Vintage Mint

I suppose my visit to Sweden this past summer helped pique my interest enough for me to actually read Steig Larsson’s novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. [Or maybe because this book is EVERYWHERE.] Usually I don’t have free time to read, or read books (apparently I can only muster enough free time to “read” my 3 fashion magazine subscriptions each month), or let alone read a book that didn’t resemble anything I had read before or ever had an interest in reading (a story with grisly rapes? wrought with despicable and intense sexual violence against women? featuring a promiscuous gothic hacker-crimefighter? (way off, by the way) no thanks!). And a part of me tries to buck trends and not be swayed by whatever pop culture deems is “cool” or “now”. (I’m still holding out on Twitter…). So when this book, and it’s Swedish movie, gained massive buzz the past couple of years, I just tuned it out, well as much as possible.

But then comes the footage of David Fincher’s movie rendition of the book which looked hauntingly edgy with meticulous perfection in only a way Fincher could produce. Then I learned that the story revolved around a “locked-room” mystery and I had to know the ending, and so I picked up a copy of the book and read it vehemently, cover to cover, in 2 days. I read the book with more voracity than any other book.

The grisly subject matter and intense violence was almost too much. That was not an easy read. Several passages in the book are deeply unsettling. I definitely don’t see how people could label the book, or create a movie that portrays the heroine, Lisbeth Salander, as “sexy”. A poignantly accurate article in Ms. Magazine (see here) clarifies that Salander “is a survivor of multiple sexual assaults, her gritty appearance crafted to deter, not encourage, men’s advances.” And she is not a badass. She follows her own code of morals because that is all she knows. It’s Salander’s vulnerability within society and how she copes with being stigmatized that “won” me over. Although her lifestyle and circumstances are totally otherworldly, she is still a somewhat relatable character. And she’s smart and not cliche.

{I love Rooney Mara’s portrayal of Lisbeth — she’s perfect!}

Up next: The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.