Friday, March 28, 2014

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: The Girl Who Played with Fire

"Salander heard a sound and saw a movement out of the corner of her eye just as she was putting the key in the door of the Honda. He was approaching at an angle behind her, and she spun around two seconds before he reached her." (The Girl Who Played with Fire, Page 193)
Welcome everyone to this month's round of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse. Make sure to make the rounds and see what everyone has been reading over the past month.

A couple of weeks ago I finished up the second book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, The Girl Who Played with Fire. I was going to review the third book in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, over at The Random Book Review, but I haven't quite finished it. It's kind of been a busy week for me but, hey, I'm still reading!

This is the part where I make the assumption that everyone under the sun has heard of Stieg Larsson and his Swedish Millennium series, but considering that not everyone enjoys the same genres, I won't make that assumption. When reading Larsson's background, it's really not surprising he chose topics such as misogyny, sex trafficking, and corrupt political systems to use in his books. Here's a little bit about Larsson's background according to this website:
Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was a Swedish writer and journalist. Prior to his sudden death of a heart attack in November 2004 he finished three detective novels in his trilogy "The Millennium-series" which were published posthumously...Altogether his trilogy has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries, and he was the second bestselling author in the world in 2008. Before his career as a writer, Stieg Larsson was mostly known for his struggle against racism and right-wing extremism.
He liked extreme storylines, to say the least. There is supposedly a fourth book hidden inside Larsson's computer, but much controversy surrounds who should own the rights to Larsson's estate: his father and brother or his life partner Eva Gabrielsson. Feel free to visit the website I listed if you're interested in checking out the controversy.

Stieg Larsson

About the book:

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, two people are brutally murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Slander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

If you've read the first book in the trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, then you know that The Girl Who Played with Fire picks up roughly a year or so after the first novel. After Salander and Blomkvist's harrowing ordeal in the previous book, Salander has skipped the country with her loot and has spent time abroad. We find her in Grenada at the beginning of the story, doing what she does best: saving a young woman from certain death at the hands of her husband. This element is important because as the story unfolds we see that Salander's past, which is riddled with abuse, will come back and rear its ugly head.

Where in The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo Salander and Blomkvist spend a large portion of the book together, in the sequel, they only come in close contact with one another at the end of the book. I struggled with that a little bit, because I was expecting more one on one work between the two of them. The third book is shaping up to be much of the same, but I've yet to finish it (I have about a third of the book left), so I don't know if there will be any resolution to their relationship. I'm hoping so (but please don't tell me how it ends)!

Overall, I enjoy the hacking capabilities of Salander. I'm very fascinated with every nuance of the hacking world Larsson creates. I have no idea if what he's saying is true about how hacking works, but at least it makes for an interesting read. I do struggle with Larsson's portrayal of women in his books. None of them seem like the type of woman a man would want to settle down with and raise a family. Berger, Blomkvist's longtime love interest, is tough as nails in the publishing world. She knows what she wants, goes and gets it, and stops for a little hanky-panky if the need arises. Which seems to be quite a bit with her and it usually borders on kinky. For whatever reason, Larsson feels the need to divulge all the ends and outs of the female characters' sex lives, but he doesn't go too much into the mens' unless they're the ones doing the sex trafficking. Salander is a very damaged individual and more of who she is comes out in the second novel. When Blomkvist learns the truth about her rape, I feel it's disappointing how he rationalizes his physical relationship with Salander. She had come to him not long after her rape, so that meant it was okay. Sorry, but that's just sad. What the girl really needs is someone willing to listen to her, but Larsson builds her into an individual full of mistrust and the need for isolation that all I ever feel for her is pity.

The hard-looking Lisbeth Salander from the Swedish films.

If you've not read the book, know this:  the story feels dated. Larsson drops so many brand names, especially with computer technology, that it loses some of that here-and-now feel. Grant it, the book does deliberately state that it's 2004, but time can be tricky when it comes to contemporary thrillers. Readers are constantly wanting to feel the technology and brands of today. Palm pilots may have been cool in 2004, but I don't know anyone still using them now. The book also tends to become a tedious read. There are some pretty long passages of information dumps and over explanation of the basic facts that at times the storyline gets swallowed up. As a whole, though, Larsson weaves a great story concerning Salander's background. Which, is why I had to read the third book.

Have you read any of Stieg Larsson's books? If so, what's your opinion?

Make sure to check out the rest of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse reviews:

19 comments:

  1. Well, I have to say, I feel pretty justified now in putting down that first book and never looking back! I really DO need to watch the movie(s), though. So sad I never did that with you guys. :(

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    1. Don't worry, you should feel justified. When I glanced at reviews on Goodreads, someone made a good point. All the books in this trilogy needed some good editing, but because Larsson passed away before they were published then perhaps they were left as is out of respect for the author. I don't know. I think if there'd been some good editing they would've have been sharper, faster thrillers to read.

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    2. P.S. I know for a fact that the American version of the film is very hard to watch. I felt it was way to graphic, especially considering the fact that Larsson doesn't make some of the scenes as graphic as they do in the film. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it.

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  2. I have seen the (Swedish) films, but avoided the books for some reason. I think that's a mistake and now I should backtrack and do the reading. It is unusual for me to see a movie without first reading the book. Did the same thing with 12 Years A Slave.
    The background info on Stieg Larsson is helpful and telling.

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    1. I've not seen the Swedish films, but I kind of want to now. I also really want to see 12 Years a Slave but have yet to get to it.

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  3. I started the first book, but didn't get very far in it. It was one of about seven library books I brought home with me, and the only one I didn't finish. I could have renewed it, but didn't. It just didn't grab me. I felt bad for not falling in love with such an internationally acclaimed book, but not bad enough to get it again. Maybe I should reconsider.

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    1. This seems to be a common response to many who just couldn't get into the books. They start the first and quickly get bored. I completely understand! Don't feel bad for not falling in love with it. Not every popular book strikes a chord with everyone!

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  4. I tried reading the first novel in the series, but couldn't quite get passed the journalistic (?) style and quit about fifty pages in. But I devoured the films. The Swedish version is outstanding. I expected to be disappointed with the American version, but it was surprisingly good too, though different.

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    1. Yes, the journalistic style is kind of hard to make the story feel fun to read. (Not that these books are very fun to read!) Glad you liked both the Swedish and American versions!

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  5. Were Palm Pilots still around in '04? I can't even remember.

    I don't know the series at all - haven't even seen the American movie of the one book. It definitely sounds intense.

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    1. Supposedly they were, according to this book! Ha! That's funny when you look back at technology! The American film is intense and for me, really hard to watch. Strangely, I prefer the books to the film. (Okay, maybe not so strange...most people do prefer the books.)

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  6. I still haven't read these, but they've been on my TBR for quite some time now. Along with 100s of other books. haha.

    I saw the Swedish film #1, but none others yet. Thought it was a great film. I look forward to reading the books sometime.

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    1. Okay, now I really do need to see the Swedish version. Thanks for stopping by, Trisha!

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  7. I started reading the first one, but gave up after a few chapters. Like you say, it's a dense read filled with info dumps and backstory. I watched the American film and even though it was extremely harsh and intense I couldn't stop watching. My brother is a big fan of the trilogy and devoured the books, which proves how subjective tastes are. Also, he's a very patient reader and is used to thick, literary books from non-American writers. Do you know if they're making an American version of the second book? I'm intrigued about Salander's past but not enough to pick up the book. :)

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    1. They are dense books. Honestly, I just finished the third one, and that has so many characters in it that there should be some kind of chart or something just to keep everyone in line. It was a bit of overload. I've seen in a couple of online blogs that say supposedly there is a second American film coming out, but that remains to be seen. The second and third books don't have much to do with the first one -- the storylines are completely different, but there still is that relationship between the main characters.

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  8. I haven't read any of the books, but I did see the Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. From previous comments, I'm not sure if I'd enjoy the books (too much info dumping and backstory), but I really did like the movie.

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    1. If you're not into info dumping and backstory, then, yeah, I'd skip these. They're heavy on that end.

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  9. I read all three in swift succession which helped to build the tensions enough to override the lack of editing. Agree with this review and am being careful not to drop any plot spoilers so that is all I will add!

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    1. I read the first one a couple of years ago and didn't feel the urge to read the other two. Then I found a copy of the second one at a library sale and picked it up. It sat on my shelf for six months. After finally reading it, I knew I had to read the third one just to know how the story turned out. It was a bit of a slog, but I got it done!

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