I’m amazed so many people have read this book. I think more people reacted to seeing it on my table than any other book in a long time.
It was too long for me. And, too slow. The first hundred pages crept by like The Wall Street Journal. I’m assuming the author intended for me to guess the “big secret” the moment I read about it in the Preface. No doubt, he used that as a hook (readers will stick around to make sure they’re right). There were, indeed, other surprises. The frequent mentions of other mystery writers went from cute, to predictable, and back to cute again. The multitude of people – first, middle, last, and pet names – and town names, often jammed into one sentence, taxed my interest. Yeah, I know it’s set in Sweden. (Mind you, I majored in German Language and Literature. I’ve read a lot of unusual names – in German, yet.) Speaking of translation: There were several times I stopped in amazement, wondering what was really meant. I’m well-read enough to handle gaol, and to figure out the translator meant arranged when he wrote organized. Maybe it’s all perfect British English. I haven’t a clue what dogsbody means, even in context. But I was susceptible to distractions because, again, the book is too long. Still, the very end was quite moving.
On the other hand, the two major characters are well-done. Since one of them a journalist, like the author, he may not have been much of a stretch, though I wonder if Larsson had so much sex. Still, Lisbeth Salander is a very original character.
And kudos to Stieg Larsson for drawing such attention to violence against women, not only in terms of several aspects of the plot, but even in the pages between sections. And the original title: Men Who Hate Women. Larsson does not glamorize this violence and he documents it well-enough to make me quite uncomfortable. I gather he is building towards even larger issues involving violence against women and children. Not sure I can stomach more, especially at a slow pace. I’m undecided.
