Bookish Review: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a lovely novel. The translation seems masterful--I haven't read the original French, but with most translations, I find myself noticing that it is a translation and wondering what the original was really like--this did not feel like that. The flap description is a little misleading, as you expect the new Japanese neighbor who is supposed to bring the two narrators (one a concierge in a French condo building and one a precocious little girl who lives there) together, but he does not appear until well into the novel. The book gives lovely insight into how difficult it is to truly see someone for who they really are.

The only thing that I didn't love about the novel is the ending--it seemed appropriately French, but the protagonist had just conquered an irrational fear she had been harboring for most of her life, and then the ending seemed to confirm that her fear was actually justified. Otherwise, a nice read.

Bookish Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

The 3rd book in Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy wraps up the story quite nicely. The book picks up exactly where the last one left off. Lisbeth has been shot, multiple times, and requires brain surgery. Micke is being questioned by incompetent police, and since Sapo is involved, the investigation is difficult, to say the least. Zala is still alive and Lisbeth's brother is on the run, and the police have no leads. The staff of Millennium are trying to wrap up Dag's story and prove Lisbeth's innocence (with Armansky's & Palmgren's help). With Erika leaving the staff, this is not easy, and Erika is having trouble of her own in her new job, including picking up an apparent stalker.

Micke gets yet another love interest in this one, and she is very quickly under his spell, as usual. The truth of Lisbeth's past comes out, and she actually gets some closure by the end.

Another exciting romp from Larsson--too bad it's the last one!

Bookish Review: The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a book for book lovers. Initially, it reminded me of InkHeart, but it is not quite a fantasy like that. The book opens with a book dealer taking his young son, Daniel, to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a repository for books that fell out of print, were destroyed, or forgotten. Some of the books here may be the only copies left of their respective tomes. Such is the case with The Shadow of the Wind. Daniel becomes obsessed with the book and its mysterious author, Julian Carax. The story follows Daniel as he grows up and persists in his quest to find what became of Carax, all the while unknowingly following in Carax's footsteps.

The book is a reader's journey and does have a few twists and turns along the way. Nicely executed. A recommended read.

Bookish Review: The Girl Who Played with Fire

This book is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I really thought I already reviewed on here, but it sure doesn't look like it. My short review on facebook was: "A little slow to start, but very interesting and a good read. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one." Make sure you read that one first, and then get your hands on this one.

Stieg Larsson tends to set up his books with many different characters and storylines going on so that when you start you wonder where the heck he is going with all of it and how it will fit together, bit somehow it all works. The pacing in the beginning is slow, but it picks up as the book goes on. He has created some very interesting characters, particularly the main characters of Mikael Blomkvist, a journalistic crusader and ladies' man, and Lisbeth Salander, an astonishingly smart but socially inept hacker that has been declared incompetent by the state (she's "the girl" in both titles). This book brings more insight into Salander's psychological make-up as we learn more about the past, including who her father is. The main plot of the book centers around human trafficking and the sex trade in Sweden. Blomkvist is working with an author who intends to write an expose on the situation, but when he is murdered, and Salander becomes the main suspect, it is up to Blomkvist to discover what is really going on. Meanwhile, Salander stumbles upon a link to her past that she would very much like to sever, and though she doesn't want to rely on Blomkvist at all, she must accept his aid, at least a little.

The book definitely leaves you wanting more and sets things up nicely for the final volume in the trilogy, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Larsson has a very interesting and compelling style and it is extremely unfortunate that he is now deceased, so these 3 books are presumably the only ones we'll see from him. Highly recommended.