Friday, March 2, 2012

The works of Stieg

I just kinda finished the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson; I say kinda because I'm on page 698 and I don't really care to find out what happens between Gibraltar and Stockholm. The series was great. It was the first time I'd delved into the world of crime novels and this was the perfect one to start with. I could think of no flaws in this book save one. But I'll get to that later. I loved the strength of the women within the books,which in the third book, coincides with the theme of the legendary Amazons. I think was paramount because all of the books focused on crimes committed against women by men. Crimes against women is such a broad topic; it can range from rape to harassment to being labelled as emotional. The key difference lies in the distinction between physical and mental crimes; the latter of which is much harder to prove.

My main issue with Larsson's classic is the need to create this superfluous male protagonist. Mikael Blomkvist is so obviously the creation of a man. Why else would he be so smart, so sexually appealing to a variety of different but strong women, even though, according to Larsson, he's nothing particularly special. I don't get the sense that he's unattractive, but he's not Brad Pitt is my point. I think that Blomkvist represents what a man of Larsson's calibre finds attractive in other men. And it is at this point and only on the point that I find Larsson utterly predictable and annoying beyond belief. There is nothing attractive about a man who fucks around with anyone that catches his eye and refuses to commit. The thing that bugs me even more is that with both of his two major trists, (first with the dragon lady herself Salander, and then with the SIS agent Figuerola) you witnessed these women, these Amazons throwing themselves at this... guy.

Alas I could go on for quite a bit about this but I have a guesthouse to clean. Aside from that guy this is an amazing book that needs to be read by everyone that reads in the world.

It is his legacy.

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