Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Sweden: Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' - starting and stopping.

The world is thick with reviews of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' and there's little need for me to contribute another one. I haven't read other commentaries but the fact that it's a number one bestseller indicates how popular it is, and I believe that it has also achieved the feat of being critically acclaimed, too.

This is difficult for me, as I started reading the book a few months ago and found it less than compelling. The prologue was intriguing, but then I found myself bogged down with chunks of exposition about financial crimes far less exotic than those happening around me every day. I realised I was skimming paragraph after paragraph. Lisbeth Salander was introduced, but I wasn't moved by her, either. She struck me as a character very much following in the footsteps of, say, Donna Leon's Signorina Elettra crossed with the goth-chick-lab-tech traits of a variety of US dramas such as 'NCIS' (2003 - current) and 'Mysterious Ways' (2000 - 2002).

So I laid it aside as wave upon wave of praise crashed over it, and I felt compelled to give it another try. By the end of the week I'll know whether I've changed my mind!

Until then, here's my map of the (mainly) Stockholm locations of TGWTDT as far as I've now got:


View Larger Map

23 comments:

Dorte H said...

I read the first book in the series because my children gave it to me :)
The Danish title (Men who hate women) did certainly not appeal to me, and I don´t remember how long it took before I was caught in by the book.
It will be fun to see if you are going to like it.

Anonymous said...

As usual, I love your map.
I read and enjoyed this book, but it is jerky, leisurely and, in the end I felt the solution a cheat for reasons I will not state as you have not finished - or decided whether to finish.
I am glad I read it, as it is a good book I think. I believe that, had the author lived and been able to collaborate more with his editor, a better book would have resulted. It must be hard to edit a book after the author has died for various reasons.
Having just read the second book, I can say it is much more gripping, and wide-ranging in content, than the first, though even so there is a 200-page prologue (I do not know if that will turn out to be relevant to book 3) and various "deus ex machina" devices and some clumsy aspects. But, I could not put the book down - I found it utterly compelling. I'd say that if you are a crime-fiction specialist, these books are ones that need to be read - a bit like Sjowall and Wahloo I suppose (though Larsson is messy heat where S/W are measured, controlled ice).

Barbara said...

Steph, you're not the only one who found this a bit of a head-scratcher. I thought it would tank in the US market because of its rambling length and the changes in tone. But I was wrong - it made and I suspect that means there's something there that just didn't speak to me, because the US publisher is pretty clumsy generating buzz (which rarely works very well here anyway, unless it's a well-known author churning out the same book as the last dozen times...)

So don't feel odd-woman out. Norm was equally unimpressed but loved the second book ... so I will have to try that.

Reg / Steve said...

Hi, just wondering how you arrived at the location of Hedeby at Ljusne. I believe the island is south of the town in the book, so this doesn't seem to match, though it's been a while since I read it.

Reg
http://reg-stieglarssonsenglishtranslator.blogspot.com/

Reg / Steve said...

Sorry, didn't see the word "approximate"!

Dorte H said...

Hi, I just wanted to tell you I have ordered two used Vera Stanhope books right now(first & third from same seller because that is cheapest).
Another cosy parcel to be looking forward to.

WhereDunnit said...

Reg, as Hedeby is fictional, I looked for a place that was approximately the right distance up the coast, which had a railway station and was close enough to the sea. There isn't anywhere along that coast that I could find that matches exactly the description of Hedeby.

Reg / Steve said...

You'er absolutely right, I tried finding a counterpart too...

Cheap Viagra said...

I don't know enough about those topics but I'd like to acquire knowledge in this because I like to read different information.

Metformin 500 mg said...

Indeed a very interesting blog. Read a pleasure. Cognitive information that is very good.

Viagra without a prescription said...

It's a good post, I had never read something like this before. Thanks for sharing this with us, I am a onlooker reader.

Viagra said...

I, too, found it difficult to read. I had heard such great things and was led to extreme disappointment.

Men's Briefs said...

So, I didnt READ the books... but the movies were amazing!

web site directory said...

It is a very informative and useful post thanks it is good material to read this post increases my knowledge.

Buy clomid online said...

After reading the article, learned a lot of new and interesting. I advise everyone reading.

Hcg weight loss said...

Useful information ..I am very happy to read this article..thanks for giving us this useful information. Fantastic walk-through. I appreciate this post.

hcg said...

Hi, nice post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for sharing. I will certainly be subscribing to your blog.

Cheap cigarettes said...

Really interesting post. Thank you for sharing with us.

Acura MDX Wiper Size said...

Hello .. I have never seen a smart articles that you created. It really helped me to get back my ideas for writing. I will save this post, for I learn more Acura MDX Wiper Size

pay per head said...

This blog is an exact representation of skills. I appreciate the blogger for posting the most excellent thought.

Mirza Ghalib said...

The story is gripping..for those who love crime thrillers..its just way too awesome..The characters are strong,they leave an impression on your mind..The plot is nice,agreed there could have been a few less pages where the book goes dragging a bit,but then it all adds up to your reading experience and isn't that boring..I liked it very much and even went on reading the other two volumes of this trilogy..and I guess it is perfectly great..the plot stays in your mind even afterwards for awhile and the characters look so real...If you like reading,reading smart crime fiction,reading a book you can get lost in...I'd say go for it :)

Online High School Diploma said...

Here you have shared very well post that is really informative for me.

High School Diploma Program said...

It is a very informative and useful post thanks it is good material to read this post increases my knowledge.