the girl who played with fire is the second in a swedish crime fiction trilogy by the late steig larsson. they are fast, fun, suspenseful reads that are well-written. the second novel builds upon some mysteries from the first, adding more and more plot twists and anxious moments. i really like the characters in these books. the heroine, if you can even call her that, is a punk genius who's had nothing but tough luck and betrayal in her life. she's no-nonsense and hard as nails, but in this novel the reader almost begins to see a softer side.
my only complaint about this book is the brandname dropping. literally, one whole page is devoted to specific IKEA items that the main character purchased. the actual swedish names of the table, chair, nightstand or what have you. do we need to know this? can't we just take a short paragraph and says she spent 90,000 kronor (swedish currency) on new furniture? i.e.--she worked on her powerbook G4 with 17-inch screen. ok. she could see them with a pair of minolta 8x binoculars. right. it got to the point where i seriously wondered if the book was paid for by all the name dropping.
however, don't let that keep you from these novels if you're looking for good contemporary crime fiction. i'm not usually a great reader in this genre, but these are pretty fun.
12 April 2010
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2 comments:
Ashley, I love reading this new blog of yours. I agree with you. There are some parts of the book that you just want to skip over - and I did. Think I'm one of the few people who liked the first one better. BUT can't wait for the 3rd one. Haven't checked lately.... is it available in the state now?
Sara and I loved the film version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" -- a must see!
hey linda! thanks for the comments! it's nice to know someone reads this thing! as for the two books so far, i liked the mystery of the first one better--you really didn't know about harriet until the end. with the second you sort of know who murdered them...it's the whole zala/salander connection that's the mystery. but i liked the in depth salander stuff with the second better than the first. so there are things i liked better in each. i think the hardcover of the third comes out in may!
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