The Eye of the Tiger

This is going to be my (I hope) long-waited review of Stieg Larsson's third volume of the Millenium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. (You can find my posts about the prequels here: vol. I. http://virezma.blogspot.com/2010/11/dream-little-dream-of-me.html; vol. II. http://virezma.blogspot.com/2011/03/theres-killer-on-road.html.)

The copy I've read has a very powerful image on the cover though it's not something genuine. It shows the protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, in the shadow, with the right side of her face practically dark. I can't decide if it's from one of the film versions because there is so much make-up on the girl. Nevertheless, I really like this picture. Her gaze is so compelling. It attracts our gaze. She is both a watcher and being watched. And her facial expression is so complex. One cannot decide if she feels hatred, vengeance, disgust, or indifference, but I feel that I have to reply to this challanging gaze somehow.
After the somewhat disappointing and way too long second volume I found the third one positively worthy of reading; almost hundred percent adrenalin rush throughout the book. I still like the characters Salander and Blomkvist very much and I also started to imagine that if Blomkvist existed I might read his exposés. (Though I have to admit that I'm not really into national politics, at least when it comes to our nation.)
As you may remember, the protagonist is Lisbeth Salander, a skinny, tattood and pierced girl. She has had a nightmare of a childhood with an ex-Soviet spy mafia leader of a father repeatedly abusing her mother, an alleged prostitute. Lisbeth is asocial and under guardianship, which means that legally she has the status of a child, and cannot make decisions, e.g. withdraw money from her account, etc. without the consent of her guardian. She is both a victim and a fighter, with the knowledge of a world's top ten hacker, miraculous kickbox movements, possession of several illegal weapons, and a bunch of tricks up her sleeve. In the second volume she was wanted for three murders. Then she was shot in the hip, in the shoulder, and in the head, and buried alive. (Actually I don't like this surrealistic element on the plot. Besides, it seems to be borrowed from Tarantino's Kill Bill.) She spends most of the third volume in hospital.

In the meantime the media playboy Blomkvist is running an investigation on a secret section of Säpo, the Swedish Security Police, to back up Salander and expose the people who are trying hard to do away with her. It turns out that all kinds of figures are involved from retired witchhunters with mortal illnesses to Yugo hit men and phedophile psychiatrists. They do not refrain from any kind of crude or stupid act, such as placing cocaine to Blomkvist's condo, which he very cleverly videotapes and uses as evidence against the Section. Of course sex cannot be left out of this volume either. As usual, Blomkvist is fucking around shamelessly, this time with a blond bodybuilder femme fatale, who happens to be an employee of Säpo herself and falls in love with the notoriously unfaithful journalist.
There are some parts that I don't much like in the book. For example, I still don't understand why it has to be full of people; and why on earth do we need a biography of them all? (I could compare it to a García Marquez novel only but at least there are family trees provided in those.) How am I supposed to remember the difference between Jonas and Jonasson, Martensson and Magnusson, Holm and Holmberg, Nieminen and Niedermann and so on? Plus in some cases I cannot even remember if they are men or women. With names like Erika or Monica it's O.K. but what about Ragnhild?
I have some moral concerns as well. After all, Lisbeth is not innocent. For one, she's a hacker. Secondly, she has made her fortune by stealing a huge amount of money in the first volume. Lastly, even though she doesn't kill anyone, she is playing with the thought regarding several bad guys, and she comes up with such cruel ideas as nailing feet to the floor and throwing axes. Are we expected to feel glad that she's walking free?
Finally, I honestly do not get the point of random sex in the plot. Those who have sort of normal sexual life are not represented at all. We have here gays, lesbians, bis, that's sort of normal. But why does Berger, editor.in-chief of a prominent newspaper have a video of shagging with two men simultaneously? Why do Miriam and Lisbeth play with ropes in leather stuff? And why on earth does she practically throw herself on a German businessman on holiday as if desperate? Not to mention my disbelief that each and every time a woman comes up in the story she feels the urge to have sex with Blomkvist. Then why didn't they choose a bit sexier actor for this role? I don't think I'd fall for Swedish guys, though I don't think I know any of them besides the members of Abba. (In the American version Daniel Craig is going to play Blomkvist but that doesn't make a difference for me.)
What I like in the plot is the constant change of events both on the good guys' side and on the bad guys' side. Besides, I really appreciated the trial scene. I am simply fascinated by briliant logic and verbal contests, especially if a woman outperforms a man. (Not that it's so rare.)
I've found one more weakness, or at least I put a question mark here. Why do all the pety criminals have to be of Eastern European origin? Trafficking, slave trade, prostitution, so on and so forth. It's like in old Uncle Sam versus USSR action movies (or today perhaps Westerner versus Far Eastern in American terms.)

I don't know much about the author but in my mind I think of him as an alterego of Blomkvist. A clever and courageous journalist who likes good sex. And I assume he is well-read in a number of subjects, like Salander. For example I really liked the forewords about Amazon tribes (in vol. II. the topic was Fermat's theorem.) Unfortunately he hasn't lived to see the success of his trilogy, which according to my source he has planned a series of ten books. As I recall there is a fourth volume more or less finished but the family won't let Larsson's partner finish and publish it.
Anyway, if you liked the first two volumes, and/or don't want to sleep much in the coming days, I suggest that you read it.