For the January 13, 2015 Meeting
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Steig Larsson (672 pages)
With its rich characterizations and intriguing plot, the first book of
the late Stieg Larsson's completed trilogy, involving disgraced Swedish
journalist-publisher Mikael Blomkvist and the eponymous, pierced and
tattooed, emotionally troubled young hacker-investigator Lisbeth
Salander, clearly deserves the acclaim it's received overseas. Martin
Wenner's almost indifferent, British-accented narration would seem an
odd choice for a novel filled with passion, sex and violence, but as the
oddly coupled Blomkvist and Salander probe the four-decade-old
disappearance of Harriet Vanger, heiress to one of Sweden's wealthiest
clans, the objective approach actually accentuates the extreme behavior
of both and the strange subjects of their investigation. Wenner's calm,
controlled manner aids the listener in keeping track of the numerous
members of the Vanger family, a task that the printed book simplifies
with a reference page.