bulletin from the literary front

Two new literary events to note.

The first is the publication of Steig Larsson's second novel, "The Girl Who Played With Fire." Larsson is the author of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" that was a big read last year. This new book is the second of a trilogy that he finished before his very untimely death five years ago at the age of 50. Again we are propelled through the story by Lisabeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist in the environs of Stockholm. The book was reviewed by Michiko Kakutani in the the New York Times. She gives it an extensive and, for the most part, a favorable review. And she's one tough critic. I have put it on reserve in our local library.

The second piece of news is that Yann Martel, who wrote the astonishing "The Life of Pi" for which he won the Mann Booker Prize, has gotten a mega advance for a new book, as yet untitled, to be published next year. According to the article, the new book is, again, an allegory about the Holocaust involving, again, animals. "It relates the story of an encounter between a famous writer and a taxidermist who is writing a play that features dialogue between a donkey and a monkey, both imprinted on a shirt." I can't wait. I found "The Life of Pi" to be a wonderful, funny, clever and imaginative story. But I think it's one of those books that you either love or ignore. I loved it.