The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell [4-volume set]

So, I am much taken with Orwell's writing, and have been for decades. I come back to these essays time and again and actually wore out the box set I bought back in the early 1970s. Now I have bought a newer set and begun reading them. Quite a variety, all written clearly; quite a lot of thought and emotion, some of it insightful, some not so insightful. All Orwell. Reread all four volumes during the pandemic and I am increasingly sure that Orwell was a truly great essayist and reviewer. After reading his diaries, I see even more clearly that he was a man of principle and integrity, fearlessly dedicated to the truth as he saw it, so much so that he corrects himself a number of times over the course of the years he wrote essays and show more journalism. show less

I didn't know what to expect in diving into this much-hyped little blockbuster of a novel, but I did not expect superhero fiction.

I would very much argue, though, that this is what I got: superhero fiction disguised as Scandinavian noir, a decent quality prose comic book (I imagine the panel design in my head as very jagged and irregular).

The titular Girl, Lisbeth Salander, comes off as a good take on what a real life Millerian Batman might actually be like, how one might come to be. She has none of Bruce Wayne's advantages (all of which struck me as just a little far fetched, even for a superhero comic, sorry) but all of the Dark Knight's near-sociopathy and demented power -- all packed into a tiny, helpless-looking frame. I certainly show more wouldn't want to mess with her.

Here this real life, badass Batgirl -- hacker, dogged researcher, tightly wound coilspring of menace and violence -- is turned loose in a satisfyingly intricate mystery story, paired with an ace financial reporter recovering from being badly outmaneuvered by his nemesis and set to tracking down what starts as a baffling disappeared girl case but turns out a kitchen sink of villainy. It's almost over the top, or would be if the mystery and the revelations were in any way the point. But they aren't. The point is the Girl, duh. And it's all a unique chance for her to shine. And whale at a bad guy with a golf club. And set up a hell of a round of techno-financial dominoes to dump every tile on the other bad guy's head. Like I said, I wouldn't want to mess with her.

But I feel like she sure as hell messed with me. Reading her first chronicle is a disorienting experience, starting off as an agonizingly slow burn as the reporter is set on the task of tracking down the missing girl and weirdly intercutting shocking scenes from Lisbeth's uncomfortable life, sometimes transitioning in mid-paragraph without warning. I can see why many readers admire this trick -- it conveys the simultaneity very well, and takes a good stab at blending thematic elements in the reader's head rather than in the text itself, the way George Seurat's pointilism creates new shades of color in the viewer's eye via principles of optical mixing -- but I often found it jarring and annoying.

Maybe that's the point, though.

In closing, I must say that I'm definitely developing a taste for Scandinavian noir. I've long fancied the region (especially Iceland) and its cinema, and now find myself wanting to read, well, perhaps some of the very crime fiction with which the reporter beguiles his leisure hours.

But I've also been given a good list of other examples, particularly of Icelandic crime writers, by a Twitter friend.

The new year may prove dark, cold and crime-y. Which is fine. show less

Several years ago, I watched both film adaptations of Stieg Larsson's book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I loved them. It was only natural that at that point, I told myself I would read the book. As all bibliophiles like myself know our to-be-read piles are constantly growing, and sometimes we tend to add books to it faster than we'll ever read them. The result of that is, ultimately, we don't get around to the books we really want to read, because there are just too many of them. That was precisely the case with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo until I found it at one of my local thrift stores. It might have been the library too, I really don't recall. I do know that I paid no more than a dollar for my copy, and it is show more undoubtedly the best dollar I have ever spent.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an utterly enthralling crime thriller, centered around Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist convicted of libel, Lisbeth Salander, a ward of the government with a penchant for hacking, and the age-old mystery of what happened to Harriet Vanger: a daughter of the prominent Vanger family that went missing in 1966 and is presumed to have been murdered. Filled to the brim with corporate corruption, misogynistic views, and sharp twists that could not be done justice by the films, Larsson has undoubtedly woven a masterpiece - one that I was unable to put down until the last page was read. I mean that quite literally, as I didn't go to bed until after five this morning.

It's not very often that a book snares me so strongly that I cannot stop myself from turning its pages, and the way in which this one sunk its claws into me has not happened in a very, very long time. The plot is complicated and filled with dead ends, but every single bit of information is also vital to the progression of the story. At first read, that might sound a bit contradictory, and in a way it truly is. When Blomkvist is hired by the aging Henrik Vanger to look into Harriet's disappearance, he is given a cold case with no open leads. Each and every time he finds something promising, it fails to work out. In many cases, this is not an easy style to pull off. Other books that have created this sense of hopelessness have largely succeeded in boring me half to death, and in some cases I've dropped them.

When it comes to the characters in a book, the way in which they are written can easily make or break the story. Extreme distaste, in some cases, can lead to difficulty in finishing a book for some readers, while others loath the so-called "Mary Sue" character. In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Larsson's characters are part of relationships that are largely unconventional, especially to the mind of a girl raised in the conservative Southern United States and. The interaction that results from these relationships help to drive the story forward by not only introducing the reader to a wide range of characters, but by also providing those characters, some of which are deeply flawed, with an impressive amount of depth.

While some of the content is, without a doubt, sensitive material for some readers, Larsson also uses The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as an opportunity to highlight statistics on sexual assault in Sweden, and for that I must give him props. Even in America, there is a lack of seriousness when it comes to allegations of rape and, more recently, things tend to get brushed under the rug, for lack of a better term, if the perpetrator of the crime has any reputation that could be deemed worthwhile. It is a disgusting, dehumanizing way of treating a very real issue, and Larsson hones in on this while simultaneously creating a very strong, independent heroine that readers like myself can relate to, sometimes unfortunately so.

The next book is definitely on my to-read list, but I don't know when I'll get around to it. Hopefully, I'll be fortunate enough to cross it on one of my thrift-shopping trips. It was most definitely worth my sleepless night. show less

I don't normally choose books of this genre, but I'm glad I did this time. I used to read Ludlum 25 years ago; have read Clive Cussler off and on for 20 years, but those are the closest I guess I've read, and they aren't really close. I had heard of Stieg Larsson's story (life story) on a Diane Rehm show a couple of months back. I even caught a bit of the Swedish movie based on the book last year (why is Hollywood remaking a 2009 movie? isn't there a rule that at least some time has to pass?). So, I decided to check out the first of the trilogy.

The very specific Swedish references could make it a chore for anyone (including me) not familiar with the geography, periodicals, politics...or one could just read it without googling everything show more (I caught on to that after the first day.) I had a real problem with the very odd specifics that Larsson worked into the novel - unnecessary, and to me amateurish (Cussler does some similar things): incredible detail as to floor plans, room dimensions, etc.; equally incredible detail on laptop computers; and a particular annoyance for me...brand name dropping that seems contrived, like naming contemporary books and authors the main character decided to read when he took a break (Stephen King bugged me when he used to drop stuff like that into his formulaics...so-and-so ate a bowl of Wheaties...I haven't read King in 27 years)

Despite some style annoyances, the book drew me in and it became a page-turner toward the end. I will probably read the other two someday sooner than later, and watch the Swedish movie versions but not the American one (they released all three in 2009...something I did not know until today).

Four stars because of the annoyances, but recommended. show less

Macabre thriller is plotted with complicatedly detailed subplots that range from investigations into financial corruption, serial murders of women, and Nazism in Swedish history. The central mystery of a vanished girl from an isolated island unfolds into a labyrinthine story that holds the reader's interest thanks in no small part to creepy plot twists, Larsson's intriguing procedural descriptions and the dynamic duo of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salendar. Larsson inventively mixes the murder-room mysteries of Agatha Christie with the modern serial killer thrillers of Thomas Harris with great success. Larsson's greater theme seems to be an overwhelming misogyny that lingers in the roots of Swedish society. In comparison to the movie, show more I have to admit to liking the movie's streamlining of the story better then some of the plotting in the book, but the novel's finale is much messier and more realistic then the movie. show less

I really wanted to give this book 4 stars, because the writing is excellent, however it lacked so much in the beginning, I just can't give it the same rating I give my favorites.

The beginning of this book is so jammed with facts, backstory, and narrative that I nearly threw it. IF not for the strong recommendations and reassurances from friends that the story picked up, I'd have just tossed it and forgotten it. About mid-way through, it was like I was reading a completely different book. The pace picked up dramatically and suddenly I gave a shit about the characters. For about 200 pages I had no strong feeling for any character, so it was a huge difference.

I sped through the last half, but stumbled here and there over the dialogue. show more Sorry, for those who loved this book, but the dialogue was really unnatural in spots. I'm a big fan of dialogue and one of the ways to really annoy me as a reader is to have shitty dialogue. I wouldn't say it was shitty in this book, but it definitely lagged in spots.

As I neared the ending, I understood why Larsson had so much information crammed into the beginning. The plotting of this story was amazing. The twists and foreshadowing were slipped in so that they were barely noticed until the final pages. However, I wonder if this could have been done without the dumping in the first pages. I don't know. I definitely would have trouble with a plot like this, so perhaps those who know better will say he wrote it the only way it could have been written.

I do recommend this book. When it picks up, it blows you away. Just hang on tight through the first half. Do NOT skip it though or you'll be lost. If you can't handle all the math/financial/historical information, then this isn't for you. show less

I really enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the story disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, hired to investigate a prominent Swedish family, the Vangers, and the mysterious disappearance/death of a little girl, Harriet Vanger, 40 years ago.

He ends up working with a young female hacker-extroardinaire who has SERIOUS emotional baggage, and together they uncover clues that the police missed all those years ago, and find out some pretty damning family secrets.

Lisbeth Salander is badass. I loved her in this - she is now a favorite female lead character of mine. Larsson developed her character so much that I'll be surely reading the other two books in this series to see how she progresses and comes out of her dark, exterior shell... show more but hopefully doesn't lose her edginess and fearlessness in the process.

Steig Larsson is pretty twisted and disturbed, and I'm pretty sure he was a misogynist. But, this book is genius and I think it deserves 5 Stars. show less