The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.49 You Save: $14.46 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.68 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Girl Who Played with Fire
Book Review: 4 Months, 4 Parts, 3 Murders, 1 Brilliant Salander
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never encountered another character as multi-layered and brilliant as Lisbeth Salander. I first met her in Larsson's previous novel, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. She was a flat-chested, waif-like teen who was a gifted computer and mathematical genius. In this novel, she is a more overt genius but she now has breasts, which she paid for with funds from an ambiguous, illicit source. She is accused of three murders and the investigation promises to keep the reader on the edge.
Larsson's novel captures the essence of social problems in Sweden, this one centering around the sex trade. Portrayed by extreme characters, we encounter the absolute misery and decadent behavior toward females. Mikael Blomkvist, the good guy from the first novel, has uncovered information on the subject and plans to disclose the subject in an issue of his own magazine, Millennium. Lisbeth becomes the savior of abused women. She is also an extremist, many of the characters are ensconced in fanatical escapades.
Blomkvist and Salander had a previous sexual relationship which forced Lisbeth to bury any romantic feelings and so she refuses to allow Blomkvist to contact her. Based on her past, Lisbeth is comfortable leading a paripatetic life, with no solid relationships. She trusts no one. One of most vile characters is her guardian, Bjurman, who made a horrendous mistake when he sexually took advantage of Lisbeth. Her revenge is harsh and connects the story. His attempts at revenge are proof that she is very, very smart.
I understand that this book is the second of the trilogy and the last book may provide some closure, but I believe that Larsson keeps the reader dangling with many unanswered questions. Larsson was too critical of the society he describes to have it tie up in a neat little package.
Book Review: A very compelling read
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the sequel to the book 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist join up again to solve the riddle of sinister happenings. It is a thriller that is full of murder and mayhem, and is sure to get your heart pumping and your fingers turning to the next page!
This time the elusive and private Salander is in trouble; Swedish papers run a story about her, and point a finger of suspicion at her when evidence shows she was at the scene of three killings - even finger print evidence seems to implicate her.
Salander has changed since the Dragon Tatoo; she is perhaps a little more demure and doesn't play on her goth appearance as much as before, understanding that the tattoos have less meaning to her as she has grown. Her relationship with Blomkvist is not good; while there is an obvious attraction, she avoids him due to his philandering ways.
As she keeps out of the reach of the police, donning disguises and not staying in one place long, she begins to investigate the crimes she is accused of. Slowly, through the book, the estranged couple begin to form a relationship again.
This is where Larsson's skills shine through - his combination of great storytelling and his ability to deal with complex characters and relationships enhance what could have been just another crime novel. The intricacies of the characters keep you interested and at times almost make the story an afterthought.
Like the `Dragon Tatoo' the book does have a seedy and yet real life feel - at times it is graphic in nature, but again this is relevant and well done. The writing is excellent, and this novel really does a good job of building the characters and relationships that were surfacing in the Dragon Tattoo.
Well worth a read..
Book Review: riveting second novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo several months ago, and I remember liking it... but by the time Larsson's second novel became available at my local library, I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed his storytelling style. The Girl Who Played with Fire picks up a couple of years after the first one left off, incorporating many of the same characters and referring more than once to the plot of the "Wennerström affair." While neither Blomkvist or Salander are typical "heroes," Larsson imbues them with multidimensionality and complexity not found in your typical "detective" novel. As an American reader, I found the references to Swedish places and names intriguing but also kind of distracting; I'm sure someone more familiar with Swedish culture would have found additional layers of meaning to the story based on some of the very detailed descriptions the author gives of streets, neighborhoods, and cities. Larsson also gives an astonishingly detailed account of the technology and furniture encountered by the main characters; Salander's trip to IKEA read almost like an advertisement for the Swedish home goods store. While I don't typically like this kind of overly descriptive style of writing, Larsson is at least consistent and the details also reinforce the characters' personalities--the reader can infer certain things about a character who uses an iBook rather than a PC. The plot's twists and turns kept me reading until the end, although I was expecting something a bit more shocking than the actual revelation about Zala (I thought maybe it would turn out to be Palmgren in disguise). I am looking forward to the third book--which, given the ending, I'm assuming will have to do with Salander's twin sister.Book Review: Slowly revealing Lisbeth
Summary: 5 Stars
Lisbeth Salander, an angry young hacker and cyber-embezzler, is out of the frying pan and into the fire as the prime suspect in three murders. Yet Larsson hides from the reader key details about how Lisbeth became a suspect and whether she is guilty - we don't want to believe it, but there are these facts to consider. . . . Slowly the third person narrator takes the reader inside the heads of key players to reveal some - but not all - of Lisbeth's secrets as well as the hidden actions and motives of people all around her.
Mikael Blomqvist returns to do what he can to defend his former lover, whom he believes to be innocent. Larsson sustains the tension in their relationship by almost but not quite bringing the two face-to-face throughout most of the book.
While I know little about computer technology, I appreciate that Larsson included 21st Century technology in his plots. In this era, I expect brilliant sleuths to use the Web but hope they won't get too technical or cross the line into the kind of computer science fiction I suspect I am seeing on some tv detective shows. Lisbeth's skill as a hacker and user of gadgets manages to strike the right balance.
This sequel does a good job of developing the terrific main characters from Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Lisbeth is a fresh, tough and fascinating 21st Century woman and this book shows us some of the sources of her smart and skeptical nature. I look forward to learning more about her complex background and inner life in the next installment of the trilogy. I already suspect that the first chapters of "Fire" will play an important role in the plot of the third book.
Book Review: LISBETH SALANDER (and Larsson) DID IT AGAIN!
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a hungry enthusiastic for thrillers, after finishing the great Volume I on the Millennium Trilogy, I, as some of the reviewers displayed on the AMAZON US site, could not wait for the US print on the follow up masterpiece from Stieg Larsson- The Girl who played with Fire- and purchase the UK edition.
I might not be a "hard reader" - I read 5 to 10 books a year, but because of this limited time I have for this purpose, I try to be really selective, and believe me, if you are looking for a page-turner, all niter excellent novel, this is the book for you.
In my opinion, a good novel has to have several elements to be successful, and Larsson achieves this flawlessly. Good story-telling, simple (at first glance) yet complicated characters, and an "out-of- the-ordinary" plot. If a novel has these 3 elements on a decent scale, I am caught!
In the first installment of this trilogy- The girl with the dragon tattoo- you only begin to know the main characters, Mikael Bloomkist and Lisbeth Salander, and you just have to love the great persona and profile put on both of them.
I am a fan of the Camel Club series by David Baldacci, and I found out a lot of similarities on the "slow-but-constant" development and knowledge of "Oliver Stone"- the main character on Baldacci's novels- as well as Lisbeth Salander. These are enigmatic and sometimes surprising characters, but Larsson, as well as Baldacci, know very well the tempo and extension of their creations, therefore a delightful and even-better-than-the-original delivery of a great series. I can hardly wait for the conclusion of this masterpiece. This is a MUST HAVE if you are a thriller aficionado.