You may have heard of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, which is actually part of the exciting trilogy called the Millennium Series. It follows the story involving a publishing company called Millennium, and the rebellious Lisbeth Salander who has hidden skills. Then you have Mikael Blomkvist who is an owner and journalist at Millennium, and establishes a unique relationship with Salander. Their relationship, along with many other key individuals, utilise their respective skill sets to uncover a series of crimes. This crime series by Stieg Larsson involves family secrets, murders, and possibly corruption within the police and government. It is made up of the following books, in order:
- ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
- ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’
- ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest’
Salander has not had the best luck throughout her life. In the first book, she gets involved in a family mystery which reveals traumatic events from her past. Then she is a major suspect in a murder, where there are conflicting opinions of her innocence. In the final book Larsson reveals her past, along with unanswered questions about her father, and uncovers the perpetrator of the murders. Larsson does a great job at making you want to read more after each page. He creates layers within the stories, with each book progressing into deeper and more complex plots.
It’s important to note that these books were originally written in Swedish and are set in Sweden. The translator has done a great job at interpreting the original text, with the use of sophisticated words to create a vivid understanding of the situation. In saying that, some of the translations came across as peculiar, most likely due to a misunderstanding of cultural lingo (If you are interested, my experience of reading in another language is described in ‘Are Oompa Loompas the Same in Spanish and English?‘). There were also many specific cities or locations mentioned within Sweden which I did not know of, which may have resulted in losing some context to the story.
With some eye-opening themes, these books expose the violence and abuse that women unfortunately face. The plots reveal pervasive injustices in society and advocates for women’s rights. Along with these themes, Larsson does a great job at tying in the plots to relevant geopolitical events of the time. While this crime series leaves you to piece together a puzzle, it also leaves thought for these issues.
After Larsson’s death in 2004, David Lagercrantz decided to continue the series with a further three books which I am yet to read. But all in all, these books do what every crime series should, they keep you on edge, and keep you wondering who did what, encouraging your inner detective. I am certain that the books will keep you up at night wanting to know what happens next.
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Books for Thought 