The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
"’The idea that Sweden’s economy is headed for a crash is nonsense,’ Blomkvist said.
‘You have to distinguish between two things-the Swedish economy and the Swedish stock market. The Swedish economy is the sum of all the goods and services that are produced in this country every day. There are telephones from Ericsson, cars from Volvo, chickens from Scan, and shipments from Kiruna to Skovde. That’s the Swedish economy, and it’s just as strong or weak today as it was a week ago.’
‘The Stock Exchange is something very different. There is no economy and no production of goods and services. There are only fantasies in which people from one hour to the next decide that this or that company is worth so many billions, more or less. It doesn’t have a thing to do with reality or with the Swedish economy.’"
Reading the foregoing, you’d think that "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is a political treatise, whereas ultimately it’s a thriller, wrapped up in a financial polemic.
I’ve been following this book for over a year. Sure, the title grabbed me, but the good reviews were what got me paying attention. But I didn’t dive in until I was on a long trip to Europe and went hog wild on Amazon, buying nine books just to be sure I was never without reading material that fit my mood.
"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" came second to last.
The best book was "Amy and Isabelle", by Elizabeth Strout. Not as good as "Olive Kitteridge", it still rang true at so many turns that I became endeared.
The Jonathan Tropper novels were entertaining.
The Tom Perrotta book, his latest, "The Abstinence Teacher", was almost terrible.
Be sure to read Jon Krakauer’s "Under The Banner Of Heaven". For the history of Mormonism, if nothing else. It’s the history of all religions, just much closer to today, and therefore better documented.
But the Krakauer book is not "Into Thin Air". It won’t keep you up all night reading, like "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".
Ultimately, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" can be considered a disappointment, because it descends into genre, into murder mystery, and this is such a let down from where you’ve come. Not only regarding the story of Mikael Blomkvist and his fuck buddy Erika Berger, but Lisbeth Salander, the title character.
The book is not about Salander. But your eyes will pop out when you read her story. A true rock star, Salander marches to the beat of her own drummer. She doesn’t believe in the police, she takes matters into her own hands. You don’t know anybody like this. But you want to. Not that she wants to know you, Lisbeth is a loner.
Until almost halfway through, you can’t put "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" down. The twists and turns of the parallel stories keep you riveted. Then, for a short while, the book slows down, then builds towards one climax, then two. The first one is somewhat disappointing, too far-fetched. But the second is the financial story.
You see Blomkvist went to jail. For speaking the truth about a financier. Well, then again, was it the truth?
Blomkvist is a servant to the truth. In a country where the financial reporters are enthralled with those they cover. Kind of like America. Would the course of history be different if Judith Miller had not been a groupie for the Bush Administration? If the "New York Times" had focused on the lack of evidence for the invasion of Iraq, would public sentiment have been different?
The public always catches up with the truth. Albeit a day late and a dollar short. Those in power don’t care about the truth, they just want to get paid. If their activities are shady or illegal, they just cover up, pay off those who might investigate, charm the Judith Millers of the world into submission.
In other words, the music industry might be fucked, but music will survive.
Just like the run-up on Wall Street is not being felt by the hoi polloi. We’re starving, and this fake money machine is throwing off profits for crooks.
What’s a citizen to do?
Read a good book.
And "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is a very good one. Sure, it’s translated from Swedish, and at times is a bit disjointed. And it’s not perfect. But it’s like a flawed concept album with ten out of twelve good tracks. The two that make the story hold together might be substandard, but the others are so good, they stand on their own.
Books have become a sideshow. Literature is written for few, and chick lit and genre-writing keeps the business alive. But when you get something unfettered, when an author reaches for something more, you get this warm feeling inside, you’re reading alone, but you feel like a citizen of Earth, like you truly belong, like you’re a member of the club.
Stieg Larsson wrote this book and died. And I’d like it better if the murder mystery wasn’t so dominant. But the characterizations are priceless. Not everybody wants to be famous, not everybody wants to be anointed a winner in the eyes of the media. It’s the lone wolf we’re truly enamored of. Salander’s a true outsider. But Blomkvist is too. They’re not winners, not tied in with corporations reaping millions, anything but. They’re people, living their lives, trying to hew to what’s right as opposed to what’s expedient.
I’ve revealed almost none of the plot. I want the book to unfold for you as it did for me. It’s a great ride. Take it.
