Ever since the movie based on the Stieg Larsson books, starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was announced, I began to read the series that originally became a sensation in 2004 with its publication, and then in 2006 when it received numerous awards and fans throughout Europe and in America. This series, which contains two other books The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, follows two main characters throughout their lives and simultaneous journeys and challenges. With these two characters, several different controversial issues are analyzed and broken down in order to shed light upon them to the reader.
This phenomena can first be observed in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander work together in order to find a missing family member of a noted clan in Sweden. However, in doing this, Blomkvist and Salander undercover dirty secrets of the family that pertain to affiliations some family members had to organizations that promoted illegal, malicious activity including murder and torture. For this reason, the reader has to be ready to be exposed to graphic details, but I will attest that the edgy material is enthralling because the resolution of the conflict is what becomes the ultimate desire for the reader and thus the reader is compelled to continue and finish the book.
Another element that acts as an alluring component for the reader is the development of the character's relationships throughout the book. As the characters are introduced and followed by the reader, there becomes a relationship developed between not only between the characters within the story, but also between the characters and the reader because you begin to root for different characters while wishing others only malicious ends. In my opinion this is what categorizes an excellent novel. Once the reader becomes that attached to the story, a deeper connection is made between the reader and the fictional world of the book. This is what all books aim for but few succeed at accomplishing.
The plot from the first book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo continues throughout the last two novels The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. These books continue to follow Salander and Blomkvist in their ever developing, and increasingly turbulent, lives. The plot introduces not only new characters, but also mind blowing new issues that will keep the pages turning and the reader interested. Once The Girl Who Played with Fire is started you will be starting a literary journey that can only be resolved by finishing all three books of the series. At times the story will seem extremely long and drawn out because the books are about 600 pages long each, but if you enjoy a thrilling story, then reading these novels will be enjoyable in the end. Additionally, the book will keep you guessing. One thing I can say is that the plot throughout this series is not by any means predictable.
By the end of this series, each reader will become an investigator due to the plot contents and development. It teaches the audience how to look at each situation they are put in with a critical perspective. This is a lesson that not everyone is taught and which I think is necessary for a mature outlook in life. So go out and buy the Larsson novel and movie adaption and grow even further from the shocking truths Salander and Blomkvist reveal.
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