The Girl : Lisbeth Salander

Stieg Larsson

I have completed the first two books by the late Swedish author, Stieg Larsson. The history of Larsson, his background, his death and his success after his death is fascinating to me. The books were not even published when Larsson died in 2004 and several years later are international sensations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stieg_Larsson

Two Core Characters

This strength of this series is unquestionably the two main characters.

Lisbeth Salander is a female superhero. Salander has been wronged all her life, trusts very few and is intensely private. She is under state guardianship because she is believed to be incapable of caring for herself. However, Salander is a genius, a skilled mathematician with a photographic memory and incredible computer skills. Salander may has Asberger's Syndrome.

Mikael Blomkvist is a crusading journalists for all that he believes is right. I assume that Larsson based Blomkvist on himself. Blomkvist is a partner in Millennium magazine with Erika Berger. Berger is married, but has had an affair with Blomkvist for years with her husband's knowledge. Blomquist is quite the lady's man.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo

The book describes how Salander meets Blomkvist. Salander is initially working as a researcher and investigates Blomkvist for Henrik Vanger. Vanger hires Blomkvist to research a the murder of his great niece back in the 1960s. Blomkvist hires Salander to assist in the investigation. Salander slowly begins to trust Blomkvist. They become lovers. Salander saves Blomkvist's life. Salander leaves Blomkvist because she has fallen in love with Blomkvist.

The murder story that Blomkvist and Salander investigated was the weakest part of the book. It was not real clear why Henrik Vanger has assumed that Harriet was murdered and not considered that she could have ran away. In addition, I don't think it was realistic that Martin Vanger and his father were these over the top monsters for all these year living right near Henrik Vanger, who did not know anything about it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book because I liked Blomkvist and Salander. However, this book alone does not make the Lisbeth Salander the memorable character she becomes. I give The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a B.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Played_with_Fire

I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and listened to The Girl Who Played with Fire.

In the first book Blomkvist and Salander were equally memorable. In this book, Salander really stands out as we learn quite a bit more about her background. She becomes a female superhero, if not totally realistic, in a likable root for the underdog way.

At the end of The Girl With Dragon Tattoo, Salander uses her computer savvy to steal a fortune from Hans-Erik Wennerstrom the corrupt businessman that Blomkvist with Salander's help, that write a book about.

At this book begins, she spends a year traveling the work. The first part of the book is about an abusive husband, Salander encounters in the Caribbean and how she gets involved.

Salander returns to Sweden, but avoids contact with Blomkvist. Using a bug she placed on Blomkvist's computer, she keeps tabs on what he is working on and gets interested in his latest project, due to her troubled past, regarding the sex trade in Sweden. This eventually leads to Salander becoming a suspect in three murders and a manhunt takes place to find Salander. The real killer is working for someone from Salander's past named Zala that is the key to the story.

Blomkvist believes in Salander and works to prove her innocence. They only communication they have is untraceable on the computer. Lisabeth's relationship with Zala is revealed towards the end and Zala and Lisabeth has a battle for survival. It turns out that Zala is actually Salander's father. The book ends with Blomkvist discovering a unconscious Salander who has been shot. Zala is in worse shape.

This book was a top notch thriller. The Salander character especially becomes unforgettable in this book. I give The Girl Who Played with Fire an A-.

What is next for Salander and Blomkvist?

The third part of this trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, appears to have been published all of the world, but will not released in the US until May 2010. I am anxious to read the finale of the series.

There is quite a bit of discussion about making the books into movies. This has already been done in Sweden and is being discussed in the US.

Stieg Larsson has made a lot of money for someone since his death.