Again, just about the whole world has read this book by now or they have seen the movie, but I am just getting to it. Actually, I have seen the movie...in Swedish. I rented it at the video store and it didn't have English subtitles so I tried with Japanese subtitles. I didn't get too far, and ended up not finishing it. Not a total waste, though, as Motoaki watched it. Still, my interest was sparked and I was really excited to see that they would be making an English version (although Roger Ebert tells me that I need to see the first ones). But being the good reader that I am, I decided to read before watching the movie (in reality, the movie isn't in Japan yet anyway).
I will start by saying that this book has two things going against it for me personally. The first is that I am reading it on a Kindle ereader. I have read books online before but am a little against the whole ebook movement for nostalgic, romantic, selfish reasons. But I got the Kindle for Christmas and I couldn't find Major Pettigrews Last Stand last week for the life of me (it was under a stack of newspapers in the newspaper box- Thank you for cleaning Motoaki, but really, you shouldn't have...).
The second is that I am not a big fan of crime mystery, or mystery in general. I find the characters to be a little bit aloof and a lot of plot twists try too hard. Though it may be because I have sort of seen the movie and because the story is famous, I am not in anyway surprised by any of the "surprises" in the book...so far.
But I am liking the book. I found the first couple of chapters to be a little wordy (too much about financial criminals that I have no interest in) and the Swedish to be a little tricky to keep track of, but other than that it is a smooth read. Actaully, I will take that back and say that I am surprised that enough people managed to get through the first part to read the rest and make the book a hit. I am a little surprised that so far I am getting far more of the Mikael Blomkvist character than the Lisbeth character. I have learned that the original title was actually, Men Who Hate Women, and so that may explain why the "girl with the dragon tattoo" seems to be the secondary character. But that is also probably to do with the fact that the girl character is so famous on posters, reviews of the movie, etc.
A part from the mystery, I am slowly getting more and more interested in Sweden. Though they can be jarring, I enjoy that the metaphors are kept in their original Swedish context. For example (forgive me, I don't have the book on me), at one point someone says something like, "I can't believe you are going to *Swedish town name*" to which another character replies, "That's not so bad. It's not like it's *some other Swedish town name.*" So much more refreshing than just the standard use of Timbuktu. to symbolize the middle of nowhere It makes me realize how much I am limited in that I usually only read books in English by English speaking authors. As an ex once quoted (or said), "I like books with maps or books that make me want to look at maps." Sweden isn't a country I have ever been all that interested in, but this book definitely makes me think of it as a future destination. In a random coincidence, the free song on Itunes the other day was also by two Swedish girls and they mention Stockholm. Funny how life connects like that.
Anyway, as with the last few books, if you haven't read it yet, I suggest The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. If you have a kindle, there is supposedly a way for me to lend it to you, but I am not sure how to do that yet. But feel free to ask. I bought the other two as well.
And who I am kidding, I suggest anything. My biggest advise is to read read read. Movies are great, but I think books have a greater power to crawl inside you and make you think. Maybe because you usually read a book over a couple of days and so they stick with you (as opposed to a movie that you watch, discuss, and then forget).
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