Yonas

Many years ago, I watched the American film adaptation of this novel (I can't believe 2011 can be described as “many years ago” wtf). Either a blessing or a curse, I have the absolute worst memory when it comes to remembering what happened in films that I've watched. So when I saw this book for sale for $1 at my local library's book stand, I immediately pounced on it and saw an opportunity to dive into this story completely fresh. It was the best $1 I've spent in a really long time.

The book ebbs and flows at the perfect cadence between intense can't-put-this-down suspense and valleys of mundanity, but even the “slow” parts weren't so bad as to be painful to get through. The characters are all unique and have vibrant, interesting personalities and steady story arcs. The story itself is akin to binary stars that orbit a common center of gravity: there are two major plot lines that seem unrelated, and slowly draw each other closer in throughout the book, until they smash together fantastically toward the end.

This was very close to a perfect crime novel, but misses the mark in a few key ways. I'll only discuss one, which frustrated me a lot more than I thought it would: the fact that the two protagonists, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, had a sexual relationship. If a reader hypothetically dove into this book without knowing anything about the author, then this is the part of the book that they would reach and immediately proclaim, “Ah. So this was written by a man.” The sexual relationship between Blomkvist and Salander is so wildly unrealistic because of how it started and how it persisted (all of which was at the behest of Salander), especially given the massive schism in their backgrounds and personalities. The relationship felt shoehorned into the story, I'm assuming to capture and keep the reader's continued interest, but it was unnecessary, given that the story itself was plenty fascinating. I absolutely hate that there was so much wholesome potential between these two characters and it got completely ruined by the author's overactive imagination. As such, I wanted to dock 1.5 stars off of my rating, but Goodreads doesn't do half-stars, so I'm feeling generous. I give the book 4/5, and it's definitely worth reading. I've already committed to reading the second book in the Millennium series, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and I will decide from there whether or not to continue on.

First and foremost, this book was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I wasn't expecting to learn so many deeply personal secrets about Stephen King, but I did. I also learned that he has a tremendous sense of humor! Be aware that the book is about how to write good fiction. Although King delves a bit into nonfiction, don't expect to learn much in that realm. I will say that a lot of the advice is interchangeable. Worth a read.

Never have I read something so depressing and frightening. I must say that there were several times when I wanted to quit reading this book, but I couldn't get myself to put it down. The bizarre world that Kafka created for K. sucked me in. I found myself feeling so sorry for him that I had to continue, if only to discover the outcome of his fate.

On multiple occasions you'll double over with laughter and at the same time your heart will break. This is a literary gem that encompasses a very specific side of the human experience. Can't recommend it highly enough.

I'm not typically into the fantasy genre, but this book is just so excellently written that it had me captivated from start to finish. Gaiman doesn't try to get overly complicated or clever with his prose; he keeps it simple. Ultimately, it's the storytelling that matters, and this is a masterfully told story.