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Stieg Larsson, My Friend
Five years after his death, Stieg Larsson is best known as the author of the Millennium Trilogy, but during his career as a journalist he was a crucial protagonist in the battle against racism and for democracy in Sweden, and one of the founders of the anti-facist magazine Expo. Kurdo Baksi first met Larsson in 1992; it was the beginning of an intense friendship, and a fruitful but challenging working relationship. In this candid and rounded memoir, Baksi answers the questions a multitude of Larsson's fans have already asked, about his upbringing; the recurring death threats; his insomnia and his vices; his feminism - so evident in his books - and his dogmatism. What was he like as a colleague? Who provided the inspiration for his now-immortal characters (Baksi is one of the few who appears in the trilogy as himself)? Who was Lisbeth Salander?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
12 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
About the author
Kurdo Baksi
7 books5 followersKurdo Baksi was born in 1965 in northern Kurdistan and moved to Sweden in 1980. He first published the magazine Svartvitt (“Black and White”) in 1987, which deals with racial issues across Europe. He is the author of ten books on human rights, racism, emigration, and exile, and in 2000 he was awarded the Olof Palme Peace Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
January 6, 2011
A ver, lo primero que cabe decir respecto de este libro, o de cualquiera que hable sobre un autor exitoso que ya no está con vida, es la sensación de que seguro está sacando provecho. Pero eso vale tanto para “el mejor amigo de Larsson”, como para “el querido padre de Larsson", o “la querida novia de Larsson". Su autor compartió momentos con uno de los escritores más exitosos de los últimos tiempos...qué mejor de contárselo al mundo, con algún que otro agregado como para volver más bella la novela. Sin embargo, cualquier lector medianamente atento, medianamente experto en el arte de las palabras detrás de las palabras y que sepa leer entrelíneas, podrá notar las guirnaldas, floripondios y frases grandilocuentes con las que Kurdo Baksi decora la redacción. Hay cosas bastante inverosímiles, dignas de un programa de chimentos vespertino. Pero creo que lo más rescatable de este libro es poder conocer en detalle la faceta combativa, militante y comprometida de Stieg Larsson. Aquello que se respira en la saga de Millenium, y que particularmente me cautivó. Un hombre, sueco, que es profundamente antirracista, antixenofóbico y antimachista, y que –lejos aún del fenómeno en el que se convirtió post mortem- se lo escupe en la cara a quien haga falta. Valiente, con los huevos bien puestos, si se me permite la vulgar expresión. Olvídense de la constante tendencia de Kurdo Baksi a mostrarse como el impulsor o “mentor” de las mejores facetas de Stieg, así como el crítico de sus más terribles defectos. Quédense con la noticia, los datos confirmables. Aunque estemos muy lejos aún de saber toda la verdad, tampoco creo que me interese. Es una enorme pérdida, la muerte de Larsson. Como lo fue también la de muchos colegas periodistas y escritores que, fieles al “compromiso de escribir en tiempos difíciles”, pusieron su cuerpo y su vida para dejarnos un lugar mejor. Brindemos por ello.
March 19, 2018
A friendship without frank discussions is doomed in advance. Such a friendship can never progress beyond the polite and the conventional.
June 28, 2022
En mycket bra och läsvärd bok som beskriver Stiegs enorma engagemang och arbetskapacitet. Hade önskat veta mer om hans skönlitterära författarskap men å andra sidan verkar det ju som att han höll mycket av detta för sig själv. Boken rekommenderas helt klart !
April 19, 2011
Hari Jumat yang dingin di bulan Desember, tepatnya 10 Desember 2004. Beberapa orang menghadiri sebuah pemakaman di sebuh Kapel Salib Suci di Forest Cementery di sebelah selatan Stockholm. Di antara yang hadir di acara itu adalah Kurdo Baksi. Sedangkan yang dimakamkan pada hari itu adalah Karl Stig-Erland Larsson atau lebih di kenal dengan nama Stieg Larsson.
Ini adalah buku yang di tulis oleh Kurdo mengenai Stieg dan tentang persahabatan mereka selama kurang lebih 10 tahun. Tidak banyak yang bisa diketahui mengenai Stieg walaupun melalui teman dekatnya ini, hal itu dikarenakan Stieg yang tidak terlalu suka membicarakan masa lalunya, walaupun ada beberapa kejadian yang pernah diceritakan kepada Kurdo namun itu cuma sebagian kecil saja dari masa lalu Stieg yang tak pernah ada yang tahu seperti apa sebenarnya kehidupan Stieg masalalu sebelum bertemu dengan Kurdo. Setelah kematian Steig dan perasaan sedih yang mendalam butuh 4 tahun bagi Kurdo untuk akhirnya bisa memulai menulis buku ini.
Stieg adalah seorang pekerja keras yang jarang tidur, menurut Kurdo mungkin Stieg bekerja dari puku 09.00 sampai 05.00 (jam lima pagi keesokan harinya), perokok dan peminum kopi yang akut, penentang rasisme, patriarki dan neo-nazi yang handal (dia mendirikan majalah Expo yang bertujuan untuk menentang segala bentuk diskriminasi terutama rasisme dan neo-nazi sehingga sering mendapat ancaman pembunuhan bahkan dua karyawan Expo terkena serangan bom mobil), penyimpan rahasia yang lihai (tidak ada yang tahu kalau Steig telah menyelesaikan 3 novel trilogy-nya sebelum dikirimkan ke penerbit), dan seseorang yang selalu menghindari publikasi (selalu menolak untuk foto bersama dan seringkali meminta orang lain yang mencantumkan nama mereka untuk tulisan dan artikel yang dia tulis, dia selalu menganggap orang lainlah yang lebih penting bukan dirinya).
Saat masih kecil Stieg sangat menyukai film, dia sering melihat film di bioskop tempat ayahnya pernah bekerja, dan dia juga menyukai langit malam sehingga ayahnya memberikan hadiah sebuah teleskop saat ulang tahunnya yang ke 12, selain teleskop ayahnya memberikan hadiah berupa mesik tik, dan Stieg sejak kecil mempunyai cita-cita untuk menjadi wartawan. Stieg waktu kecil juga menyukai fotografi tetapi bukanya untuk mengabadikan momen-momen indah melainkan untuk "mengabadikan ketidakadilan di dunia".
Kota Umeå terlalu kecil bagi rasa ingin tahu Steig yang besar, pada umur 17 tahun dia menumpang kereta dan pergi ke Stockholm, dari sana dia berencana pergi ke Aljazair, dia melakukan kerja serabutan sebagai pengantar koran dan pencuci piring untuk bisa mewujudkan rencananya itu, tetapi nasib malang menimpanya, semua uang untuk perjalanannya dirampok hingga akhirnya dia harus kembali lagi ke Umeå .
Dia bekerja keras hingga akhirnya bisa melakukan petualangannya ke Aljazair, di sana dia harus menjual jaket kulitnya untuk bisa bertahan hidup.
Setelah jeda dua tahun menjalani wajib tentara di Swedia dia melanjutkan petualangannya ke afrika, saat itu dia berumur 21 tahun saat tiba di Khartoum, kemudian ke Eritrea dan Ethiopia, Kenya, dan Uganda. Kemudian setelah petualangan itu dia mengubah nama depannya menjadi Stieg. Semua petualangannya hanya untuk memenuhi rasa ingin tahunya akan segala hal dan mengumpulkan segenap pengetahuan untuk menjadi apa yang diimpikannya, menjadi wartawan.
Melalui buku ini kita bisa melihat sosok Stieg dari sudut pandang teman dekatnya Kurdo, beberapa percakapan mereka bisa mengungkap sikap Stieg yang selama hidupnya selalu berjuang melawan segala bentuk diskriminasi, rasisme, neo-nazi dan patriarki.
Dalam buku ini Kurdo juga menjelaskan beberapa pendapatnya mengenai tiga novel Stieg, tentang karakter-karakter dalam novel itu dan tentang kemungkinan latar belakang terbentuknya karakter-karakter itu, tentang sebuah cerita masa kecil yang membuat Stieg akhirnya menuliskan novel-novel itu, tentang kapan kira-kira Stieg menulis ketiga novel itu, dan apa sebenarnya yang ingin disampaikan Stieg melalui tiga novel itu. Melalui buku ini juga kita bisa mengetahui kenapa Stieg bersikukuh tidak ingin mengubah judul novel pertamanya yaitu Män som hatar kvinnor (Men Who Hate Women), terjemahan bahasa inggrisnya lah yang membuat judulnya berubah menjadi The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, dan selain itu juga mengenai siapakan perempuan yang menghiasi novel ketiganya.
Mungkin kalau Stieg masih hidup dia akan menulis lebih dari tiga novel, karena menurut Kurdo Stieg pernah berkata bahwa ada 10 buku dalam kepalanya, dan Kurdo juga pernah mendengar Stieg pernah berkata ada 5 buku (termasuk 3 novel trilogy milenium) dalam kepalanya yang menurut Kurdo sangat yakin bahwa semuanya telah selesai. Tapi saat ini kita hanya bisa menikmati tiga novel Stieg yang semuanya telah dia selesaikan sebelum dikirim ke penerbit, bahkan Stieg sendiri tidak menikmati kesuksesan ketiga novelnya.
Ini adalah buku yang di tulis oleh Kurdo mengenai Stieg dan tentang persahabatan mereka selama kurang lebih 10 tahun. Tidak banyak yang bisa diketahui mengenai Stieg walaupun melalui teman dekatnya ini, hal itu dikarenakan Stieg yang tidak terlalu suka membicarakan masa lalunya, walaupun ada beberapa kejadian yang pernah diceritakan kepada Kurdo namun itu cuma sebagian kecil saja dari masa lalu Stieg yang tak pernah ada yang tahu seperti apa sebenarnya kehidupan Stieg masalalu sebelum bertemu dengan Kurdo. Setelah kematian Steig dan perasaan sedih yang mendalam butuh 4 tahun bagi Kurdo untuk akhirnya bisa memulai menulis buku ini.
Stieg adalah seorang pekerja keras yang jarang tidur, menurut Kurdo mungkin Stieg bekerja dari puku 09.00 sampai 05.00 (jam lima pagi keesokan harinya), perokok dan peminum kopi yang akut, penentang rasisme, patriarki dan neo-nazi yang handal (dia mendirikan majalah Expo yang bertujuan untuk menentang segala bentuk diskriminasi terutama rasisme dan neo-nazi sehingga sering mendapat ancaman pembunuhan bahkan dua karyawan Expo terkena serangan bom mobil), penyimpan rahasia yang lihai (tidak ada yang tahu kalau Steig telah menyelesaikan 3 novel trilogy-nya sebelum dikirimkan ke penerbit), dan seseorang yang selalu menghindari publikasi (selalu menolak untuk foto bersama dan seringkali meminta orang lain yang mencantumkan nama mereka untuk tulisan dan artikel yang dia tulis, dia selalu menganggap orang lainlah yang lebih penting bukan dirinya).
Saat masih kecil Stieg sangat menyukai film, dia sering melihat film di bioskop tempat ayahnya pernah bekerja, dan dia juga menyukai langit malam sehingga ayahnya memberikan hadiah sebuah teleskop saat ulang tahunnya yang ke 12, selain teleskop ayahnya memberikan hadiah berupa mesik tik, dan Stieg sejak kecil mempunyai cita-cita untuk menjadi wartawan. Stieg waktu kecil juga menyukai fotografi tetapi bukanya untuk mengabadikan momen-momen indah melainkan untuk "mengabadikan ketidakadilan di dunia".
Kota Umeå terlalu kecil bagi rasa ingin tahu Steig yang besar, pada umur 17 tahun dia menumpang kereta dan pergi ke Stockholm, dari sana dia berencana pergi ke Aljazair, dia melakukan kerja serabutan sebagai pengantar koran dan pencuci piring untuk bisa mewujudkan rencananya itu, tetapi nasib malang menimpanya, semua uang untuk perjalanannya dirampok hingga akhirnya dia harus kembali lagi ke Umeå .
Dia bekerja keras hingga akhirnya bisa melakukan petualangannya ke Aljazair, di sana dia harus menjual jaket kulitnya untuk bisa bertahan hidup.
Setelah jeda dua tahun menjalani wajib tentara di Swedia dia melanjutkan petualangannya ke afrika, saat itu dia berumur 21 tahun saat tiba di Khartoum, kemudian ke Eritrea dan Ethiopia, Kenya, dan Uganda. Kemudian setelah petualangan itu dia mengubah nama depannya menjadi Stieg. Semua petualangannya hanya untuk memenuhi rasa ingin tahunya akan segala hal dan mengumpulkan segenap pengetahuan untuk menjadi apa yang diimpikannya, menjadi wartawan.
Melalui buku ini kita bisa melihat sosok Stieg dari sudut pandang teman dekatnya Kurdo, beberapa percakapan mereka bisa mengungkap sikap Stieg yang selama hidupnya selalu berjuang melawan segala bentuk diskriminasi, rasisme, neo-nazi dan patriarki.
Dalam buku ini Kurdo juga menjelaskan beberapa pendapatnya mengenai tiga novel Stieg, tentang karakter-karakter dalam novel itu dan tentang kemungkinan latar belakang terbentuknya karakter-karakter itu, tentang sebuah cerita masa kecil yang membuat Stieg akhirnya menuliskan novel-novel itu, tentang kapan kira-kira Stieg menulis ketiga novel itu, dan apa sebenarnya yang ingin disampaikan Stieg melalui tiga novel itu. Melalui buku ini juga kita bisa mengetahui kenapa Stieg bersikukuh tidak ingin mengubah judul novel pertamanya yaitu Män som hatar kvinnor (Men Who Hate Women), terjemahan bahasa inggrisnya lah yang membuat judulnya berubah menjadi The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, dan selain itu juga mengenai siapakan perempuan yang menghiasi novel ketiganya.
Mungkin kalau Stieg masih hidup dia akan menulis lebih dari tiga novel, karena menurut Kurdo Stieg pernah berkata bahwa ada 10 buku dalam kepalanya, dan Kurdo juga pernah mendengar Stieg pernah berkata ada 5 buku (termasuk 3 novel trilogy milenium) dalam kepalanya yang menurut Kurdo sangat yakin bahwa semuanya telah selesai. Tapi saat ini kita hanya bisa menikmati tiga novel Stieg yang semuanya telah dia selesaikan sebelum dikirim ke penerbit, bahkan Stieg sendiri tidak menikmati kesuksesan ketiga novelnya.
June 8, 2020
In this touching tribute to his mentor, friend and 'big brother', Stieg Larsson, Kurdo Baksi, the Swedish social commentator and author lays bare his candid reminisces about a friendship that lasted a decade under the skies of Stockholm. The world needs no introduction to Stieg Larsson the author as exemplified by the roaring success of his "Millennium" Trilogy, but the world still has to come to grips with Larsson the activist, a relentless purveyor of anti-racism, an indefatigable fanatic of womens' rights and a tireless advocate of civil liberties. The latter face of Larsson is what Kurdo Baksi reveals in his short but stirring memoir. As we read about an inveterate insomniac, an incorrigible chain smoker and a preternatural consumer of coffee, intent upon changing the destinies of the oppressed, impervious to a deluge of fake as well as genuine death threats, we are enlivened as well as exasperated. While Larsson's intentions might have been noble, his methods employed for furthering his cause at times are to put it mildly - controversial. For example allowing a seventeen year old to infiltrate a dreaded Neo-Nazi group in Sweden, with an intention to prising out the Group's activities represent taking the art of investigative journalism beyond tolerable thresholds.
Larsson's book is an eye opener in so far as the Neo-Nazi movements, anti-Semitic activities and oppression of women that are prevalent in Sweden. The extreme right wing party, The Swedish Democrats and their workers, invoked the ire of Larsson and his publication "Expo". When Expo was forced to be shut down unable to tide over financial constraints, Larsson teamed up with Baksi (who at that time was the publisher of his own publication "Svartvitt") to co-publish Expo with Svarvitt. This venture also signaled the beginning of an enduring and indelible friendship characterised by both respect and rebellion. This is the friendship which forms part of this book and the severance of which (triggered by Larsson's untimely death) created an irreplaceable void in the life and soul of Kurdo Baksi
Larsson's book is an eye opener in so far as the Neo-Nazi movements, anti-Semitic activities and oppression of women that are prevalent in Sweden. The extreme right wing party, The Swedish Democrats and their workers, invoked the ire of Larsson and his publication "Expo". When Expo was forced to be shut down unable to tide over financial constraints, Larsson teamed up with Baksi (who at that time was the publisher of his own publication "Svartvitt") to co-publish Expo with Svarvitt. This venture also signaled the beginning of an enduring and indelible friendship characterised by both respect and rebellion. This is the friendship which forms part of this book and the severance of which (triggered by Larsson's untimely death) created an irreplaceable void in the life and soul of Kurdo Baksi
June 21, 2012
Absolutely fascinating regardless of Larsson's attachment to the Millenium Trilogy. This is a man worth looking up to, an entirely human, with flaws and all, role model. What causes this memoir to stand out from others is the surprising poetic flair of Baksi in remembering his friend. While avoiding death cliche's, Baksi grabs your heart and wrings it out when least expectant. Fortunately, in my life, I've had to deal with very little close, personal death so far. Baksi's writing and my passion that grew from respecting Larsson as an author and then, in a mere 180 pages, respecting him as a person was like experiencing a period of mourning (including all of it's stages) in the short time it takes to read a truly moving piece of non-fiction.
December 28, 2010
It's an interesting small book. Memories of a friend. The author of this book appears in the third part of the Millenium Trilogy as a fictional owner and publisher of Millennium friendly magazine on immigrant and racist issues. Which he turns out to be in reality as well, and a long term Larsson's friend. The book is not really a biography, it's an expanded (into 140 pages) eulogy. It shows Larsson as a tireless champion for the disadvantaged- immigrants, women, and an anti-racist activist; never sleeping, completely dedicated to his cause, chain-smoking and endless coffee drinking, and with some characteristics of both Bloomkvist and Salander.
April 16, 2011
I liked this book because I appreciated what seemed as an honest reflection of Steig's life from someone who presented themselves as a close friend. I also really liked learning how Steig's personal life was threaded all though the Millennium series and injected into the actions and personalities of the characters.
I was slightly disappointed in the book because I was hoping to learn more about the rumors surrounding his estate after death.
I was slightly disappointed in the book because I was hoping to learn more about the rumors surrounding his estate after death.
January 17, 2011
A brief and competent look at the professional life of Stieg Larsson, author of The Millenium Trilogy, this memoir by Kurdo Baksi sheds just enough light on the late Swedish journalist and author's character to explain his motivations, and leaves just enough mystery to whet the appetites of fans and true believers.
A story about an incident from Larsson's teenage years does much to explain the crusading journalist's motivations, but there is not much else to inform the reader of why the author (supposedly a committed feminist) did not hire females on his magazine's staff and left his female life partner with absolutely no share of his considerable estate.
There are tidbits about real-life people who may have been the models for characters in Larsson's novels, and a few anecdotes and quotes that Baksi struggles mightily to stretch into something like a sympathetic portrait of the author. But all in all, this memoir serves to illustrate that--as far as the unemotional and possibly sociopathic character of Lisbeth Salander is concerned--the real life model may have been the author himself.
A story about an incident from Larsson's teenage years does much to explain the crusading journalist's motivations, but there is not much else to inform the reader of why the author (supposedly a committed feminist) did not hire females on his magazine's staff and left his female life partner with absolutely no share of his considerable estate.
There are tidbits about real-life people who may have been the models for characters in Larsson's novels, and a few anecdotes and quotes that Baksi struggles mightily to stretch into something like a sympathetic portrait of the author. But all in all, this memoir serves to illustrate that--as far as the unemotional and possibly sociopathic character of Lisbeth Salander is concerned--the real life model may have been the author himself.
December 24, 2010
I knew that Larsson was a human rights activist and political journalist, but this book really gives you an idea of how different he must be viewed in his home country from the rest of the world, and also shows how closely tied his life was to that of Mikael Blomkvist and his Millennium magazine.
Baksi doesn't take on anything that's happened since Larsson's death, like the controversy over the proceeds of the novels.
It's very clear that Baksi knew and loved Larsson, and I did come away with a better sense of the man. Had he lived, I wonder how he would have handled the fame and media attention.
Baksi doesn't take on anything that's happened since Larsson's death, like the controversy over the proceeds of the novels.
It's very clear that Baksi knew and loved Larsson, and I did come away with a better sense of the man. Had he lived, I wonder how he would have handled the fame and media attention.
February 24, 2023
Citaat : Min of meer alles wat hij heeft gepubliceerd, beschrijft vrouwen die om diverse redenen kwetsbaar zijn: vrouwen die worden verkracht, vrouwen die worden mishandeld en vermoord omdat get patriarchaat uirdagen. Tegen dat onbezonnen geweld wilde hij maatregelen nemen.
Review : Ik betwijfel of de fans van Millennium-trilogie weten dat de auteur van deze razend populaire thrillers weten de Zweedse Stieg Larsson journalist, en uiterst linkse activis was. Larsson stierf in 2004 op vijftigjarige leeftijd aan een hartinfarct en heeft het uitgeven en grote succes van zijn misdaadtrilogie (in 2010 is hij de best verkochte auteur van Europa) zelf niet meer meegemaakt. Kurdo Baksi, een Zweedse maatschappijcriticus en journalist van Koerdische afkomst, was een goede vriend van Stieg Larsson en geeft in dit boek een beeld van zijn leven en werk. Beiden waren felle strijders tegen racisme, neonazisme en vreemdelingenhaat, Larsson was onder meer oprichter van het antifascistische tijdschrift Expo, schreef hier veel over en werd ook regelmatig bedreigd door neonazistische groeperingen. Baksi schrijft over Larsson’s gedrevenheid, hoe hij leefde op junkfood, koffie en sigaretten, en ’s nachts voor zijn ontspanning aan zijn misdaadromans werkte. Het is een mooi en heel persoonlijk geschreven boekje met herinneringen dat een inkijkje geeft in vooral Larsson's professionele leven. Met fotokatern in het midden. Larsson was al op vroege leeftijd politiek geëngageerd, een gedreven activist, wars van racisme en totalitaire denkbeelden. In 1991 schrijft hij samen met Anna-Lena Lodenius het klassiek geworden leerboek Extremhögern (Extreem-Rechts). Hij richt het blad Expo op dat racistische netwerken in kaart brengt en schrijft over eerwraak en vrouwenmishandeling. In 2000 maakt hij het vakboek Överleva deadline - handbok för hotade journalister (Deadlines overleven – Handboek voor bedreigde journalisten). Verder werkt hij mee aan grondige analyses van nazistisch gekleurde partijen in Europa. Larsson is zeer actief en ambitieus en werkt mee aan tientallen boekprojecten als auteur of als redacteur. Het is zijn overtuiging dat vrouwenonderdrukking niet cultuurgebonden maar overal ter wereld hetzelfde is, dus ook in het Westen. Als fel journalist gaat hij regelmatig over de schreef en brengt daardoor ook anderen in gevaar. Larsson was geen makkelijke man om mee te werken en mee om te gaan. Baksi en Larsson delen dezelfde gedrevenheid en worden goede vrienden. Maar ze staan ook regelmatig lijnrecht tegenover elkaar. Zo komen ze in conflict als Larsson een onervaren en uiterst jonge journalist (17 jaar oud) twee jaar lang laat infiltreren in een extreemrechtse organisatie van hoge nazistische kringen. Een levensgevaarlijke situatie. Het overleeft hun vriendschap ternauwernood. Bovendien irriteert het Baksi dat Larsson zelf geen enkele vrouw of allochtoon in dienst heeft. In Mijn vriend Stieg Larsson ontziet Baksi hem niet, hij noemt het boek ook geen eerbetoon aan de auteur, maar kan wel vol bewondering over hem vertellen. Larssons dood slaat in als een bom. Baksi is pas na vijf jaar in staat journalistieke afstand te creëren, wat nodig was om dit boek te kunnen schrijven.
Review : Ik betwijfel of de fans van Millennium-trilogie weten dat de auteur van deze razend populaire thrillers weten de Zweedse Stieg Larsson journalist, en uiterst linkse activis was. Larsson stierf in 2004 op vijftigjarige leeftijd aan een hartinfarct en heeft het uitgeven en grote succes van zijn misdaadtrilogie (in 2010 is hij de best verkochte auteur van Europa) zelf niet meer meegemaakt. Kurdo Baksi, een Zweedse maatschappijcriticus en journalist van Koerdische afkomst, was een goede vriend van Stieg Larsson en geeft in dit boek een beeld van zijn leven en werk. Beiden waren felle strijders tegen racisme, neonazisme en vreemdelingenhaat, Larsson was onder meer oprichter van het antifascistische tijdschrift Expo, schreef hier veel over en werd ook regelmatig bedreigd door neonazistische groeperingen. Baksi schrijft over Larsson’s gedrevenheid, hoe hij leefde op junkfood, koffie en sigaretten, en ’s nachts voor zijn ontspanning aan zijn misdaadromans werkte. Het is een mooi en heel persoonlijk geschreven boekje met herinneringen dat een inkijkje geeft in vooral Larsson's professionele leven. Met fotokatern in het midden. Larsson was al op vroege leeftijd politiek geëngageerd, een gedreven activist, wars van racisme en totalitaire denkbeelden. In 1991 schrijft hij samen met Anna-Lena Lodenius het klassiek geworden leerboek Extremhögern (Extreem-Rechts). Hij richt het blad Expo op dat racistische netwerken in kaart brengt en schrijft over eerwraak en vrouwenmishandeling. In 2000 maakt hij het vakboek Överleva deadline - handbok för hotade journalister (Deadlines overleven – Handboek voor bedreigde journalisten). Verder werkt hij mee aan grondige analyses van nazistisch gekleurde partijen in Europa. Larsson is zeer actief en ambitieus en werkt mee aan tientallen boekprojecten als auteur of als redacteur. Het is zijn overtuiging dat vrouwenonderdrukking niet cultuurgebonden maar overal ter wereld hetzelfde is, dus ook in het Westen. Als fel journalist gaat hij regelmatig over de schreef en brengt daardoor ook anderen in gevaar. Larsson was geen makkelijke man om mee te werken en mee om te gaan. Baksi en Larsson delen dezelfde gedrevenheid en worden goede vrienden. Maar ze staan ook regelmatig lijnrecht tegenover elkaar. Zo komen ze in conflict als Larsson een onervaren en uiterst jonge journalist (17 jaar oud) twee jaar lang laat infiltreren in een extreemrechtse organisatie van hoge nazistische kringen. Een levensgevaarlijke situatie. Het overleeft hun vriendschap ternauwernood. Bovendien irriteert het Baksi dat Larsson zelf geen enkele vrouw of allochtoon in dienst heeft. In Mijn vriend Stieg Larsson ontziet Baksi hem niet, hij noemt het boek ook geen eerbetoon aan de auteur, maar kan wel vol bewondering over hem vertellen. Larssons dood slaat in als een bom. Baksi is pas na vijf jaar in staat journalistieke afstand te creëren, wat nodig was om dit boek te kunnen schrijven.
June 28, 2017
This is a book for Stieg Larsson fans. After the Millennium trilogy, when I used to contemplate about Larsson over my favorite whiskey, many days, I have tried to imagine what kind of a person he could have been..I have visualized him on his publisher's desk with his favorite Mac and this book precisely narrates what I have thought through about him..If you are an ardent fan of him, this book will not flabbergasts you. You must have made a mental picture of him as a social activist, a bolshie, a leftist and yes, he really was those. What is new for me is that the guy was a hardcore anti-neo-nazi, a guy who spends all his life for the welfare of immigrants, social equality, and on the personal side an insomniac and a caffeine addict....
April 1, 2025
This brief memoir/biography is notable for its honesty. By this, I mean that Mr. Baksi sometimes comes across as self-absorbed. But he paints a fascinating picture of an undoubtedly difficult, but courageous and driven man. Stieg Larsson comes across as a person of integrity. I also learned, to my shock, exactly how strong and how violent the neo-Nazi movement in Scandinavia--and throughout Europe--actually is. This situation has only gotten worse since Mr. Baksi wrote his memoir. An illuminating and quick read.
January 10, 2020
Quick read by close friend of Stieg Larsson. I appreciated in his insight into his friend's political and journalistic work. I didn't see the author's content as negative but rather a truthful portrait of a complex and intense person. If you'd like to know more about Larsson, this short book is a good read.
February 24, 2024
Stieg var min vän.
Jag skulle aldrig komma på tanken att skriva en bok om honom för att tjäna pengar på det. Baksi har gjort det och det blir ointressant (förstås) och eftersom det är ointressant så är det också girigt. Har man inget att skriva om så är det bättre att låta bli, även om man behöver pengar.
Jag skulle aldrig komma på tanken att skriva en bok om honom för att tjäna pengar på det. Baksi har gjort det och det blir ointressant (förstås) och eftersom det är ointressant så är det också girigt. Har man inget att skriva om så är det bättre att låta bli, även om man behöver pengar.
August 13, 2018
This was a great tribute to a friend, especially the last chapter. It was at times, hard for me to follow, though that was more often than not because I don't live in Sweden and am also not in the field of journalism.
November 28, 2017
Despite not being a fan of Steig Larssons trilogy I did enjoy this insight into his very complex life. He was clearly a very clever person with strong beliefs
July 23, 2018
Sad and Beautiful!
August 24, 2019
An incredible insight from one friend’s perspective. Definitely worth a read.
A complex human being with such amazing passion for people.
A complex human being with such amazing passion for people.
June 7, 2021
Sí, jo sóc una mica més feliç després d'haver llegit les novel·les de l'Stieg. Que dormis bé. Signat per l'autor.
January 20, 2022
Muy interesante conocer a Stieg Larsson mas alla de su faceta de periodista y autor.
April 27, 2012
Prior to the posthumous success of his bestselling Millennium trilogy, Stieg Larsson was primarily known in his native Sweden as a journalist on a crusade against far-right and neo-Nazi groups.
He tried to keep his personal and professional lives separate, including not marrying his longtime partner Eva Gabrielsson. After his death, the question of who is entitled to his royalties -- Gabrielsson or Larsson's father and brother -- has turned into a prolonged legal battle.
Adding to the picture of Larsson comes a brief and not entirely satisfying memoir by his longtime colleague Kurdo Baksi, who worked with him when Larsson's anti-racist magazine Expo and Baksi's publication Black and White joined forces in 1998.
In his early life, Larsson lived with his maternal grandparents, while his parents sought work in Stockholm, and the family later reunited and moved to Ume�* in northern Sweden. As a young man, he held a series of odd jobs and did his two-year military service, before travelling in Algeria, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
It's no wonder Baksi, a Swedish Kurd, felt some kinship with him: "I was also forced to move house frequently because of my father's political activities," he writes.
"I like to think that children who grow up in such conditions develop a blend of rootlessness and restlessness. Combine those qualities with curiosity and you have a mixture that can be extremely important for a journalist."
He adds that when they first met in 1992, "Stieg and I had one thing very much in common: we had very few close friends."
Failing to make the cut for the Stockholm College of Journalism, Larsson nevertheless got a job at Sweden's national news service, the Swedish News Agency, and later set up his own magazine, Expo, to fight against racism and other evils.
That came with no small risk, as the attempted murder of two Swedish journalists they both knew by members of a neo-Nazi group attests. Larsson nevertheless brushed off death threats.
Baksi, who lived at multiple addresses and sometimes left the country to escape notice, laments that Larsson's idea of being careful was to get off the tram a stop early and walk the rest of the way. Not marrying Gabrielsson was an attempt to protect her from his enemies, not himself.
Ironically, it may have been Larsson's own lifestyle that contributed to his fatal heart attack at age 50: his smoking, poor eating habits, workaholism and chronic insomnia took their toll.
Despite many stories from the trenches, Baksi's account of Larsson's personal life is riddled with speculation. Too often he writes, "I can only imagine," "presumably" and "I think."
He also avoids commenting on the posthumous struggle over Larsson's royalties.
And a bombshell of a personal revelation comes late in the book. Baksi recounts an incident in which a teenage Larsson witnessed -- and did -- something that goes a long way towards explaining what would drive a man to write a novel called Men Who Hate Women (the original title of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but it is hardly elaborated on.
Baksi has crafted a personal memoir, a fitting tribute to a friend; but given Larsson's phenomenal success as an author and his all-but-overshadowed journalistic career, a more complete biography of a fascinating man is called for.
David Jón Fuller is a Winnipeg Free Press copy editor.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 13, 2010 H8
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts...
He tried to keep his personal and professional lives separate, including not marrying his longtime partner Eva Gabrielsson. After his death, the question of who is entitled to his royalties -- Gabrielsson or Larsson's father and brother -- has turned into a prolonged legal battle.
Adding to the picture of Larsson comes a brief and not entirely satisfying memoir by his longtime colleague Kurdo Baksi, who worked with him when Larsson's anti-racist magazine Expo and Baksi's publication Black and White joined forces in 1998.
In his early life, Larsson lived with his maternal grandparents, while his parents sought work in Stockholm, and the family later reunited and moved to Ume�* in northern Sweden. As a young man, he held a series of odd jobs and did his two-year military service, before travelling in Algeria, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
It's no wonder Baksi, a Swedish Kurd, felt some kinship with him: "I was also forced to move house frequently because of my father's political activities," he writes.
"I like to think that children who grow up in such conditions develop a blend of rootlessness and restlessness. Combine those qualities with curiosity and you have a mixture that can be extremely important for a journalist."
He adds that when they first met in 1992, "Stieg and I had one thing very much in common: we had very few close friends."
Failing to make the cut for the Stockholm College of Journalism, Larsson nevertheless got a job at Sweden's national news service, the Swedish News Agency, and later set up his own magazine, Expo, to fight against racism and other evils.
That came with no small risk, as the attempted murder of two Swedish journalists they both knew by members of a neo-Nazi group attests. Larsson nevertheless brushed off death threats.
Baksi, who lived at multiple addresses and sometimes left the country to escape notice, laments that Larsson's idea of being careful was to get off the tram a stop early and walk the rest of the way. Not marrying Gabrielsson was an attempt to protect her from his enemies, not himself.
Ironically, it may have been Larsson's own lifestyle that contributed to his fatal heart attack at age 50: his smoking, poor eating habits, workaholism and chronic insomnia took their toll.
Despite many stories from the trenches, Baksi's account of Larsson's personal life is riddled with speculation. Too often he writes, "I can only imagine," "presumably" and "I think."
He also avoids commenting on the posthumous struggle over Larsson's royalties.
And a bombshell of a personal revelation comes late in the book. Baksi recounts an incident in which a teenage Larsson witnessed -- and did -- something that goes a long way towards explaining what would drive a man to write a novel called Men Who Hate Women (the original title of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but it is hardly elaborated on.
Baksi has crafted a personal memoir, a fitting tribute to a friend; but given Larsson's phenomenal success as an author and his all-but-overshadowed journalistic career, a more complete biography of a fascinating man is called for.
David Jón Fuller is a Winnipeg Free Press copy editor.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 13, 2010 H8
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts...
January 6, 2021
I hope that when I die, someone will also write my memoir.
I have watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in my early twenties, and since then, I became fascinated with heroine movies/books.
Early in 2020, I struggled to finish reading a single book. I tried my best to read at least three chapters, but I lost my resolve. I picked up a different book and begun devouring it, but the struggle was still there; until such time that I remember the above movie and decided to read the printed copy.
After eight months of reader's block, I finished the series (6 books in total), plus this memoir.
Kurdo Baksi is not only Stieg Larsson's colleague in journalism, but also a beloved friend. You can always feel the loss, longingness, and the weight of their friendship on every page of this book.
Let me share my favorite part of the book:
"I know nobody who was as inveterate a smoker as Stieg. He had been chain-smoking since he was a teenager and it was hard to imagine him not puffing away at a cigarette. Coffee was his second greatest love. Churchill wanted his champagne “cold, dry and free”, and Stieg wanted his coffee with milk but no sugar. Most of all, he wanted lots of it. There was no limit to the amount of coffee he could drink. I have never come across anybody as hooked on caffeine as Stieg.
When we spent sixteen hours together at Prime Minister Persson’s international conference on the Holocaust, I kept a count of how many servings of coffee Stieg drank. I made it twenty-two, most of them plastic mugs.
That amount of coffee can hardly be conducive to decent sleep. Swilling down twenty or so cups of coffee a day and smoking two or three packets of cigarettes no doubt ruin more than just a decent night’s slumber."
A bit of a spoiler, though. I can always see Lisbeth Salander in this.
September 15, 2012
This is a short book/long essay describing the friendship, collaboration and shared experience of being a target of right wing/racist anger of the author and Stieg Larsson, who achieved post-humous fame for the Millennium novels.
In 1998, Baski and Larsson joined their independent publications "Expo" (Larsson) and "Svartvit" (Baski) into one. These journals covered the racism of Sweden's right wing, exposing its violence and its members. In this period Larsson worked full time, mostly at T.T., a mainstream publication. Baski notes the toll his friend's work-a-holism, smoking, coffee drinking, fast food diet and stress took on his health and led to his death at age 50.
Larsson and Baski's anti-racist advocacy extended beyond their journals to taking stands and organizing protests. This made them, and their associates, targets. Colleagues were car bombed and the windows of Baski's home were shot out. Both received baskets full of viscous hate mail including death threats. Both were stalked. Larsson never arrived on time for or went directly to an appointment. The recent murders in Norway, depict the potential violence these two friends faced.
After years of watching Larsson's total dedication of time to the journal and the cause, Baski was amazed to learn that he'd created the novels - where did he find the time? The quality and volume (3 novels and outlines and material for 7 more) were a staggering output for someone so engaged in journalism and advocacy.
I don't read much reminiscence literature, which I usually find fawning or self-serving. This book is neither. It is the story of a friendship It is beautifully written. Through it you come to not only understand an author with a world-wide readership, you also learn the neo-Nazi movement in Sweden. I highly recommend this book.
In 1998, Baski and Larsson joined their independent publications "Expo" (Larsson) and "Svartvit" (Baski) into one. These journals covered the racism of Sweden's right wing, exposing its violence and its members. In this period Larsson worked full time, mostly at T.T., a mainstream publication. Baski notes the toll his friend's work-a-holism, smoking, coffee drinking, fast food diet and stress took on his health and led to his death at age 50.
Larsson and Baski's anti-racist advocacy extended beyond their journals to taking stands and organizing protests. This made them, and their associates, targets. Colleagues were car bombed and the windows of Baski's home were shot out. Both received baskets full of viscous hate mail including death threats. Both were stalked. Larsson never arrived on time for or went directly to an appointment. The recent murders in Norway, depict the potential violence these two friends faced.
After years of watching Larsson's total dedication of time to the journal and the cause, Baski was amazed to learn that he'd created the novels - where did he find the time? The quality and volume (3 novels and outlines and material for 7 more) were a staggering output for someone so engaged in journalism and advocacy.
I don't read much reminiscence literature, which I usually find fawning or self-serving. This book is neither. It is the story of a friendship It is beautifully written. Through it you come to not only understand an author with a world-wide readership, you also learn the neo-Nazi movement in Sweden. I highly recommend this book.
February 18, 2017
A heartful "picture in words" of Stieg Larsson through his friends memories. A talented writer called home much to young. RIP
October 24, 2012
Usually I'm do not read books about authors that I like. For this one I made an exception, I'm not quite sure why exactly, but I'm glad I did, even though the book has found a hiding place on my books shelf for some time.
Okay, to the book then.
I liked it a lot. Especially because it is a friend's recollection of Larsson, without pretending to be exhaustive or unprejudiced. Just a recollection of their times together, how they worked, what made them friends and how their work for anti-racist, anti-nazist groups & magazines bound them.
A story about how driven he was to make Sweden (or even better, the world!) a better place, by telling all wo wanted and didn't want to hear about the injustice that was being done, the danger of right extremist groups growing in Europe, the poor situation of women all over the world.
The latter part was not a part of the author that was know to me. I dn't know if many of the readers that read his Millennium-trilogy are aware of this side of him. How he lived. All knew that he died when his trilogy got published, but I found it very interesting to learn about the other part of his life, since that was more important to him than the Millennium books or fame.
It gave me a more complete idea of the author of Millennium an dI'm glad that I read this book :-)
Okay, to the book then.
I liked it a lot. Especially because it is a friend's recollection of Larsson, without pretending to be exhaustive or unprejudiced. Just a recollection of their times together, how they worked, what made them friends and how their work for anti-racist, anti-nazist groups & magazines bound them.
A story about how driven he was to make Sweden (or even better, the world!) a better place, by telling all wo wanted and didn't want to hear about the injustice that was being done, the danger of right extremist groups growing in Europe, the poor situation of women all over the world.
The latter part was not a part of the author that was know to me. I dn't know if many of the readers that read his Millennium-trilogy are aware of this side of him. How he lived. All knew that he died when his trilogy got published, but I found it very interesting to learn about the other part of his life, since that was more important to him than the Millennium books or fame.
It gave me a more complete idea of the author of Millennium an dI'm glad that I read this book :-)
November 27, 2015
Author and activist Kurdo Baksi puts pen to paper (to use a now-outdated expression) to talk about his friendship with the late Stieg Larsson. In some ways, this book felt like a little catharsis – an attempt to sort through emotions by writing them down. However, if that is the case, then his notes sat unread for awhile, since the book wasn't published until Larsson had become a household name.
By the time I was done, I did not feel that I had known Stieg Larsson much better than I did after I read his partner Eva Gabrielsson's cathartic biography of the man. Given that Mr. Baksi knew the author and that he had different experiences with the man than did Ms. Gabrielsson, I had expected something more. As one might expect, however, the area in which Baksi excelled was in Larsson's stance on immigration and immigrants, given that he is not originally from Sweden.
All in all, the book was not a waste of my time, BUT I don't feel like taking it off my To Be Read list and actually reading it enhanced my life or understanding much, either.
RATING: 3.5 stars, rounded to 3 stars for those sites that do not allow 1/2 stars.
By the time I was done, I did not feel that I had known Stieg Larsson much better than I did after I read his partner Eva Gabrielsson's cathartic biography of the man. Given that Mr. Baksi knew the author and that he had different experiences with the man than did Ms. Gabrielsson, I had expected something more. As one might expect, however, the area in which Baksi excelled was in Larsson's stance on immigration and immigrants, given that he is not originally from Sweden.
All in all, the book was not a waste of my time, BUT I don't feel like taking it off my To Be Read list and actually reading it enhanced my life or understanding much, either.
RATING: 3.5 stars, rounded to 3 stars for those sites that do not allow 1/2 stars.
December 11, 2010
A very personal reflection on the life of Stieg Larsson, Swedish journalist and author of the acclaimed Millennium trilogy. Kurdo Baksi became Larsson's friend and collaborator in publishing. This is a personal examination of their relationship and of Larsson as a person.
We get a nice portrayal of how driven (and sometimes dysfunctional) Larsson was. He was hard to work for, demanding a great deal of others (this helped lead to the desperate situation of his publication, Expo, perhaps the prototype for the fictional journal "Millennium"). Discussed, too, is the life of threat that Larsson was subject to; his works targeted right wing groups, and he was threatened by some of the forces against whom he decried.
Baksi also speculates on what incidents and experiences and people might have influenced his characterization of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. I'm not sure how compelling the analysis is, but there are some interesting suggestions.
All in all, a nice work. It is a bit too brief to tell us as much as we would like to know about Larsson.
We get a nice portrayal of how driven (and sometimes dysfunctional) Larsson was. He was hard to work for, demanding a great deal of others (this helped lead to the desperate situation of his publication, Expo, perhaps the prototype for the fictional journal "Millennium"). Discussed, too, is the life of threat that Larsson was subject to; his works targeted right wing groups, and he was threatened by some of the forces against whom he decried.
Baksi also speculates on what incidents and experiences and people might have influenced his characterization of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. I'm not sure how compelling the analysis is, but there are some interesting suggestions.
All in all, a nice work. It is a bit too brief to tell us as much as we would like to know about Larsson.
July 19, 2012
A very touching,personal look at Stieg Larsson as he was known by his colleague and dear friend, Kurdo Baksi.
I have not read the Millenium Triolgy and have no intention of doing so. I want to remember Stieg Larsson as the brave man who spent his entire adult life fighting against racism at great risk to his own personal safety. Kurdo Baksi says that Stieg Larsson was very proud of the Millenium Trilogy, but the decades of work against racism and social injustice are much more significant to me.
I have also read a book ("There are things that I want you to know") that was written by Eva Gabrielsson, his personal partner of many decades. In her book, she indicates that Larsson's father and brother are now controlling the rights to Stieg's literary estate and that the situation has become very exploitive of all that Stieg Larsson valued. This is another reason that I will not read the Millenium Trilogy or see any of the movies that are based on the books
Hopefully, one day, peace will be achieved as Stieg Larsson always hoped.
I have not read the Millenium Triolgy and have no intention of doing so. I want to remember Stieg Larsson as the brave man who spent his entire adult life fighting against racism at great risk to his own personal safety. Kurdo Baksi says that Stieg Larsson was very proud of the Millenium Trilogy, but the decades of work against racism and social injustice are much more significant to me.
I have also read a book ("There are things that I want you to know") that was written by Eva Gabrielsson, his personal partner of many decades. In her book, she indicates that Larsson's father and brother are now controlling the rights to Stieg's literary estate and that the situation has become very exploitive of all that Stieg Larsson valued. This is another reason that I will not read the Millenium Trilogy or see any of the movies that are based on the books
Hopefully, one day, peace will be achieved as Stieg Larsson always hoped.
March 31, 2016
Los más fanáticos de la serie Millenium y del hito que se ha convertido Stieg Larsson después de su muerte nos quedamos con ese mal sabor por lo que faltó en la saga, del verdadero destino de Lisbeth o de otras historias que habría podido aportar el sueco al género negro. En mi caso la cuarta parte escrita como un "mandado" a David Lagercrantz se quedó bastante corta, así que queriendo conocer más de la vida del escritor decidí leer este. No pongo en duda la descripción que le hace Baksi a Stieg y como un buen amigo, admirador se llega a un fanatismo muy "ningún muerto es malo" pero me hubiera gustado que existiera un orden más definido desde la escritura. Siento que la narración se va por todo tipo de facetas de Larsson, de su historia, de su rutina pero que al final saltan aleatoriamente sin recordar el tema central de cada capítulo. Personalmente siento que faltó más sobre el Stieg como persona, no como periodista ni investigador. Los datos que quiere aportar Baksi a la saga son escuetos y existe un gran vacío sobre la importancia de Eva en su vida.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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