The girl who did fuck all for three hundred pages

Publishing sensation! Number one on the Portland Times best selling list for three days! Dead author! Translated text! 27 million copies sold!

No shortage of choices for PR blurb to stick on the cover of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy books. Sufficient incentive for a casual browser like me to pick up the first in the series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) at an airport several months ago. A long enough flight to get through the first one hundred pages in which some mildly interesting characters are introduced, an investigation into the disappearance of a girl becomes the main storyline, and nothing of consequence happens. Pick up the book again from time to time and the investigation seems to be going nowhere, mainly because the characters are too busy having turgid conversations instead of actually doing some investigating. Three hundred pages in, and I give up and stick it back on the shelf. Yesterday I give it another try, and suddenly clues are being found and all sorts of nastiness is being uncovered; and the remaining three hundred plus pages are consumed by the end of the day.

I am not sure of the problems of translating Swedish to English, but the resulting prose is hardly inspiring. There are no passages to ponder over and savour, such as you would get with the likes of John Banville or Ian McEwan. But there is a definite sense of place, the characters are varied and believable, and the story, once it finally gets going, is intriguing.

It’s one of those books which you feel would work well as movie; but it could easily be sanitised and softened by the Hollywood machine into just another crime thriller; which it isn’t. Fortunately, the Scandinavian film industry got there first and, from a quick preview, it looks like they have retained the darkness and unpleasantness that pervades the book. So, need to watch “Män som hatar kvinnor” and then will dive into the 1,400 pages of the second two books which I picked up from Asia Books this morning. If they are anything like the first they will be 700 pages too long; but they will be worth wading through.

Warning: For those of a sensitive disposition, I should warn you that the first book contains the words “rape”, “murder”, “kidnapping”, “incest”, “dildo” and “puppy”; although thankfully not in the same sentence; and regretfully not in the first 300 pages (apart from “puppy”).

Comments 🔗

2010-04-15 | genuinej says

You’re being very critical but still ready to take on the next two books. Small mercies!! In the U.K. we’re stuck with a general election and a load of self-serving lying c*nts (aka politicians) looking only after their own interests. What a farce is “democracy” Bring on the next, long overdue, UK political assassination. Hopefully starring Scottish twat Gordon Brown. Asap is not soon enough. Btw, I thought “The girl who played with fire” was quite a good read. Shame Stieg has passed on and won’t collect royalties.

2010-04-16 | Spike says

A month of twaddle from liars, none of whom will admit that the country is in the toilet; you lucky man. I have opened “The girl who played with fire”. Any book that starts with a thirteen year old girl strapped to a table has to be promising.

2010-04-16 | genuinej says

Perv!! Lucky you too! Election avoiding manoeuvre is now in place. I expect to be in Pattaya on 29th April for 10 days and will bring a small clutch of creme eggs, Icelandic volcanic ash permitting.

2010-04-17 | Spike says

I think I love you.