Out with the old, in with the new (Vampire Edition)
It seems you can’t go anywhere without hearing about the Twilight saga. Or how about HBO’s True Blood series?
With the recent resurgence of vampires in popular culture, it’s easy to forget that this little slice of horror fiction was once a mainstay in the literary world (I know, Twilight fans, Stephanie Meyers’ books are literature… sort of). But I’m thinking more along the lines of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire, even Salem’s Lot by Stephen King.
Yes, it seems that the classics have taken a back seat to their new, hipper counterparts. Recently, I came across Bram Stoker’s Dracula under the required reading list on a syllabus for one of my fall classes and couldn’t help but smile. But with the exception of a few of us stubborn readers, no one cares about those books anymore. So in this new age, what’s a classic book lover to do?
Absolutely nothing.
It sounds bleak, but the new fans to the genre don’t know anything about the books some of us can’t live without. However, that’s not a bad thing – they’re forging their own icons. And we can all appreciate the revival of the genre.
Perhaps it’s best to let the classic novels fade into obscurity. But it doesn’t hurt to pay homage every now and then; so the next time you stop by Snell, make sure to pick up one the classics – even if it’s just to skim the back cover. It’ll be good for you.
The book is also a compendium of a handful of mystery sub-genres, albeit ones that are so specific they have no names. There is the Financial/Business-Intrigue story, which we are first introduced to when we meet the protagonist Mikael Blomkvist, a wealthy journalist and co-publisher of Millenium magazine, who has recently been sued for libel by a wealthy industrialist and will soon be spending some time in prison. He is at risk of losing his job and Millenium is at risk of going under, both which are causing a rift between him and his publishing partner-cum-lover, Erika Berger. Yet when he is hired by a wealthy, retired capitalist, Henrik Vanger, to investigate the dissappearence of the latter’s niece, his prospects start looking better. Before long Henrik has become a partner of Millenium magazine, although this partnership as well as his obsession over his missing niece reek of personal agenda.
The second sub-genre is the pulpy, blackmail story. In another plot thread, a young girl with a troubled past has been hired as a reporter at a separate magazine. Her name is Lisbeth Salander, and while own her journalistic expertise is not in question, her own safety, and mental acuity, is. She has been assigned to a new social worker, as her mother is wasting away in a nursing home and she has had many run-ins with the law. But her mistrust of virtually everybody and her disregard of journalistic ethics– she is assigned to do a profile of Mikael Blomkvist– will undoubtedly come in to question. I will not give away the blackmail part or the sensational part of this story, as I do not know where it will end up myself.
The third sub-genre is the love-affair scandal story. Blomkvist begins an affair with the daughter-in-law of Henrik Vanger, who lives nearby, alone and lonely. The affair seems innocent, but she may not be.
The fourth, and overriding, sub-genre is the murder mystery. Was Vanger’s niece murdered? Is she still alive? Is the murderer still out there? There is evidence that points in all directions.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a bestseller all over Europe in the past two years. It is written by a man who had an authentic background in the profession of journalism, and the writing style itself– while sometimes clumsy– has a journalistic precision to it. Although the title itself may be intriguing enough for a fun mystery read, the original Swedish title–Man Som Hatar Kvinnar— is even better; literally translated as ‘Men who Hate Women.’ There are certainly a few men who hate women in this overwrought, sprawling mystery, and a certain sociological context is always in the background, hinted at by the subtitles below each new ‘part’ of the book. I have not even finished the book myself, so this cannot be considered a true book review, but Stieg Larsson deserves to be read, for his compulsive readability, if nothing else.
Oh, also: I will see it. Without a doubt, I will see it. I will see it as soon as possible, and I will hope to be blown away by the Awesome. If the powerful experience of reading the book has taught me one thing it will be this: be prepared to be touched (sniff). In expectation, I will clear my schedule for a good three days after that so I can be totally free for wild depression, irrationally strong empathy with fictional characters, and an onslaught of existential crises. That’s right: MULTIPLE crises.
See? I give the benefit of the doubt.
Wanna read the book? You do if you know what’s good for you – and your soul, and your heart, but perhaps not your temporary emotional stability – it’s a bleak read, trust me. But- Woo! Emotional stability be damned! Get it