Sunday, August 01, 2010

When Popular Fiction Doesn't Suck


It seemed like everyone and their mother was reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this past year. I saw the intriguing cover on the T constantly. Now that it is in paperback, I decided to pick up a copy. I read it non-stop until dawn and the next day I picked up the two sequels. Yes, it is THAT good! The first novel is really dense and tricky but also has awesome characters. This ain't The DaVinci Code where a big plot twist hinges on figuring out a Fibonacci sequence. I can't explain how much I hated that book! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is like an anti-DaVinci Code. My only quibble is that the omniscient narrator takes us into the bad guys thoughts a lot. I got a bit sick of reading "cunt..whore..bitch" over and over. That's my own hang-up. Fun fact: the original Swedish title was Men Who Hate Women. So, I guess my complaint makes sense in that context, huh?

Also, the Swedish film versions are very true to the books and are just as riveting. I seriously have no idea why there has to be American versions of the movie beyond making someone money. But I agree with this casting news. He just needs to get a little out of shape. But casting Lisbeth is going to be so tough! Noomi Rapace was so perfect in the Swedish films. Personally, I think Allison Scagliotti could be perfect. Tah dah

P.S. I don't understand the whole Kalle Blomquist nickname. I know it's due to solving the bank robberies but what's "Kalle" got to do with it?

P.P.S The author, Stieg Larsson, died before the books were published and apparently this was planned for a 10 book series and there is a half-finished fourth book out there. Oh what might have been!

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