The Man Who Rewrites the Past
David Lagercrantz (above); the book cover of The Girl Who takes an Eye for an Eye David Lagercrantz (above); the book cover of The Girl Who takes an Eye for an Eye
David Lagercrantz is a hard man to pin down. Ever since the release of The Girl Who takes an Eye for an Eye, the fifth book in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series a few months ago, the 55-year-old Swedish journalist and writer has been travelling across the world to talk about the book. Exactly four years ago, he was chosen by Larsson’s publishers to continue Lisbeth Salander’s story and Lagercrantz continues to rise to the challenge, delivering a more complex plot each time. The fifth instalment in the series is a fast-paced, adrenaline-packed ride, as Salander gets more and more close to her past, and is only a few events away from understanding how she came to be the person she is. Lagercrantz is preparing a showdown with her twin Camilla, but we’ll have to wait for book six. Excerpts from an email interview:
Between the fourth book, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, and this one, when did you think of tracing a path to how and why Lisbeth Salander became the “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”?
Immediately after finishing the fourth book, I realised that a crucial question has remained a mystery — why did Lisbeth Salander have a dragon tattoo on her back? That was when I started to think of it, day and night, until I found an explanation worthy of the character that she is.
What are the challenges in creating a thrilling backstory for Lisbeth? Stieg Larsson created one of the most enigmatic characters ever, so how do you go about it? Do you draw a flowchart, a map?
An important part of the process was, of course, to read and re-read Larsson’s books and try to understand the character. And it was even harder to find the code to write her. But what was most important for me was to find out what I should add to the character. It was important to me to deepen the mythology and the complexity of the character. Now, she is in my veins.
The global research around twins — from Nazi doctor Josef Mengele’s horrific experiments during World War II to the coincidence of the Jim Twins in USA — is a major subplot here. It seems that a lot of this book is attempting to address the debate of nature vs nurture, by talking about twins. Looking back, this was also one of the themes in Larsson’s books. Comment. You are right. One of the questions that has fascinated me for a long time is, what makes us human? Our genes or our social surroundings? I think I got the inspiration for the plot from a story I had done when I worked as a journalist. As you may know, Sweden was quite poor in the 1930s, and more than 500 identical twins were separated after birth, because the parents could not afford to bring up their children. These twins were part of a scientific project. While writing my piece, I actually met a pair of twins who had met each other for the first time, at the age of 29. One had been raised in a privileged, academic family, while the other had worked as a child labourer at a farm. That meeting was mind-blowing for me. I started to wonder, what would have become of me if I had been brought up unloved, in a poor suburb?
This is a better book than your first outing in the Millennium series. How daunting is it to take on this project knowing that a world out there will judge every page and Larsson’s legacy rests heavy on your shoulders? How did you tackle the writing this time, given that with each book, the past needs to be referenced, and newer events have to be fleshed out?
I was absolutely terrified while writing the fourth book and that was good in at least one way; it got me to work hard, but it might also have held me back. I did not dare to put as much of myself in it as I should have done. Also, remember that Larsson wrote thick books, so I had not only a quality complex, but a quantity complex as well. In this book, I was braver, dared to cut away from the main story.
What is the next book about? You’ve kept Lisbeth’s twin, Camilla, away from us for a long time now, even though her shadow looms large.
I have deliberately kept her away, and am saving her for the sixth novel in the series. Even though I cannot reveal the plot in the next book, I can say this much — we will see the battle between the twins.
Are you working on anything apart from the Millennium series?
Yes, I am actually writing the screenplay of the film that is based on my book, I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, about the Swedish footballer. I’m also looking forward to the film version of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, which is being released worldwide next year. Claire Foy, who is known to us as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown, will now play Lisbeth Salander.
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