Lisbeth Salander is the heroine of the Millenium triology by Stieg Larsson. The triology is touted to be the best crime fiction of recent years.
And having just finished the three books back to back, I decidedly agree.
What is with a tiny girl who can smash a 100 feet guy who cannot feel pain. She has a photgraphic memory and belongs to an elite group of hackers.She can outsmart even the smartest people and spends a lot of time solving fermat's theorem. And oh by the way, she has a mysterious past, she has spent years in a mental hospital, is labelled as socially incapable and the likes.
Though it sounds far fetched, and is certainly the result of someone's very fertile imagination, you cannot help but root for Salander as she goes around mercilessly killing people.
That is what I find fascinating. A perfectly negative character who you kinda end up really liking. That is where the skill of the author lies.
Another remarkable thing about this series is the author's almost complete discard to tone things down a couple of notches. Rapes, murders are both spoken of very casually and described in a monotonic drab that funnily enough makes it all the more interesting.
The only problem i had with the trioogy is the excessive attention to detail. You end up reading paragraphs about a character who will never really do much in the book. So, yes, once you figure out the author, you will find your self skimming details about the police inspector who handcuffs the protagonist. Even if 3k workds are being spent on describing his career, you know he will not play a major role!
Anyways, having said that , I must say that I am not really a crime fiction girl, really no, but this one had me hooked. I have spent many content lunch hours in the office kitchen with this book.
I have this weird thing. When I finish a book i really like, I feel as if I am letting go of a good friend. Bidding him a good bye. I know, thats neurotic, but hey this is being typed by a girl who cannot sleep without reading and when sleeping she is more often than not hugging a big fat book
1 comment:
I read the first book in the series, but couldn't get myself to pick up the next two. The story was gripping all through the beginning and the middle parts of the book, but at the end, the author makes it quite soap-operaish.
Are the next two books better than the first?
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