Stuck In The Middle with Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire Stieg Larsson

I am a sucker for a good procedural drama. Bones, House, The Mentalist, CSI:Anything,  all those Law and Order Whatevers, I am all over them. The Boyfriend and I play “who can figure it out first” and “spot the famous guest star who must be the murderer” as we watch. For the most part, I tend to figure them out about half way through. It’s not that hard really,they tend to be pretty predictable.

I wonder if this foundation is why The Girl Who Played with Fire fell a little flat for me. I was not that thrilled or suspended (suspensed?) which is what I would expect from the thrilling suspense novel everyone claims it to be.  All the twists and turns were fairly obvious and the big reveal moments just left me thinking, “Well, yeah, didn’t we all figure that out already?”

Maybe all my police drama viewing has left me jaded. Or maybe I was just not that interested in the story. The central murder mystery seemed like an excuse to bring back Lisbeth and Mikael, not like a valid story of its own. I didn’t really know Dag and Mia, so I was not that invested in finding their murder. I did get some answers about Lisbeth’s past that were annoying me from the first book. But even her story felt like just another voice in an already crowded room.

Larsson  tends to spend a lot of time on little details that end up not meaning much. This adds an element of mimesis I guess, giving us as readers a real entry into the world of the novel. But a lot of time was spent on peripheral characters whose stories were left abruptly unfinished. And we spend a ton of time getting to a conclusion that gives no real pay off. I mean, that’s it? That’s how you end? Not that impressed. The book reminds me of an octopus – lots of hands in lots of place with no real focus and point.

I remember when the second Lord of the Rings movie came out (yeah, I just did that. Don’t judge me) people were complaining that it felt like the middle of a longer movie, not its own stand alone element. I have a feeling this is what The Girl Who Played with Fire is since it is the second of a trilogy. Reading it, especially as I came to the end, I felt like there was so much left to say and do, and like I was watching a season ending cliff hanger. Problem is, I am not that sure I want to figure out what happens.  I mean, I am sure I will read the third novel, but just to alleviate my OCD need to find out how it all ends.