I do have some things to say though. Let's start at the end. I can understand the author wanting to set up for a sequel, which I believe exists in some capacity, but the ending was SO abrupt that I coughed on what I was drinking. It was like walking down the sidewalk on a sunny day, turning your head to speak to someone next to you and running into a sign post. I thought for sure there was going to be another sentence, paragraph, anything, after the last period... but no. Swift kick to the gut and this book is OVER.
The next thing that bothered me is the heavy handedness of the narrator. There was an awful lot of explaining of Swedish this and business that and the whole story is focused on the life of this one clan Blomkvist is hired to investigate (he's a journalist). So the reader is subjected to page after page of explanation about what is happening in the Vanger family. I ended up skimming portions because, really, it was pointless. I know setting up a believable and rich back story is important, but I wanted to read suspense and mystery, that was like reading a history book. And it went on and on. Hence the title of the post. Maybe if I was Swedish I would understand better. Also, I think there should have been a map of Sweden in the front of the book, just for the sake of the ignorance of American readers. Throw us a bone here. On the other hand, it kind of makes me want to go to Sweden. Anyways...
Blomkvist is a character of questionably moral character. Well not really, but he goes to jail for part of the book (spelled gaol in sweedonese) and he regularly has sex with married women. Tsk tsk Blomkvist. I guess overall, Larsson gets you to turn the pages but towards the end I was thinking that the overall plot structure was a little weak. I'm a jerk though. Lots of people love this book. Lots of wonderful intelligent well-read people. But seriously, the major action was over, and there were still about 100 pages to go. I'm all about finishing things right, but I was pretty much done. I had stayed up late to finish the book, and that point I was like, the mystery is solved, the action is over, I'm going to bed. I shouldn't want to go to bed if there are still 100 pages left of a highly riveting novel.
That's neither here nor there, because I haven't even talked about why I think my friend really liked it. Stieg Larsson must be an advocate for women's rights, or against violence against women. The beginning of every section had a statistic on violence against women in Sweden. Then there were instances in the plot where women were dominated against their will, raped, tortured, and killed. And then, to top it all off, the excerpt from his next book was a scene where a thirteen year old girl is being tortured in captivity. That's a theme if I ever saw one. If violence against women is a trigger for you, then you should definitely avoid books by Larsson. That is about as straightforward as I can be about it. I came away questioning whether I needed to have read those graphic descriptions myself, but if it's a trigger for you, in all seriousness, don't read it. There are other best-selling suspense novels out there.
That said I think there is an interesting social commentary under the surface in the novel. I would love to unpack it more, but my time is short. I think if I were Swedish, I'd be on it. At any rate, I don't regret reading this book by any means, I just wish it were a little snappier with the narration and a little smoother with the ending. Gripe over.
Final score: B
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