After hearing about the new wave of Scandinavian noir, I’m about halfway through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Even in translation, I’m thoroughly engrossed. It’s moody and modern. The characters seem like recognizable people—laptop users and obsessive coffee drinkers—who happen to be conducting criminal investigations. According to Wikipedia, in 2008 the late Larsson was the second best-selling writer in the world. So, clearly, I’m a little late to this very bleak party. Even so, he’s relatively new to America. Highly recommended.
Bio: Alex Halperin is an editor at Guernica. Read his last recommendation of the book Hospital “here”:https://guernicamag.com/blog/1605/rec_room_alex_halperin_e-readi/.