It took me more than a week to get through the first 200 pages of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.” I felt confused and disengaged. Most of the characters were barely related to each other, if at all. All of them felt very self-centered, unsympathetic and uninteresting. Author Stieg Larsson also has a penchant for meandering into subplots every once in a while.
But then, if you persist, something clicks. You are in for a mystery thriller. The foundations of the trilogy are laid down and off you go. It took me three days to read the remaining 400 pages after that.
Three words that describe this book: Gripping, Mysterious, Hacker-punk
You might want to pick this book up if: You want a light yet gripping read for the week.
The second novel, “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” takes place one year after the events from the first. All the main characters are there. I find that Blomkvist, Salander, Berger, Vanger, etc. are like very sour IPAs. Like an IPA, the first ever time you drink it, you find it unappealing and perhaps even disgusting. But you keep at it. And one year later, IPAs are your go-to whenever hitting the brewery.
I would probably find Blomkvist and Salander completely disengaging if I could meet them in real life. Moreover, I would want absolutely nothing to do with those two. But there is something that calls me, intrigues me, and even makes me root for them. Even when Salander begins the year by just basking in the Caribbean with her dubiously new fortune, I still root for her. If you thought that Salander and Blomkvist were already impressive investigators in the first book, now they truly open their wings and Larsson gives them free rein to showcase their skills without becoming caricatures of 007.
I am a bit ashamed to admit that I put off some work for later; I had to read this. I had to know what happened next. Every time I wanted to call it a day, just when I was ready to go somewhere else, Larsson would drop a new piece of info that would draw me in. I ended up reading 700+ pages in less than four days.
Three words that describe this book: Gripping, fast-paced, breathless
You might want to pick this book up if: You don’t mind staying home reading furiously a whole weekend.
The final part of the original trilogy, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,” starts right from where the last one left us. As with the previous installment, I gave up a couple of nights of sleep and put off some work for later; I HAD to read the whole thing. Blomkvist and Salander have grown fond to me.
There is much less physical violence than in the previous novel, but it grips you all the same. As a reader (unlike Blomkvist, from the previous novel) you already know most of the Zalachenko Club, what they did, and how they operate. However, we are now intrigued on how Blomkvist and friends will obtain the necessary clues and crack the case open. The action now is much more subtle. The intel gathering has to be more nuanced. Larsson does an amazing job at conveying this spy game. If you enjoy the spy works from John le Carré and the exploits of George Smiley, then this book won’t let you down.
It is a pity that Larsson left us too early.
Three words that describe this book: Spy-games, cerebral, intriguing
You might want to pick this book up if: You know you HAVE to read this to know how the previous installment ends.
-Erik
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