Swedish author Stieg Larsson died at age 50 before witnessing the phenomenal success of his Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Today, the Wall Street Journal has emails from Larsson to his editor about his goal of writing books that flouted convention. (No spoilers here, but the full article has one or two.) Samples:
- "I have gone out of my way to avoid the usual approach adopted in crime novels. I have used some techniques that are normally outlawed—the presentation of Mikael Blomkvist, for instance, is based exclusively on the personal case study made by Lisbeth Salander."
- "I abhor crime novels in which the main character can behave however he or she pleases, or do things that normal people do not do without those actions having social consequences. If Mikael Blomkvist shoots somebody with a pistol, even in self-defense, he will end up in the dock."