Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 27, 2011 – Since Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was first released in the U.S. in 2008, his Millennium trilogy become a global phenomenon. On Thursday, May 5, Sweden’s former Minister of Justice, Thomas Bodström, will discuss the Stieg Larsson series, contextualizing the books within the realities of Scandinavian life and culture. The talk, titled “The Stieg Larsson Trilogy: Myths and Realities” will begin at 7 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 3, and is free and open to the public.
Published after Larsson’s death in 2004, the trilogy, which also includes The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries and has been translated into numerous languages.
In his talk, Bodström will consider the relationship between fact and fiction in Larsson’s trilogy, delving into questions about the books’ popularity and their effects on perceptions. Such questions will include: Who was Stieg Larsson, and what was his background? What effect have his books had on the publishing world in Sweden and beyond? Why are these books so popular? How have they changed people’s perceptions of Sweden and Scandinavia? To what extent does the legal system described in the books correspond with the reality in Sweden today? Drawing on his knowledge of and familiarity with the Swedish legal system, Bodström will also address the ongoing battle over Larsson’s estate.
Bodström has had a long career in Swedish politics and, previously, in athletics. He began practicing law in Sweden following a career in professional soccer. He entered politics in the late 1990s, later becoming the minister of justice in Sweden from 2000 to 2006. Subsequently, he served as a member of Swedish Parliament from 2006 until 2011, acting as chair of the Standing Committee on Justice.
Currently, Bodström, the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, is living in Williamstown and working on his political memoirs, due to be published in Sweden this month. His relocation represents a homecoming of sorts for Bodström, who lived in Williamstown in 1985 while serving as an assistant soccer coach to Mike Russo fo the Williams men’s soccer team.
Bodström’s talk is sponsored by the Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and the International Studies Program.
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Published April 27, 2011
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