As indicated in my post about what I'll be reading this summer, this series is one that was a last-minute addition, with the first novel forcibly thrust into my possession by my younger sister. It took me about three days to get through, and I appreciated that-- Larsson's awareness that he isn't writing the next great novel is apparent, and the prose is clean-cut and direct. There is a lot of hype going around about these books, and probably innumerable unsolicited opinions being published about them on the web, so I'll keep my thoughts as brief and spoiler-free as possible.
Speaking of spoiler-free, maybe I'm more of a sleuth than I originally thought, but I was able to predict large portions of this book prior to actually reading them. The only thing I got completely wrong was the identity of the murderers, and in my opinion that was due to a mislead on Larsson's part. It's true that I am usually predisposed to dismiss many mystery writers, because the standards for writing don't seem nearly as high, and many of them are very formulaic, but I will acknowledge that this is one of the better books I've read in this genre. It was sophisticated and obviously well thought-out, and in many ways the perfect breezy summer read (well, despite the grisly nature of some of--okay, most of--the crime's content).
One thing I did have a problem with, however, and this is most likely because of how much people were hyping it up prior to my reading it, was the characterization of the two protagonists. Blomkvist, the intrepid reporter, is flat and at times downright uninteresting as a person; he is kept afloat in my mind by the intriguing nature of the crime which he investigates over the course of the novel. He was frankly kind of a lame hero, and there were times when it irked me to have to read so many pages of his thoughts and actions. And though she was much more badass than any of the other characters, for me Lisbeth Salander was problematic as well. I loved a lot of the things we learned about her prior to her teaming up with Blomkvist, and I think Larsson does a wonderful job making it clear why she is necessary and perhaps even the ideal person to help solve this case. However, her [SPOILER ALERT] subsequent romance with Blomkvist, and particularly the note the book concludes on, seem much too weak for such a previously strong character. The revelation that she thinks she's in love with Blomkvist is abrupt and fairly cliche, and it cast her too much in the mold of the typical female sidekick/love interest, which considering the compelling backstory and development of her character to that point, is a huge shame.
The mystery itself was my favorite part. I loved trying to keep track of all the Vanger family relatives and figure out who had committed the crime in this "locked-room" whodunit; it just felt very old school in a way, like this could have been a revamping of a nineteenth century Russian story, complete with an old manor and an almost unbelievably odd cast of characters. I was invested in the question of what had happened to Harriet (though my initial hypothesis did prove correct), and I enjoyed taking the journey with Blomkvist to uncover the past, even though I suspected how it might play out. I could have done without the last chunk of the book (which details the aftermath once the mystery has already been solved), but overall this was a pretty good read, and definitely a great way to ease into some of the denser reading I have planned for myself this summer.
I will probably read the two subsequent novels, but I think I'll read a few other things to sort of cleanse my palate in between. I am also very interested in taking a look at the film adaptations of this book, because I've heard nothing but rave reviews of the Swedish version, and of course I'm always intrigued to see what David Fincher (who is directing the American interpretation) has up his sleeve.
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