At the Library: Pippi revisited in Stieg Larsson’s Millenium series

The three “Dragon Tattoo” books by Stieg Larsson, known collectively as the Millennium series, continue their hold on the best-seller lists, and according to a recent article in the New York Times, have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. Now the author’s longtime domestic partner, Eva Gabrielsson, has written a memoir of their life together, “Millennium, Stieg and Me,” which will be published this June in the United States.

Ms. Gabrielsson has claimed that Larsson wrote slightly more than 200 pages of the fourth book in the series before his untimely death in 2004. She has been seeking the legal authority to finish the manuscript, but Larsson’s brother and father, with whom she has been locked in a bitter dispute over the rights and income from his works, have refused. Although the couple lived together for over 30 years, Larsson died without a will, leaving all of his assets to his family.

Family squabbles aside, the continued popularity of the Millennium series is a great excuse to pick up a copy of any of the wonderful Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren. Larsson was supposedly a huge fan of Lindgren’s work, and references to the stories are rife throughout the books. He allegedly drew on the children’s series for a number of elements in his books, particularly in framing the character of Lisbeth Salander.

Instead of Pippi’s monkey, Mr. Nilsson, on her shoulder, Lisbeth sports a dragon tattoo. Pippi, like Salander, lives alone. (Pippi’s  mother is dead and her father a cannibal king.) She is small and skinny but possesses superhuman strength, not unlike her more contemporary counterpart.

She has disdain for the conventions of life, including law enforcement, which is vividly illustrated in a memorable chapter in the first book during which “Pippi Plays Tag with Some Policemen.” In short, Pippi and Lisbeth both live according to their own rules. As the Wikipedia entry for the Lindgren character says, “Though lacking much formal education, Pippi is very intelligent in a common-sense fashion, has a well-honed sense of justice and fair play, and has learned from a wide variety of experiences. She will show respect (though still in her own unique style) for adults who treat her and other children fairly.

“As any reader of the Millennium books can tell you, that description pretty much sums up the way Larsson has portrayed his heroine. So don’t be put off by the fact that these are “children’s” books … the writing is sharp and witty, and the stories, originally published in the 1940s, have stood the test of time. And unlike the Millennium series, they’re guaranteed to give you more than a few laughs in the bargain. See you at the library!

New fiction

“Fadeaway Girl,” Martha Grimes

“In Too Deep,” Jayne Ann Krentz

“The Lock Artist,” Steve Hamilton

“Lucky Stiff,” Deborah Coonts

“Death of a Chimney Sweep,” M. C. Beaton

“13 rue Thérèse,” Elena Mauli Shapiro

“Binocular Vision,” Edith Perlman

“The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To,” D.C. Pierson

“Caribou Island,” David Vann

“Deep Down True,” Fay Juliette

“Destiny and Desire,” Carlos Fuentes

“Ghost Light,” Joseph O’Connor

“Gideon’s Sword,” Douglas J. Preston

“First Grave on the Right,” Darynda Jones

“I Think I Love You,” Alison Pearson

“The Matchmaker of Kenmare,” Frank Delaney

“Minding Frankie,” Maeve Binchy

“Swamplandia!” Karen Russell*

“Shadowfever,” Karen Marie Moning*

“The Union Quilters,” Jennifer Chiaverini

“The Weird Sisters,” Eleanor Brown*

“The Terror of Living,” Urban Waite

“The Second Son,” Jonathan Rabb

“A Heartbeat Away,” Michael Palmer*

“The Sentry,” Robert Crais (large print)

“Strategic Moves,” Stuart Woods (large print)

“Angel,” James Patterson (audio book)

New non-fiction

“Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” Amy Chua*

“A Box of Darkness,” Sally Ryder Bradley

“Endgame,” Frank Brady

“My Father at 100,” Ron Reagan

“The Next Big Story,” Soledad O’Brien

“Townie,” Andre Dubus

“Tough Without a Gun,” Stefan Kanfer

“A Widow’s Story,” Joyce Carol Oates*

“Alone Together,” Sherry Turkle

“Harlem,” Jonathan Gill

“The Haves and the Have-Notes,” Branko Milanovic

“The Hidden Reality,” B. Greene*

“The Longest War,” Peter L. Bergen

“Neptune’s Inferno,” James D. Hornfischer

“The Next Decade,” George Friedman

“The Price of Everything,” Eduardo Porter

“All Things Shining,” Hubert L. Dreyfus

“The Audacity of Hope,” Barack Obama (audio book)

*New York Times best seller