provocative. This is where his contribution ends. He has added nothing new about the life of Stieg. Most of his information has already been rehashed by the press, and often written better. Further, it is terribly misleading to sell a hardcover biography of a man who so many are enchanted with and grieved over losing, and to devote most of the book to Plot Summary!!! IT is a mystery to me why the publisher would permit this Cliff Notes approach. There is nothing of substance here, except offering a rather dry, though informative, overview of the mystery genre in Sweden--which in itself suffers from lack of comprehensiveness.

This is not a biography: it has done no real footwork, no real probing research. It is a rather cold bucket of water poured over a scintillating genius!


those who want more Stieg will of course gravitate towards books about him, if they can't get their hands on the 7 unfinished books Stieg apparently slated to write. But, alas, like several other books printed in the wake of the author's death, this appears as yet another parasitic product, completely antithetical to Stieg's ideals.

I was on the verge of buying this book, but comments by friends who had already read it made me cautious. I opted to borrow a copy instead and while I was interested in parts of the book, I'm reluctant to recommend it to others.

Barry Forshaw acknowledges that the approach he has taken is piecemeal: the first 62 pages contain most of the biographic information; the next 152 pages provide a (not completely accurate) summary/synopsis of the books; and the balance of the book discusses other Scandinavian crime fiction, comments by other writers on Larsson's trilogy and also some information on the Swedish films made of the books.

It's interesting as a companion to the Millenium trilogy, but the best part of the book, for me, was the discussion of other crime fiction. I have some new (to me) authors to add to my reading list. But that isn't why I read this book: I was keen to learn more about the man behind the Millenium trilogy, and the book only partially succeeds in that regard.

Is it a biography? While it contains biographic information, it's largely absent of any insight into Stieg Larsson the person, or into those close to him. Perhaps this is inevitable given that Barry Forshaw never met Stieg Larsson and appears not to have spoken directly to his partner of some 30 years, Eva Gabrielsson. Perhaps Ms Gabrielsson's recently published memoir will provide some detailed insight. Perhaps I'll read it.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Quite a readable book but disappointingly short on info about Stieg. Everything mentioned about him I'd already seen elsewhere. The drama over Stieg's estate could drag on for years so we've only got the beginning. There's not much about his partner has she's writing her own account. The rehash of the plots seemed like padding. So did the critique of scandinavian crime writers.The title of this effort should be "The Book That Was Written Too Soon"