This was the first time that we have read a book that has not only reached and retained for some time the premier league in the bestsellers tables but which also has its two sequels doing the same thing.
Not a genre that a lot of us habitually read, although of course we had all dabbled in the waters of detective/crime fiction so recognize the format.
Bigged up by book reviewers and mates alike, it was with a mixture of anticipation (and dread in some cases) that we read this best seller.
The introduction which chronologizes the family is both boring but necessary, and the first half of the book drags its feet with the momentum happening towards the end.
It is with the introduction of the female character Salander that the book becomes interesting, Salander is an amazing (and I use this in the pejorative) character. Talk about multi- faceted, attractive and techy, perceptive, but with the emotional resilience to be sexually ambiguous and to recover quickly from what most women would regard as permanently debilitating sexual abuse.
She has balls, but her balls are just a little bit too big to make us believe in her as a mere mortal. In the Swiss episode of the book she effortlessly transformed, - oh that a bit of slap and high heels really could achieve so much!
As we discussed, the following points were mentioned; clunky translation, unnecessary punctuation, inappropriate use of prepositions, confusing use of similar sounding surnames, the introduction of characters to give key clues and minor characters to give huge detail, no romance but lots of shagging .
We also mused over whether the serial killer would have killed himself, do men write women better or vice versa, did he write with the movie in mind, did his girlfriend write it!, and, as the town was so well drawn, did it appear more real than the people in it?
The following questions were then asked:
1. Did the book deserve its place and would it have been so hyped had it not been posthumous?
We were slightly disappointed and had expected more from the book because of its very high profile. The author’s untimely death, he was relatively young, did attract a lot of publicity.
2. Is Salander every man’s dream?
Well, er, yeah, because she is universal woman.
3. Is it a feminist book?
No
4. Did we like the character Blomkvist?
He’s not a dislikeable character despite his promiscuity.
We felt that properly edited and with considerable revision, (especially with regard to the Swedish surnames), it would have been a better read.
For this reason we awarded it a low 3/5
If you have read the book and would like to express your opinions on any of the above points, or any other aspect of the book, please post your comments below.
We’d love to hear from you.
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