Some Thoughts

Some thoughts and observations inspired by The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Author Steig Larsson provides amusing insight into the Swedish mindset regarding certain behaviors. For example, in doctors and social workers' descriptions of Lisbeth Salander's refusals to answer any of their question, the author uses words like

shy

or

retarded

. One supposes that if one were asked rather personal questions about one's sex life or finances by strangers who seem to have made up their minds about you, one would decline to answer also. In describing members of the Vanger family's racist, fascist political leanings the phrase

politically insane

is used. I suppose from this we can begin to make assumptions about the Swedes and the way they deal with what may or may not be considered deviant behavior. In the case of Lisbeth Salander's evaluations, we can say that the social workers, doctors, and advocates have either made up their minds about or they have not tried to find a way to talk to her. As to the fascist leanings of the members of the Vanger family, it almost sounds like the Swedes put their collective heads in the sand and write some one off as insane.

Another observation is related to the prologue. In the prologue of the book, Henrik Vanger receives and exotic pressed and framed flower for his birthday. To the reader this may seem like an unrelated episode, yet later in part one of the story, it is explained that the flower has significance. Without giving too much away, let's just say it's a clue to the mysterious disappearance of Harriet Vanger.

Stay tuned

How much of this is necessary?

In The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo author Steig Larsson goes into detail about the main characters' biographical histories. We learn that Mikael Blomkvist grew up in a fairly middle class stable household in contrast to Lisbeth Salander's dysfunctional upbringing. Henrik Vanger is descended from a Dutch family that settled in Sweden in the twelfth century and has a branch in America. So I ask why is it necessary to into such depth about their backgrounds? In the case of Vanger, it might be necessary only if to produce a list of suspects in the mysterious disappearance of Vanger's niece Harriet, which Blomkvist does. However, I'm not so sure about Larsson's reasons for detailing Blomkvist's or Salander's life history. Perhaps it is to provide some sort of empathy for the character or to assist any actor taking on those roles for the film version. Perhaps in later chapters we'll find out why.

As a side note I did get the kindle edition of The Thousand Autumns of jacob de Zoet, which I'll be tackling next.

Stayed tuned

First Impressions

Well I finally completed the first part of theThe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by the late Stieg Larson. I must say this book reminds me a bit of the work by American mystery writers Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler. The resemblance is in the way Larson, a former journalist, structures his syntax; using on the minimum required words to convey thoughts, dialogs, and descriptions. This is something that can be appreciated by a reader who does not take to flowery prose and necessary for a mystery novel. A mystery novel that gets too caught up in descriptive phrasing detracts from the story at hand. In this case, a murder mystery with far reaching consequences. I won't give away too much of the plot, I'll you the reader figure it out for yourself but I will say this, in part one the reader is not only introduced to the main characters, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, but also get a keen sense of their back story. It'll be fascinating to see how this story develops. Like any good mystery novel there are the usual plot twists, which not doubt make for a great ride.

The novel takes place in modern day Sweden and centers around disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who has been fined and sentenced to jail for libel. He is commissioned by industrialist Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance/apparent murder of his beloved niece Harriet. Meanwhile, the reader is introduced to Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker and investigator for a security company. She is asked to investigate Blomkvist for Vanger by Vanger's attorney Frode. What ensues will be subject for the next blog.

Stay tuned.

At First Glance

The subject of Japan's sakoku ("Chained Nation") period has been an endless source of fascination for writers and historians alike. The idea of a far off island nation cut off from the rest of the world; no on is allowed to leave or enter, has provided an endless source for the imagination. So it's no wonder that The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel by David Mitchell aroused the curiosity of reviewers the world over and has inspired your intrepid reviewer to chime in with a few thoughts on the matter.

First, a bit of historical background. Japan was not completely cut off from the world. The third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu instituted Japan's "isolation" as a response to the growing threat of Christianity to his supremacy. Spanish and Portuguese Catholic missionaries made their first appearance in Japan in the mid-sixteenth centuries along with merchant ships. Spain and Portugal, in addition to demanding trade agreements from the shogun, brought with them Jesuit and Franciscan priests with the express purpose of converting the masses. Their influence grew so strong that they became a threat to the shogun. Both Conrad Totman, Japan Before Perry and Paul Varley Japanese Culture-available on Amazon-chronicle this history quite well. So, you ask, where does a Dutchman like the fictional Jacob de Zoet come in?The answer is simple. The Dutch and the English first landed on Japan in 1600 aboard the Erasmus. Both nations were Protestant and interested in doing business with the Japanese not converting the masses to their particular religion. For a terrific account of the English/Dutch experience in Japan, check out not only the above mentioned books but also Milton Giles' book Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan. The fact that the Dutch were not interested in proselytizing endeared them a bit more to the shogun. During the periodic Christian persecutions, the Dutch and the English were harassed but not condemned like the Spanish and Portuguese and their converts. Finally, Tokugawa Iemistsu put an end to the growing intrusion of the Catholic missionaries by ordering them out of the country or face sever penalties and closing the nation off to outsiders including other nations.

However, Japan was not completely closed off because non-Japanese people, i.e. the Dutch, English, Germans, and other Asian nations, could make contact on a fan-shaped man-made island called Deshima, where Mitchell's story takes place. Deshima was located off the coast of Kyushu, where Westerners made first contact with Japan. This was the place where Japanese and foreigners could come together. To be sure that no outside influence got in or the Westerners were not plotting a coup, translators (spies) were ordered to report to local officials. Mitchell sets the story in 1799, during a time when Japanese society, particularly at the upper strata, was under going a major change.

The samurai caste saw its power and influence dwindling during the eighteenth century as the chonin caste rose in prominence. Thechonin were the town folk who established businesses that catered to the samurai making their biannual pilgrimage to Edo (Tokyo). They grew wealthy and most of all they began to grow restless about dealing with the outside world. Mitchell introduces the reader to the character Aibagawa Orito, a Japanese midwife studying

Dutch medicine.

Dutch medicine

was a euphemism for Western medicine, in fact there was a whole school of study devoted to all things Western referred to as

Dutch Studies.

The term is derived from the fact that by the eighteenth century the shogun lifted the ban on certain Western books so it would have been possible for our midwife to have access to such knowledge. Possible but not likely since universal education was not introduced until the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Nonetheless, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel appears to make for a good, light read for those interested in Japan.