Valet Reader

Alright, here’s the deal, I resisted reading this book. Not only has it been a best seller for a long time now, I also felt (ok, judged) that this book was a “lady book” much in the way that “Eat, Pray, Love” is. Why? Well, honestly I don’t think I’ve ever seen a male reading it, and I assure you I have seen a ton of people reading this book, all women. So… when my mother and father recently visited me here in San Francisco and brought me a copy of it I was more than a little dubious. But, my dad did confide in me that he read it and actually enjoyed it. Not only that but the copy they brought me is an advanced reading copy (ARC) that does not have the tell tale, obnoxiously bright, yellow cover. Instead it has a much more subtle, and better, cover that is white with debossed (the opposite of embossed) text with shadowing (picture below). It was much easier for me to carry this book around as opposed to the latter.

I’m going to start by giving you my bottom line: I don’t understand the hype. I’ve read my fair share of murder/love stories and honestly this one was no different from the others. Sure, there were some new twists to this “genre,” the financial angle, but I’ve read better and more enjoyable. As far as I can tell, the whole reason behind the hype and the only reason that this book resonates with women readers is that one of the protagonists is a tough woman who doesn’t take sh*t from anyone and abhors any sort of violence, physical or emotional, afflicted on women. I get that, but, this isn’t the first time we’ve ever seen a heroine like her.

I’m going to do my best to avoid spoiling this book for anyone who hasn’t read it so bear with me. While the book is, for the most part, about the life and times of a one Lisbeth Salander, the heroine aka the girl with dragon tattoo, it is also about a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist who it just so happens is the hero in the story. There are several different story lines told in the book but the most relevant and interesting would be that of the case which Mr. Blomkvist is put upon by a Henrik Vanger, an industrialist. Mr. Vanger has asked Mr. Blomkvist, who has just been found guilty of libel, to investigate the 40 year-old disappearance his great-niece Harriet.

One way or another, a separate story line, the heroine of the story gets roped into helping Blomkvist with the mysterious disappearance. With her introduction to this story line the story quickly picks up and the progression of the case quickly spirals into a much larger web than had been perceived. Lisbeth’s involvement in the case however creates waves and therefore some turmoil for Blomkvist and several other characters. This is as a good place as any to stop with the summary, anymore information runs the risk of ruining the book. That’s not the end of my review though.

I’ve chosen two distinct issues, there are more, of this book to berate a little bit and undermine the phenomenon that this book has become. The first of these “issues” is that Lisbeth falls in love, with a man, in this book. You see, this is the part that I’m afraid too many women didn’t really take notice of. How could Stieg Larsson create a character that has, for her entire life, had difficulty with men and avoided all sorts of interpersonal attachment, fall in love. I won’t tell you who she falls for but, he is a major character and the relationship Larsson created just feels like a farce. Lisbeth is a character that has kept private her entire adult life, no friends and her employer of some time knows nothing about, and yet somehow in a short span this one man’s charm works on her of all people. It just doesn’t add up.

The second “issue” is something which I am always looking for, strong character development. Or, in this case, lack thereof. While I feel as though Salander was characterized pretty well, the character of Blomkvist was not. The hero’s relationships outside of those with Salander and the investigation he has taken on are minimal. What of his daughter? What of his relationship with Berger (a character whom he works with)? What of his background? I think some who have read the book would argue this point with me but, frankly, I don’t care. I thought Larsson did a weak job on this and spent way too much time at the end of the novel boring us with drivel about Blomkvist’s revenge against the man whose libel suit he lost at the beginning of the novel instead of helping us to better understand the man.

So, what now? Obviously I’m aware that this is a series, a wildly popular series, and I need to decide whether or not I will continue on with it. Although I did not necessarily enjoy the book, odds are that I will go ahead and read Larsson’s second novel. Why? Well, for one, although there were certainly parts of this book that were boring as all hell, certain elements that I really disliked, it was still a pretty quick and easy read. Would I rather read a Harlan Coban book, probably, but for the time being and because I see Stieg Larsson’s book as being good fodder for my reviews, you will most likely see a review for The Girl Who Played With Fire shortly.