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Scandinavian literature.
Until recently, Isak Dinesen, Hans Christian Anderson and Sigrid Undset seemed the extent of Scandinavian literature known to those south of the frozen tundra. Like an ice wall collapsing into the sea, modern Scandinavian mysteries, dubbed Norse Noir, have suddenly captured the minds of readers in more temperate climes. In point, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Steig Larsson has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries. Why the popularity?
Books critics have had a heyday analyzing and answering that question. The natives of Finland, Denmark and Sweden are mysterious to outsiders. They are stereotyped as a peaceful people with a low crime record. But behind the façade, or at least between the pages, they’re popping off one another with abandon. Norse Noir whodunits are cerebral not violent. They explore such social issues of the day as immigration, sexual mores, the aged, etc. The place is cold and dark, so suitable for mischief.
The authors themselves continue the dark myth. Larsson, a journalist, wrote the first two of his trilogy, the Millennium Series, before submitting it to a publisher in 2003. The next year he finished the third installment and died. His novels were an instant success in Sweden, and as with the flu, soon the whole world was infected.
No inoculation can protect you. So you might as well give in, curl up with the “Dragon Tattoo” and follow the quirky, young, misfit protagonist Lisbeth Salander as she uncovers the dark secrets of the North. Authors Henning Mankell, James Thompson, Karin Fossum, K.O. Dahl, Helene Tursten can serve up the same frozen sweetness.
