What did you think of the overall book?

WARNING: Don't read this if you haven't finished the book. Spoilers!!! I said I'd come up with some questions about the entire book, so here goes. I won't duplicate what Kayla asked in the Rockstars That Finished the Book thread, so don't forget to jump over there as well, if you haven't already.

1. Had you ever heard of Kalle Blomkvist before this book, and did you Google to find out who this fictional character was? (I mean, BEFORE you read this question!)

2. Do you understand what happened with the original Wennerstrom story and why Blomkvist didn't defend himself?

3. Do you think Salander's mother played an important part in the story? Why or why not? Did she add enough to Salander's characterization to be necessary?

4. Larsson goes into great depth about the Vanger family's involvement with Naziism and racial purification. But Martin Vanger claims that his victims were all just easy prey, that he researched them so thoroughly as part of the "hunt," to be sure he could kidnap them without leaving a trace. Was he brainwashed (or whatever) on some level into thinking he was doing racial purification, or was he, as Salander says, just a man who hates women? What about his father?

5. Did you expect Blomkvist to be attacked at some point, or did you expect it to be Salander because of the foreshadowing of her rape?

6. Did you expect Harriet to be found alive? Or murdered by her father or brother? Why?

7. Were you surprised that Harriet murdered her father?

8. Both Salander and Harriet were horribly abused, but they coped in completely different ways. Who do you think was the stronger person? Why?

9. Could you make any sense out of that financial stuff Salander was doing with the Wennerstrom account? Was it justified, or should she have left that account alone?

10. Did you understand exactly what it was that Wennerstrom was doing?

11. By that point, were you invested enough in the story to try to figure it out?

12. What do you think of the way Blomkvist handled Dahlman?

13. Do you think the characters stayed "in character" throughout the book? If not, where do you feel they acted out of character, and did it help or hurt the story?

14. Do you think Larsson needed all 600+ pages to tell this story?

15. We pretty much all agreed that the book got off to a slow start. Now that you've read the entire thing, do you think all the background detail was essential to the story?

16. If you've seen the movie, which do you think was better, the book or the movie? Why? If you haven't seen the movie, do you intend to now? Why or why not?

17. Did you like the book? Are you going to read the other two in the series?

I'd love to see what questions everybody else can come up with, and everybody's answers. This seems to be a great way to discuss the book.

1. Had you ever heard of Kalle Blomkvist before this book, and did you Google to find out who this fictional character was? (I mean, BEFORE you read this question!)

Nope. I thought of the question, then Googled it. I wasn't curious enough to look it up while I was reading the book. I loved the Pippi Longstocking books, but I don't think I was ever aware of anything else by Astrid Lindgren.

2. Do you understand what happened with the original Wennerstrom story and why Blomkvist didn't defend himself?

I guess I never did really understand all that, even though it was probably clear to other people. He was protecting his friend, couldn't use him as a source? Or was his "friend" setting him up? I think I was just skimming at that point.

3. Do you think Salander's mother played an important part in the story? Why or why not? Did she add enough to Salander's characterization to be necessary?

No, I don't. I kept waiting for some tie in between her mother and the rest of the story. Salander obviously doesn't exist in a void, but I don't think it really added anything to the story.

4. Larsson goes into great depth about the Vanger family's involvement with Naziism and racial purification. But Martin Vanger claims that his victims were all just easy prey, that he researched them so thoroughly as part of the "hunt," to be sure he could kidnap them without leaving a trace. Was he brainwashed (or whatever) on some level into thinking he was doing racial purification, or was he, as Salander says, just a man who hates women? What about his father?

I think it may have started as some sort of racial purification for his father, but escalated when he discovered he just enjoyed what he did. I think Martin was right to an extent when he called himself a "serial kidnapper" and said he got his enjoyment from the hunt. But I think it was as much about control. And Salander was right, too. I believe some people truly are just plain evil.

5. Did you expect Blomkvist to be attacked at some point, or did you expect it to be Salander because of the foreshadowing of her rape? I kind of expected it to be Salander, and I expected her to act in character, with a combination of vulnerability and strength.

6. Did you expect Harriet to be found alive? Or murdered by her father or brother? Why?

Everyone seemed so sure she was dead, I was pretty sure she was alive and sending the flowers.

7. Were you surprised that Harriet murdered her father?

No. In fiction, accidents seldom are, and they made a point of remarking on the irony of such a prosaic demise, I was pretty sure there had to be more to it than that.

8. Both Salander and Harriet were horribly abused, but they coped in completely different ways. Who do you think was the stronger person? Why?

Somebody once said something like, "The best revenge is a life well-lived." Salandar was older and more clever and obviously street-smart, not a long-time victim. Harriet was a child, helpless, and yet when she was pushed over the edge, she reacted, and, despite what she'd endured, felt guilty about what she did. Then, even though she was just a teenager and had only the help of one person, she somehow managed to not only escape her situation but go on to build a good life for herself and break the chain of evil in her family. I admire her a great deal.

9. Could you make any sense out of that financial stuff Salander was doing with the Wennerstrom account? Was it justified, or should she have left that account alone?

I sort of followed what she was doing, and it was very much in character for her, and fun to read, but Wennerstrom was already going down. It wasn't really necessary, although I'm sure it did add insult to injury when he discovered his private stash had disappeared.

10. Did you understand exactly what it was that Wennerstrom was doing?

Again, sort of, but not 100%. I wasn't invested enough in the story to really take time to think about it and understand it all.

11. By that point, were you invested enough in the story to try to figure it out?

I guess I already answered that--no. I wanted to see them go down, but, beyond knowing they were doing something crooked, I didn't really care what it was.

12. What do you think of the way Blomkvist handled Dahlman?

I loved it. That was one of my favorite parts of the book.

13. Do you think the characters stayed "in character" throughout the book? If not, where do you feel they acted out of character, and did it help or hurt the story?

That's one thing Larsson did right. The characters stayed 100% true to themselves, even on the more subtle levels. That's not easy to manage, with a complicated story line in a long book.

14. Do you think Larsson needed all 600+ pages to tell this story?

Definitely not. It could have easily been cut to 400 pages or even 300 and it would have been a real page-turner. This is a case where the author knew his topic TOO well, and couldn't resist over-educating his audience (i.e., boring them to death).

15. We pretty much all agreed that the book got off to a slow start. Now that you've read the entire thing, do you think all the background detail was essential to the story?

It was relevant, but definitely not essential.

16. If you've seen the movie, which do you think was better, the book or the movie? Why? If you haven't seen the movie, do you intend to now? Why or why not?

Haven't seen the movie, don't intend to.

17. Did you like the book? Are you going to read the other two in the series?

I didn't much care for the book. It just couldn't hold my interest. I'm definitely not going to read the other two at this point, although I'm sure I'll browse through them just because I can't resist browsing, and if they should happen to catch my interest I'll read them. Not likely, though.

I have read the book before and I'm just not finding the time to finish reading it for this book club so I'm just going to answer all of these questions based on the first time I read it.

1. Had you ever heard of Kalle Blomkvist before this book, and did you Google to find out who this fictional character was?

I Googled it while I was reading it the first time.

2. Do you understand what happened with the original Wennerstrom story and why Blomkvist didn't defend himself?

If I remember right his source disappeared, but I'm pretty sure a journalist isn't supposed to reveal his sources anyway.

3. Do you think Salander's mother played an important part in the story? Why or why not? Did she add enough to Salander's characterization to be necessary?

You learn way more about the character in the 2nd book. I think it's important to bring the mother in on the 1st book so it doesn't seem so out of the blue in the 2nd book.

4. Larsson goes into great depth about the Vanger family's involvement with Naziism and racial purification. But Martin Vanger claims that his victims were all just easy prey, that he researched them so thoroughly as part of the "hunt," to be sure he could kidnap them without leaving a trace. Was he brainwashed (or whatever) on some level into thinking he was doing racial purification, or was he, as Salander says, just a man who hates women? What about his father?

I just think he was a sick man who really needed help. Who wouldn't have ended up the way he did after his upbringing. As for his father I think he just needed something to justify the murders to himself.

5. Did you expect Blomkvist to be attacked at some point, or did you expect it to be Salander because of the foreshadowing of her rape? I kind of expected it to be Salander, and I expected her to act in character, with a combination of vulnerability and strength.

I'm not really sure I understand the questions. I assumed there would be some type of conflict towards the end as there is with any other book.

6. Did you expect Harriet to be found alive? Or murdered by her father or brother? Why?

I felt like she was alive. You have to automatically assume the opposite of what the characters are thinking right?

7. Were you surprised that Harriet murdered her father?

I'm actually pretty sure I watched the foreign film before reading the book so it's hard to answer most of these questions. I think I assumed someone murdered him at first and then as you learn what Harriet had been through with her father I knew it was her who did the deed.

8. Both Salander and Harriet were horribly abused, but they coped in completely different ways. Who do you think was the stronger person? Why?

I think they're both strong. I can't really say which one is stronger. Nor can I truly answer this question because I know way more abuse in Salandar's past than just the rape in the 1st book.

9. Could you make any sense out of that financial stuff Salander was doing with the Wennerstrom account? Was it justified, or should she have left that account alone?

I loved that she had done that. Then again I love almost everything she does!

10. Did you understand exactly what it was that Wennerstrom was doing?

Yes, but that might be because I have watched the movie.

11. By that point, were you invested enough in the story to try to figure it out?

Again...movie

12. What do you think of the way Blomkvist handled Dahlman?

Apparently it didn't make much of an impression on me because I didn't even remember it happening. I had to Google it to refresh my memory. I do love that Blomkvist concocted that huge scheme just to get back at Dahlman.

13. Do you think the characters stayed "in character" throughout the book? If not, where do you feel they acted out of character, and did it help or hurt the story?

I think he stayed true to his characters. As a beginning novelist myself I know how hard that can be.

14. Do you think Larsson needed all 600+ pages to tell this story?

No! Way too much detail and needless storyline. This book needed some serious editing down.

15. We pretty much all agreed that the book got off to a slow start. Now that you've read the entire thing, do you think all the background detail was essential to the story?

It's good that he had all this background, but it should have stayed in the background...

16. If you've seen the movie, which do you think was better, the book or the movie? Why? If you haven't seen the movie, do you intend to now? Why or why not?

I like the American version than the foreign one, which is unusual for me. I was initially upset that America was re-making it, but I’m glad they did.

17. Did you like the book? Are you going to read the other two in the series?

I do like the book; I like the other two books even more. They're a much quicker read than the 1st one. I like the 2nd one the most.