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SETTING: December 2004 to April 2005 (the years are a guess based off of the timeline from the first book and details from this book); St. Georges, Grenada and Stockholm, Sweden.
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SUMMARY: After the harrowing experience surrounding the Wennerstrom affair, Lisbeth Salander cuts off all ties and makes an attempt at creating a completely isolated life. Things start going awry, however, when a hit is placed on her by a disgusting, sadistic man she is blackmailing (with good cause). In the meantime, Mikael Blomkvist finds himself intertwined in a sex trafficking investigation that once again brings him into a partnership with Salander.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "The girl lifted her coffee cup and took a sip without releasing him from her gaze. Her eyes had no warmth at all. He suddenly felt vaguely uneasy." - Chapter 11, page 211.
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If you'd like to read my review of the first book (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), here you go: http://artemisiaeupraxia.blogspot.com/2012/06/11-girl-with-dragon-tattoo.html.
I finally got a hold of this book thanks to one of my classmates! YAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!! I'm about four months overdue in reading the second book in this trilogy, but, to use the cliched phrase, better late than never! I actually finished reading it about a week and a half ago, but life happened and I found myself with time to write this review today. I read the first 200 pages in two days, and the next 430 pages on the third day. This bit of information in itself should attest to the awesomeness of this book. And with that spoiler (although I'm sure you've already guessed this will be a positive review), let's begin the lists!
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Things I liked about this book:
- Kick ass female protagonist! Lisbeth Salander is slightly more awesome (which I didn't think was even possible...) in this book, but only because you see her character grow. You're able to follow how the events she experienced and the lessons she learned in the first book have influenced her personality, thoughts, and morals.
- Action packed storyline! Well, once you reach page 201. It's a kapow! followed by a BAM! and another BAM! and much more!
- How easily Salander can transform into a "normal" person (i.e. society's image of a normal person: no extraneous tattoos or piercings, dresses conventionally, etc.).
- The chapter divisions.
- The strange way the author ties math into the story.
- Paolo Roberto! A former professional boxer who plays a pretty major role in the story. The integration of this seemingly random character was pretty awesome.
- There is no actual ending to this book. The second and third books are really a single, continuous story. They could have been published as one, but most people (myself included) would be intimidated by a 1200+ page novel. Luckily my classmate gave me the third book along with the second, otherwise I would have been really upset after finishing the second one because there's isn't much closure when you reach page 630.
- The beginning, just like the first book, is reeeeaalllyyy slow. Which is why it took me two days to read the first 200 pages, and one day to finish off the remaining 430 pages.
- How the bad episode/occurrence/experience in Salander's life is called "All the Evil." The author could have created a more interesting label.
- Hans Faste, the sexist police officer working to track Salander. SUPER annoyed me. But with that being said, the author did an incredible job creating a horribly sexist character that you can't help but dislike.
I enjoyed this book very much, and would have probably finished the third one by now if I didn't have to study and if I decided to be antisocial. But I do have to study and I like being social so it may take me a while to finish the third book. This review feels somewhat incomplete, and that's probably because the story isn't over! After finishing the last book, I'll do a better analysis. Promise.
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Recommend? YES!!!
