The Man Who Left Too Soon: The Life and Works of Stieg Larsson (31 page)

It would be hard to overestimate the added value provided by Jacob Groth’s music for the three Swedish films of the
Millennium Trilogy
. Listeners – and film buffs – are still divided over the vexed question as to whether or not a film score should call attention to itself or work subliminally to complement the action on screen. Groth is very much of the latter school. He has enjoyed a particularly close professional relationship with Niels Arden Oplev, the director of
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
, a relationship honed over several years of working together. I heard about this over prodigious Blomkvist-style quantities of coffee during a fascinating couple of hours when Groth was in London in 2010. I met the composer in a penthouse flat high above the noise and bustle of Soho as he worked on a console, creating the score for a new film. It was an instructive experience. Groth, amiable and articulate, is a professional musician who takes a completely businesslike approach to his job. However, he says wryly, it is an approach that took a battering when he was working on the
Millennium
films.

‘I became totally involved emotionally when scoring the Larsson movies,’ he revealed, ‘and kept having to remind myself that my job was to ensure that every dramatic element in the film was given its proper value – and that way, justice would be done to Stieg Larsson’s memory. Which it had to be. Niels and I – everyone connected with the film, in fact – had that objective very much in mind. But it was often disturbing to work on the films – and to enter that dark world again and again. In fact, much more so for me when working on the films as opposed to reading the books; I found it impossible not to feel a hot flush of shame – shame for my own sex. It has to be said that Larsson is under no illusions about the depth to which men – some men – will sink. I suppose that’s an attitude which is reflected in the Swedish title of the first book and film,
Men Who Hate Women
. But I tried to force myself to be objective when scoring the films – I knew I had to keep a certain distance – and it wasn’t all dealing with negative energy. To some degree, I could maximise the musical elements connected to the more sympathetic men in the films – obviously Blomkvist is the principal example.’

But was the job made more difficult, I asked, by the very detailed performances of Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist? Was there a fine balance between enhancing their performances and detracting from them? ‘Do you mean in the sense that their performances were so complete it was up to me as a composer not to get in the way? The answer to that is obviously yes – where the actors are doing very subtle work (which clearly is most of the time with performers as skilled as Noomi and Michael), a composer such as myself must adopt the lightest of touches. But when the director wants to accentuate the drama and menace of a scene – and there are plenty of edgy, dangerous scenes in the trilogy which fit that description – I am able to employ all my resources, which in the case of these films included a large orchestra… a larger orchestra, in fact, than I’m usually able to use. And – as to whether or not a composer’s work should be noticed – well, if people didn’t notice my work, I’m not offended. I consider that means I’m doing my job – the music is hopefully working on a subliminal level to bring out things that perhaps the director and actors have not found. I was, in a way, a handmaiden – or facilitator – to a particular vision of Stieg Larsson’s world. I hope – had he lived – he would have been happy with what I did.’

CHAPTER 11

THE MILLENNIUM TOUR:

In Larsson’s Footsteps

I
t was hardly surprising, given the worldwide success of the Lisbeth Salander books, that the canny tourist operators of Stockholm would come up with a ‘Millennium Tour’.

There are, of course, many such literary tours worldwide built around celebrated characters and series of books, and those taking such tours range from the intellectual literati to those of a frankly fannish persuasion. And many people who have taken part in such walking tours are familiar with those for whom the dividing line between fantasy and reality is a touch blurred. There are those, for instance, who send letters – in the 21st century – to 221b Baker Street asking for help from Sherlock Holmes, presupposing that the Great Detective is not the fictitious creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or that Holmes is the oldest surviving Victorian.

Those who attend the Stieg Larsson walking tour in Stockholm represent a particularly interesting mix, both in age and social background. But there is one unifying factor: a voracious appetite for any information concerning Stieg Larsson and his three remarkable novels. The walk includes a 7-11 shop, which, of course, features in the trilogy, and the staff is familiar with groups of up to 24 people pausing on the wide shopping street of Götgatan on the island of Södermalm, looking attentively through the windows as if they were gazing at a religious shrine.

Thriller writer Robert Ryan (author of such novels as
Signal Red
) also pens a series of pithy travel pieces for
The Times
, and he has noted that the guide on the tour he attended said of this store, ‘You will see packets of Billy’s Deep Pan Pizza, a snack that figures prominently in all three novels.’ And apparently, at least one of the party can always be counted on to go in and buy a packet of this appetising souvenir. As Ryan notes, the
Millennium Trilogy
, as reflected in this walking tour, is ‘no gourmet guide to Stockholm: the hero and heroine exist on a diet of cheap microwaved pizzas, Whoppers, coffee and cigarettes, with vodka and lime or aquavit thrown in’. The guide points out that this was the way Larsson himself lived: ‘Working too hard, eating junk food, smoking too much. It’s probably what killed him.’ In fact, this macabre observation is perfectly appropriate in the context of the tour celebrating a series of books which take readers into the furthest excesses of human behaviour. Despite this, Stockholm’s pride in the city’s dark chronicler is unbounded, and any tourist carrying copies of the books can count on locals taking a personal interest, and asking if the book they’re reading is living up to expectations (the canny tourist will diplomatically always answer in the affirmative).

It is inevitable, given the topography of the books, that the majority of the locations included in the tour are on Södermalm Island – where most of the principal protagonists reside – which has the upwardly mobile, and distinctly trendy, elements of certain parts of London.

The ever-increasing number of visitors travel from all parts of Europe, and the tours are accordingly conducted in Swedish, English, Italian and French. Needless to say, most of the questions thrown at the footsore guides relate to Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. The guides, who work for the City Museum, are used to this, and have ready answers for the oft-repeated questions.

The initial meeting point is Bellmansgatan, which is the location of the attic apartment of the novels’ investigative journalist, Blomkvist. The apartment overlooks the water, and is a striking location. Robert Ryan has suggested that it is worth following the tourist example and starting from here, following the prescribed route to get a feel for Södermalm.

The district was once working class but has since transmogrified into a key area for the arts and media community, with a markedly bohemian feel. A snapshot of the kind of locals residing here may be discerned from the portraits in Café Rival at 3 Mariatorget, which include actors such as Stellan Skärsgård, the director of the much-acclaimed film
Let the Right One In
, Tomas Alfredson, the pop singer Robyn, and the actors who appear in the
Millennium
movies. The entire complex, with its talented residents is, in fact, co-owned by Benny Andersson of the erstwhile band Abba.

The route along which walkers on the Millennium Tours are led encompasses steep but attractive examples of the best of eighteenth-century Sweden’s cobbled streets, and these are, of course, the location for a variety of clandestine sexual encounters in the books. Visitors are taken past ancient churches which have been cursed by witches and an anonymous-looking synagogue, before coming to a significant location.

This is the HQ of Greenpeace, an organisation celebrated for its crusading work exposing the iniquities of all-powerful (and often bullying) multinational corporations – so where better for Stieg Larsson to locate the fictitious offices of Mikael Blomkvist’s similarly crusading magazine
Millennium
? Shortly after passing this building, visitors are then able to see some beautiful views of the city’s atmospheric waterfronts and canals.

One of the most striking vistas may be glimpsed from Montelisvägen, a wooden walkway which offers a view of Kungsholmen, with its remarkable city hall, police headquarters and courthouse – all of which, of course, figure in the novels.

To the west of this are the offices of
Expo
, and the magazine on which Larsson worked is one of the more sombre locations on the tour. For many years, Larsson held down a job with a truly prodigious workload, and burned a phenomenal amount of energy fighting for the many causes which were dear to his heart. This is the building where Larsson was taken ill at his desk before dying in hospital (that hospital also features in the
Millennium Trilogy
).

During the two hours of this fascinating trawl through the locations of Larsson’s novels, the interest level of most groups remains high. Robert Ryan reports that on the trip he took, a Canadian in the group announced that he was planning to read all the books again (apparently this remark is
de rigueur
for many visitors, according to the tour organisers), and half a dozen of Ryan’s group headed for the Grand Hotel. One of Stockholm’s most iconic buildings, the hotel overlooks the ferries which leave for Sandhamn, a beautiful island in the outer archipelago, where, in the novels, Blomkvist owns a cottage – and where he sleeps with Lisbeth Salander during their brief and unsatisfactory affair. The location has great natural beauty, with (beyond the yachting centre) summer cabins located on exquisite untouched beaches.

As a tourist destination Sandhamn is a test of the seriousness of the Stieg Larsson fan – only the most dedicated Salander/Blomkvist followers need apply, as the island is to be reached after a three-hour boat trip, and, as Eva Gabrielsson has pointed out, the exact location of the journalist’s cottage is not specified in the novels.

Details of the tour may be obtained from The City Museum (Ryssg
å
rden, Slussen 00 46 8 508 31 659), at
www.stadsmuseum.stockholm.se
, and tickets are available at the museum or tourist offices. It is also possible to buy a Millennium map for a self-guided tour.

APPENDIX A –

Stieg’s Rivals: Scandinavian Crime Fiction

S
ales of crime fiction in translation from Scandinavian countries have been forging ahead in recent years, and it’s perhaps not hard to see why. This striking vein of new writing offers something that is often more quirky and atmospheric than UK/US fare. But why has the field of crime in translation generally – for so long a backwater – become such a hot ticket? There are several reasons. The astonishing success of Peter Høeg’s
Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow
was a wake-up call: here was crime with all the textural richness of literary fiction, opening up to readers a fascinating new location – Denmark. But
Smilla
was the tip of the iceberg: the Scandinavian countries offered a sweeping panoply. Henning Mankell’s Sweden was also the haunt of Liza Marklund, with her tenacious investigative journalist heroine. And we had Mari Jungstedt, taking us to the windswept and atmospheric island of Gotland, where violence lurks. Then we could visit Åke Edwardson’s menacing Göteborg, or the Reykjavik of Arnaldur Indridason, and Karin Fossum’s Norway.

By now, a legion of Scandinavian crime aficionados were spoilt for choice. Who next for a shot of Nordic criminality? Pernille Rygg? Johan Theorin? But better to have an embarrassment of riches than a drought. No danger of the latter though, as new names appear daily – such as the woman who is already a massive success in the Nordic countries: Camilla Läckberg. Interestingly, Läckberg is known to be inspired by British crime writers – showing that crime horizons now stretch from Oxford to Oslo – and back.

STIEG’S RIVALS: HENNING MANKELL

Over the years, non-English-speaking crime fiction practitioners such as Georges Simenon have garnered classic status, but if there’s one modern writer who is the Trojan horse for foreign crime in translation, it’s Sweden’s Henning Mankell. His laconic detective Kurt Wallander (something of an alter ego for the similarly laconic Mankell) is one of the great creations of modern crime fiction: overweight, diabetes-ridden and with all the problems of modern society leaving scars on his soul. Wallander is as rounded a character as any in more literary fiction. In such books as
Sidetracked
and
Firewall,
British readers were taken into pungently realised Scandinavian settings that were subtly similar to the UK, but also fascinatingly different. Wallander’s Sweden is not a good advertisement for the success of the welfare state – the cracks in the consensus of Scandinavian society widening, Swedish family life riven by deep psychological traumas.