I’m late to the Stieg Larsson party. Having now arrived, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to call it a party, because that poses the question of what kind of party it is, at which point I think it might be prudent to change metaphors.

James Frey says: fictional characters – homo fictus – are not identical to flesh-and-blood human beings – homo sapiens. One reason for this is that readers wish to read about the exceptional rather than the mundane. Readers demand that homo fictus be more handsome or ugly, ruthless or noble, vengeful or giving, brave or cowardly, […]