The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Before Stieg Larsson died in 2004, he was the editor of Expo, the journal of the Swedish Expo Foundation, an organization dedicated to tracking the activities of racist organizations. He was also an expert on Nazi and other extreme right-wing organizations. Not surprisingly, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has within it the most unsavory of evils, loosely linked to Nazis of the past and present.

The novel’s narrative focus is captured in its original Swedish title, Men Who Hate Women, and flows from two major plots: a failed investigation of a corrupt businessman, and a crime case of a murder long ago committed and recently resurrected. Linking both stories are the characters of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist is a journalist found guilty of libel for his investigative work on industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. He’s lost his job and his integrity, and he’s about to lose his freedom when he begins his jail sentence for his crime. Millionaire industrialist Henrik Vanger, however, intercedes and asks him to investigate the cold case of Vanger’s long-dead niece, Harriet, who decades before was probably murdered. No body was ever found, but the suspect must be one of Vanger’s unsavory family members. Blomkvist is to conduct the case privately, under the guise of his work on a Vanger family chronicle. If Blomkvist agrees to investigate the old crime, Vanger will give him much-needed information on Wennerström.

Running parallel to this is the narrative of Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, as well as other tattoos and various body piercings. She is small and anorexic-looking, disagreeable, mistrusting of people, probably mentally ill, and a computer genius. She works for a private security firm and collides with Blomkvist in an uncomfortable way – she’s been investigating him for Vanger. That aside, Blomkvist takes her on as a partner in the search for information on the missing Harriet and subsequently the continuing investigation of Wennerström.

The intricate interwoven plots lead readers to a cast of hideous characters, who are as appalling in their portrayal as in their crimes. Neither Salander nor Blomkvist escapes the evil that swirls around them, in a heart-stopping climax where good and evil clash.

The last section of the book may, ironically, seem to slow to a crawl, but after the grisly events of the previous pages, the reader might instead breathe a sigh of relief in this complex follow-up to a corrupt industrialist’s crime investigation.

D. L. S.

The Girl With the dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Find this book in our catalog)

In recent years, publishers have been importing more books in translation than in the past, and it’s about time. There are some mighty good authors out there whose works, while not likely to win the Nobel Peace prize, are well-written, chock-full of memorable characters, and endowed with riveting plots. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Swedish author Stieg Larsson (who died shortly after submitting this book for publication), is just such a gem.

The story follows the travails of Mikael Blomqvist, a brilliant journalist and publisher who delights in unearthing the slimy doings of Sweden’s corporate elites. In fact, until he is convicted of slander for an exposé of a shady industrialist, he is considered tops in his field. Once out of jail, however, he finds it necessary to take an extended leave of absence from his magazine and leave operations in the capable hands of its publisher, who also happens to be his sometime lover and close friend. He is not at loose ends for long, however. An elderly captain of industry, former head of a once-respected manufacturing giant, hires him to write a biography of his rather quirky family, while surreptitiously delving into the mysterious disappearance of his niece decades earlier, a subject that has obsessed the industrialist for many years. What Blomqvist finds is a family closet full of warped skeletons, the inside world of power politics, and some singular love interests. The most important of these lovers is a remarkable character, Lisbeth Salander, who is the girl with the dragon tattoo. Young, attractive, brilliant, paranoid, and troubled, Ms. Salander both helps Blomqvist in his investigations and navigates through her own seemingly insurmountable troubles using techniques that will at times shock readers, but keep them on the edge of their seats at the same time.

This is a novel that pushes all the right buttons: writing style, characters, plot, and themes. At the same time, readers will learn some things about a modern industrialized nation that is virtually unknown to American readers.

submitted by Alan Zuckerman, Book Group Facilitator, Norrisville Branch

Whale Season by N.M. Kelby

Whale Season: A Really Good Book by N.M. Kelby
If you want something funny, light, a little bizarre, but also with characters you can believe in this may be the book for you. Kelby brings together some eccentric characters and some odd happenings at Whale Harbor, Florida. ("There are no whales in Whale Harbor, Florida. Never have been.") Her book is entertaining, yet it has wisdom, pathos and human feeling. Kelby has been compared to author Carl Hiaasen, and you can see similarities in her Florida setting and her quirky characters. This is a good summer read (even though it is Christmas in the book).

As the residents of Whale Harbor get ready to celebrate Christmas, a serial killer, who is dressed as Jesus, comes to town. The essence of this book concerns the way in which his appearance and the events that he initiates affect the characters.

The Abingdon Book Group enjoyed the book. We found the characters to be unusual, but generally likeable, and almost all had a tender side. One reader in the group had not liked it too much, but during the discussion, said how much she was starting to like it now that we had discussed it and she had seen it in the light of other readers' observations. This is why book groups are so good, we get to see hear many differing views and opinions, and then we may discover something about the book we had overlooked. We also enjoyed iced tea & chocolate chip cookies! Then shared other books we are reading.

Ms. Kelby is the author of Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill (forthcoming book), In the Company of Angels, and Theater of the Stars. She also has written short stories. Information about the author may be found at http://www.nmkeby.com/

Our August title is Family Tree, by Barabara Delinsky.