The Girl Who Played With Fire
I read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo a while ago. I was a little worried I wouldn't remember the story. I didn't. It didn't matter.
This was a great book. Steig Larsson winds an interesting tale and really propels you through the plot. The dialogue is pretty decent and the characters are truly interesting. The job he has done of creating the Lisbeth Salander character is great. As readers, we feel like the only ones in the world who know this mysterious person and only because we get to look through her eyes. Its a great device. Take someone totally closed off and put your reader in that person's head. You still can't understand that person, but you get an inside view that is irresistable.
A friend of mine told me that this is the only book he has stayed up all night reading in years. His 12-year-old daughter piped in that she stays up all night reading often. Ha! Yeah, we know. At 12, we stayed up all night reading all the time too. At 25, I stayed up all night reading. But, somehow, with the birth of my kids in my 30's, I was instantly transformed into my grandmother. I now fall asleep sitting on the couch while telling a story. Very sad. I don't stay up all night for anything now except aching muscles and anxiety.
So, I didn't stay up all night to read the book, but I did read it every time I had the chance until I finished it. I might have stayed up all night if it weren't for two reservations and what keeps me from giving the book 5 stars. First, some of the plot was predictable. I really hate reading a book and waiting for the idiotic characters to catch on to things I figured out 100 pages ago. Worse, I hate it when the devices the author is using become obvious as a result. That didn't happen with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but it did happen here. I won't spoil the book for anyone by telling the thing I knew, but lets just say that I had figured out who the main bad guy was long before it was revealed.
The second problem I had with the book was the same problem I had with the first one. I DO NOT LIKE gratuitous, detailed violence against women. Now, I know that in today's cultural experience, this is an almost critical standard. I don't like gratuitous violence against men either, but I get particularly sick when it involves women. Yes, Quentin Tarantino and I do not get along. Anyway, there is enough gratuitous violence in the book. I'm not saying that I think I could write or read this book without it, but there you have it. I also really hate court room scenes in both television and books. So, gratuitous violence and court room scenes will affect my enjoyment. We all have our little quirks.
Other than that, I recommend the book. Maybe don't encourage your 12-year-old daughter to stay up all night with it. But, for a decent adult read, it is pretty good. I have the next one. Maybe I should wait until I forget how this one ends.
Oh yeah. I almost forgot. The ending is pretty darn unbelieveable. Especially if you have anything of a medical background. C'est la vie. Hopefully, the next book makes me forget about these issues. I seem to have this problem with second books in the series a lot. I like them less than the first.
