The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm afraid this was my guilty pleasure. I don't usually read crime novels, and maybe I'm easily satisfied, but judging by how many people like Stieg Larsson's novels, I'm in a good and numerous company.

The story starts slowly and almost the whole first half of the book is lost on retelling bits from the first book, and Salander furnishing her new apartment, for which we are given a detailed list of IKEA furniture items, together with the unpronounceable names of the articles and price. It made me wonder if the author had a stake in IKEA, or just couldn't get over his student-days infatuation with cheap and non-durable furniture.

However, once people finally get killed, the story picks up. Like an old steam-engine locomotive, it starts to roll snail-like slow at first, but faster with every turned page. Of course, since there's the third book, it took away a lot of suspense over the main character getting killed. Still, although I knew she'll live to kick the hornets nest, I found Salander's solitary search for justice and vengeance holding my attention until the very last page.

If you manage to survive the numbingly slow first half, you may find yourself thoroughly enjoying the climax of a much better second half.

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