I have just finished reading the three Stieg Larrson books and am happy not only to have read them, but also to now be done with them. They are good. But they are good in their genre – detective type thrillers with suspense and conspiracies, interesting characters and lively fast paced action. My reading of the books serendipitously coincided with my summer travel to Scandinavia and reading the books from my hotel balcony in Stockholm overlooking the city in which the action takes place was a special treat. The series however is not my usual pick for fiction. Larrson’s characters are fun to get to know, but there isn’t a particularly noteworthy depth in their interactions, psychology, or discoveries. The question that is intriguing to me is how much the surrounding events of the author’s life — his untimely death, the post-mortem controversy about his legacy, the unfinished sequel and the undeniable mirroring of some of the aspects of his and the lead character of the books – contributed to my enjoyment (and the general popularity) of the series. The legal fight about ownership of the copyright and his life partner’s ability to compete the fourth book is of course also intriguing to us prawfs.
Posted by Orly Lobel on September 3, 2010 at 05:30 PM
Comments
I found the libel trial/jail sentence part of the book quite interesting. One tends to forget such things are possible in modern democracies. The books are real page-turners, which makes them the perfect antidote to a day spent slogging through law reviews. I agree, though, that they are “genre” books. If you happen to like the genre, try Ian Rankin’s books set in Scotland.
Posted by: Lyrissa | Sep 6, 2010 1:11:33 PM
i want to see the movie. but yes, the books are VERY long. a side-effect of not being able to edit.
Posted by: Orly Lobel | Sep 3, 2010 6:04:08 PM
Have you seen the Swedish version of the movie? In some ways better than the book, as somebody said, because he really needed a tough editor, and the movie is faithful but tighter.
Posted by: Jeff Lipshaw | Sep 3, 2010 5:41:05 PM