So I've heard rave reviews about this book and since the movie just came out, I figured, sure, why not? I like reading the book before I see the movie. Sometimes it's worth it (The Help) and sometimes it's not (Lord of the Rings trilogy). Anyway, back to this book - I hated it. The writing was AWFUL and the story was not as original as everyone made it seem. Anyone with me here? I think I'm the only person I've talked to who didn't like this book. :)
Sorry Leslie! I actually loved reading this book. I still have to read The Girl Who Played with Fire & the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. I am really interested in seeing the movie. It's on my to do list. Blog is such a good idea. Count me in!
ReplyDeleteYou didn't find the writing for the first third of the book completely boring? The financial scandal stuff seemed completely unnecessary. I felt like the book should have been either about the girl or about Blomkvist, and it seemed like there was way too much focus on the guy, for a book that was named after the girl.
ReplyDeleteI read all 3 books and saw all 3 in the original Swedish (with English subtitlesand won't go see the American version. Can't Americans read? Do we have to have it translated for us? .. but that's another story). I thought the first book was good; it certainly showed a dark side to Swedish society that is not usually public. And Leslie, this is the first part of a trilogy, so some of the material in the first book will be resolved in the future books. Also, he died before it was edited, and it is a translation. Had the author lived and been involved in the publication, he probably would have tightened up some of the writing.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I am Unknown
ReplyDeleteWell, that makes more sense as far as the choppiness of the writing. I sort of feel like I should read the book again because I really did skip a lot of the "filler" info that I thought was unnecessary to this story. Do the next books get more into the girl? Cuz she's the one I'm interested in.
ReplyDeleteIt did take a while to get into the book but I was encouraged by someone who had read the trilogy to get through the beginning & it would be worth it. I think she was right. I think Karen has a good point that Larsson died before it was edited. I hadn't thought about that before.
ReplyDeleteJust another tidbit about the book/author. Larsson witnessed (but did not participate in) a rape by some friends when they were at camp as teens. He did nothing to stop the boys. He went to apologize to the girl the next day, but she refused to accept his apology. Her name -- Lisbeth. He never got over his guilt and spent his life exposing bad people.
ReplyDeleteHuh. Well, that explains the motivation behind the book. I still didn't love it, but I am convinced enough to read the next two books. :)
ReplyDeleteI fully agree Corrie (Hi Corrie). It took me a bit to get into the book, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading.
ReplyDeleteDid you read the sequels yet? Just curious to see if they get better...
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