Perhaps even more compelling than the first book, or maybe more compelling because of the first book, Stieg Larsson's 2nd entry in the Millenium trilogy focuses largely on Lisbeth Salander who early on becomes the focus of a manhunt in a triple murder investigation. The complicated background that has created this socially phobic but uniquely brilliant character is revealed and boy is this a doozy of a twisty plot--imagine your most nightmarish conspiracy theory if you were the target. And then imagine you were just 12 years old when it all started. But if you liked the first book, you will love this one. Lisbeth eventually has some very powerful people on her side, which is amazing given how little she is able to offer in the way of normal personal relationships. Salander engineers several major changes in her life, and the book leaves us knowing there are more changes on the way for these characters .
Perhaps even more amazing than reading the book was finding out that the Swedish film version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was playing on the other side of town and we got to see it this weekend. The cast was absolutely superb and they didn't pull any punches on some of the more gut-wrenching scenes from the book. Of course no movie can ever develop the complexity of relationships and events that comprise a good novel, but they did an outstanding job of capturing the essence. They even corrected one of my minor gripes about the book--the disappearance from the storyline of the police detective originally assigned to the Harriet Vanger case. There is some foreshadowing of the 2nd novel in the movie, but you will want to see this if you possibly can no matter how many of the books in this trilogy you have or haven't read. Two members of our group knew nothing about the books and were still enthralled.
Thanks to my friend Wendy Starkweather for the lead to this lengthy article in the New York Time Magazine to a lengthy bio piece on Larsson and the controversy surrounding his literary heritage.
