Charles McGrath, in the New York Times, discusses the recent publication of a book by Eva Gabrielsson (pictured), the common law wife of Stieg Larsson, the fellow who became a blockbuster author of Swedish crime thrillers after his death.
The title is a rather complicated one: 'There Are Things I want you to Know' About Stieg Larsson and Me. Apparently the quote marks are a reference to a sentence he wrote in a letter to her back in the 1970s.
Frustratingly, Ms. Gabrielsson reveals little about the fourth crime novel that reputedly lurks in the dead author's computer. Instead, however, she cheerfully communicates details of the ancient Viking spell she cast on their joint enemies.
New Year's Eve, 2004, was the date she cast her magic spell -- on all the false friends and cowards "who let Stieg fight your battles while you raked in the salaries of your cushy jobs," the wearers of "suit, ties and wingtips," and the evil ones "who plotted, spied and stirred up prejudice."
Casting the spell was as complicated as the list of malfeasants. Traditionally, it was accompanied by the sacrifice of a fine, live horse. Lacking that, Eva broke a ceramic horse in two and tossed the bits into Lake Malaren in Stockholm.
And, it seems, the spell worked. The people she had listed in her mind have not had a comfortable existence since then.
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