The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

[Galactus]

Swedes drink a LOT of coffee. IIRC, we're one of the world's largest per-capita consumers.

[devotee]

Wish they'd let Hollywood/American actors do it, but I still enjoyed it.

They are

[Guest Raidne]

Many readers have made fun of the coffee obsession.

Stieg Larsson was a huge caffeine addict, and apparently he very rarely ate real food, only sandwiches with lots and lots of coffee. When he was writing this, he probably unconsciously put himself in the place of the characters and thought: "I'd have liked a cup of coffee in this situation."

That's funny. I definitely was like "what is up with all the freaking sandwiches?" but I didn't notice the coffee drinking.

[Kat]

That's funny. I definitely was like "what is up with all the freaking sandwiches?" but I didn't notice the coffee drinking.

As a non-coffee-drinker, I definitely noticed the coffee, mainly because repetitive elements like that are more noticeable when you're listening to an audiobook.

But I think I had also decided that was one of my own personal stereotypes about Scandinavians. When I went to Sweden I was constantly being offered coffee, and I read this Icelandic novel where characters had the same coffee habit.

That, and the unrelenting bleakness. I've read a handful of other Scandinavian mysteries by various authors before this (Swedish and Icelandic) and I think it says a lot that this was actually one of the cheerier examples of the genre, because Blomqvist doesn't, say, sit around on Christmas Eve alternately drinking coffee and vodka, alone in his apartment, thinking about how his daughter and ex-wife both hate him, or something equally depressing. Sure, Salander's got family issues, but her thoughts tend more toward revenge or apathy rather than bleakness. And yeah, detectives in American mysteries also sometimes have fucked up lives, but the attitude, on average, seems less depressing.

If I didn't know actual Swedes, reading the books would probably have totally put me off wanting to interact with any. <_<

ETA: Mandy, you may feel otherwise about the American remakes when you find out that they may be having all the actors speak with Swedish accents. :uhoh:

[Guest Raidne]

Really? Reading these books, even with all their flaws, made we want to move to Sweden. Even in a series about deep government corruption, I still thought the Swedish government was incomparably less screwed up than mine. I mean, seriously, there is a section of the government devoted to policing the constitutionality of everyone else's actions? For realz? That just makes too much sense to be true.

[Kymeera]

I read the first book a few months ago due to a glowing recommendation from someone I trust, but it didn't really do much for me. It was ok, but didn't really draw me in like I was expecting due to all the hype. I did enjoy the setting because I'm used to reading US-centric stories, so it felt like a sort of vacation with a local tour guide. Also, tossing in Nazis will instantly make a story more interesting. That said, I thought the book was hugely overrated and won't be picking up the rest in the series.

Most of the complaints I have about the book were already brought up, except for one. The random product placement got to me. Maybe it's because I usually read fantasy/sci-fi where you won't see it, but it seemed jarring when, for instance, he'd go into the brand and specs of the computer someone just bought. I felt like my book just went to a commercial break.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

Most of the complaints I have about the book were already brought up, except for one. The random product placement got to me. Maybe it's because I usually read fantasy/sci-fi where you won't see it, but it seemed jarring when, for instance, he'd go into the brand and specs of the computer someone just bought. I felt like my book just went to a commercial break.

You obviously haven't read enough cyberpunk.

[Kat]

Really? Reading these books, even with all their flaws, made we want to move to Sweden. Even in a series about deep government corruption, I still thought the Swedish government was incomparably less screwed up than mine. I mean, seriously, there is a section of the government devoted to policing the constitutionality of everyone else's actions? For realz? That just makes too much sense to be true.

Well, yeah, there's that. (Although IIRC, in the third book, the author compared Sweden to the US....and thought the US came out looking better, so I guess the grass is always greener.

I did say this book was less bleak than others I've read, and I did think to myself, "You know, if I were shot in the head and spent almost an entire book in the hospital, I would be thinking that maybe it'd be cheaper for me to just die and not have to deal with the medical bills, sure would be nice to be Swedish." But sitting here with my socialist-leaning sympathies, I get annoyed when I see characters constantly have bleak lives when, you know, they have a nice, functional state government including basics like health care and education.

I hear that there are a ridiculous number of Swedish mysteries, per capita. Maybe only the bleak ones get translated into English. Recently on two PBS stations they have been showing the BBC and Swedish TV productions of the Henning Mankell Wallander books. I haven't actually read any of the books, granted, but the BBC versions were pretty fucking bleak. And then I saw the Swedish ones, which are even moreso, which I didn't think was even possible.

But like I've said, I've met a lot of Swedes and people who have lived there, and none of them have been as depressing as their fictional counterparts.

[Nous]

I liked these a lot. The competence of Salander and Blomkvist didn't bother me; the Sue charge is overused, and not a big deal even when true.

One of the things that got kind of old was the whole "men who hate women"-schtick. By the third book, I got to wanting some variety in the negative characters.

[Bana]

I could not get past page 30. *sigh* I did try

[Lyanna Stark]

I hear that there are a ridiculous number of Swedish mysteries, per capita. Maybe only the bleak ones get translated into English. Recently on two PBS stations they have been showing the BBC and Swedish TV productions of the Henning Mankell Wallander books. I haven't actually read any of the books, granted, but the BBC versions were pretty fucking bleak. And then I saw the Swedish ones, which are even moreso, which I didn't think was even possible.

Happy go lucky literature is, or at least WAS, seen as inherently bad in Sweden for many, many years. You will find very few jolly pieces in the Swedish literature history, for certain.

What can I say? Sweden does bleakness well. It's like a part of our national consciousness. Don't think the other Scandinavian countries are really different here either, although I've got the impression that Sweden puts it on a pedestal more than other countries.

I actually really like the BBC version of Mankell just because it captures the atmosphere of the original really well. The only thing that irked me was how some names were pronounced basically completely correct, while others were butchered, for no apparent reason.

As for an American remake of "Men who hate women". Eh. I don't think they will get the Swedishness right. If it's made in Hollywood and by Hollywood, I doubt they can.

[Swordfish]

I had to stop reading when

His previously unmentioned (or barely mentioned) daughter randomly showed up in a drive by to solve the mystery out of the blue.

[Andriy Czarchenko]

What can I say? Sweden does bleakness well. It's like a part of our national consciousness. Don't think the other Scandinavian countries are really different here either, although I've got the impression that Sweden puts it on a pedestal more than other countries.

I´m sure that Finnish newspapers would come up with ways that show we´re not even able to be #1 on that list.

[Lyanna Stark]

I´m sure that Finnish newspapers would come up with ways that show we´re not even able to be #1 on that list.

:lol:

Very likely. I think it's slightly perverse myself, this fondness of misery, but then I am not cultured enough to understand it, I guess. :P

[Guest Raidne]

As for an American remake of "Men who hate women". Eh. I don't think they will get the Swedishness right. If it's made in Hollywood and by Hollywood, I doubt they can.

Probably not. But I have to say, I do like the title "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" better than "Men Who Hate Women."

I had to stop reading when

His previously unmentioned (or barely mentioned) daughter randomly showed up in a drive by to solve the mystery out of the blue.

I don't even remember that.

[Swordfish]

Probably not. But I have to say, I do like the title "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" better than "Men Who Hate Women."

I don't even remember that.

She basically drops by the cottage out of the blue, they have a five minute conversation, and as she's leaving, she points out in passing that the numbers with the initials that they thought were phone numbers were actually bible verses because she saw them written on the wall.

That wasn't the only point at which I couldn't maintain my suspension of disbelief, it was more like the last straw.

[Guest Raidne]

Oh yeah, that's right. Ha.

It gets so much worse over the next two books, seriously.

[Galactus]

Probably not. But I have to say, I do like the title "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" better than "Men Who Hate Women."

It flows better in swedish.

[Swordfish]

Oh yeah, that's right. Ha.

It gets so much worse over the next two books, seriously.

I will take your word for it!

Question, is the movie any better? I'm tempted to watch the movie just as an experiment in comparison, and to see if any of the assumptions I made are correct/.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

It flows better in swedish.

No. It really doesn't, actually.