This is by and far the best book I have read in the recent past! If you like suspense, crime and thriller novels, this one is definitely for you. Let me share my review with you.
The story is set in the 90s in Sweden, where Mikael Blomkvist, our protagonist, is a financial journalist who writes for a small magazine. He takes on one of the biggest empires of Sweden, the Wennerstrom group. And loses. He gets his name dragged through the mud, his credibility is lost and he is sentenced to prison. But, Henrik Vanger, a former Swedish business tycoon, hires him to solve a private problem. His granddaughter is missing for the past 40 years, and wants to know the answers.
Our other protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, is one of the most interesting characters in the novel. Her story is not very happy, her situation is pretty bleak. But she is quite brilliant, and manages to stand up for herself. Her view on the world is twisted, but I attribute this to her circumstances.
The style of writing was quite new to me. I mean, the setting of the story, the difficulties presented and the nature of the characters. It was refreshingly different from the other recent novels I have read. It isn't bad, is what I'm trying to say. The author refers to the Mac book as iBook was, I felt an example of anachronism. If you enjoy the finer details in a story, I'm sure you will like this book.
The characters are diverse, nothing like your ordinary journalist and private investigator. Each and every person has skeletons in their closet. No person is truly black or white. Okay, maybe the antagonist is black. The way each character handles a grey situation is something I look for in a novel. The way a character learns, evolves and grows is extremely important for me and this novel delivers on all those fronts.
Giving anything more would be spoiling the story for you. Probably everyone of you would have watched the movie. I hadn't, and don't plan to either. My experience with this novel has been great, and I would definitely recommend this to everyone.
I'm on to the next one. Actually the third book. The second book is in circulation and I probably won't get it till the next month or so. So I say, screw it. Let me proceed with the third. If there were any details that are important from the second one to read the third, I will just go through the story if necessary. But I cannot wait to read the next book. A big salute to you, Mr Stieg Larsson.
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