The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson (September Two-Thousand Eight)
Host: a Novel by Stephenie Meyer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an explosive mystery involving decades of a family’s history discovered by the two main characters, Carl Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. I couldn’t put this book down until I found out not only the truth of the mysteries but the fate of Lisbeth and Blomkvist. This unlikely pair come together over unusual circumstances but decide to work together to solve a mystery. What they discover about this shocking family secret and even about themselves will have you hungry for more.
The title is named for Lisbeth who is one of the most unique heroines I’ve come across in a long time. Her special skills combined with her antisocial personality leads the reader to be driven by curiosity about her. I found myself asking: Why is she like that? Why doesn’t she just show everyone how brilliant she really is? Larsson doesn’t disappoint. He answers all the questions you find you have about Lisbeth and her own story alone is worth its own book. Readers have nothing to fear when it comes to the welfare of Lisbeth. She may seem slow but her brain isn’t and she’s the bravest character in this book. You’ll find yourself on her side, cheering her on, wanting to fight for her as well as for Blomkvist.
At the beginning of the story, Blomkvist finds himself being accused of libel against a major industry tycoon in Sweden. The book goes into his background and he really is in the book more than Lisbeth as a protaganist. Though, the story goes into first person when we get to Lisbeth’s own personal story. I found myself wondering when Lisbeth was going to show up because the book jacket really markets this book as Lisbeth’s story. However, just be patient, because the case Blomkvist is working on along with the crime he’s accused of eventually intersects with Lisbeth’s story and from then on, the two work together on solving the family mystery.
As far as mysteries go, this book reminded me of an Elizabeth George book or even a Reginald Hill novel. The family mystery is definitely dramatic and gruesome. But like those authors George and Hill, Larsson digs deep into the lives and psyches of the mystery solvers. Except Blomkvist and Salander aren’t detectives or policemen. They’re just a reporter and a computer hacker. So, because they don’t have detecting skills or backup to call on, the story is that more tense. They don’t have guns, the right to ask questions, or legal access to files or property. But Blomkvist is a journalist and has an instinct of how to look at a story and he’s solved a big one before. And he has motivation this time. Lisbeth is a computer hacker and although most of what she does is illegal, she manages to do it without getting caught. Also, she works for a high end security firm and DOES has access to security equipment thats probably better than anything the police have.
Lisbeth and Blomkvist, who have sacrificed their happiness at the beginning of their stories, take a journey that will lead them to the truth. The truth isn’t pretty either, as it has been in a George or Hill novel as well. Getting to the truth can be dangerous and can even surprise you with what you end up finding out about yourself as Lisbeth and Blomkvist discover. I’m glad this story continues even though the family mystery is brought to light after decades because the readers will still yearn for more of Blomkvist and Lisbeth.
Larsson weaves a gruesome family drama that goes back decades in with the complicated lives of two characters you will not forget. This book is not a great mystery but delves into the ethical dilemmas that Lisbeth and Blomkvist find themselves facing and questioning. Larsson really presents the moral answers with two different perspectives that caused me to really think about what I would do in those situations. These ethical challenges really enrich the story with a more personal relevance to the reader and along with the depth of the characters, you’ll be thinking about this book for months!
The Host by Stephanie Meyer is filled with exceptionally complex characters that caused me to fall under their spell. The plot contains beings from another world who have inhabited Earth and taken over the bodies of humans to continue on with their lives but continuously peaceful. This is a form of a utopian society where you can go shopping at the grocery store but don’t have to pay. Where this kind of society hits home is when the protaganist, Wanderer, gets treatment at a hospital without worrying if her insurance will cover it because the entire world now has free health care. Also, no worrying about gas prices.
The heart of the story lies with Wanderer-a “soul” that has taken up residence inside Melanie’s body. But Melanie is still in existence-she’s always been a fighter and isn’t giving up her control so easily. Wanderer, practically a celebrity among other souls due to her successes with subduing other beings in eight other planets, starts to feel what Melanie has felt after so much exposure to her memories and her human emotions. She yearns for Jared and Jamie, Melanie’s lover and younger brother, respectively. The story continues in a tense fashion where we eagerly desire the acceptance of Wanderer among a group of rebellious humans she comes across.
Through interaction with true humans, we come to see and sympathize with Wanderer as she sacrifices so much of her own happiness to try and make up for what the souls have taken from mankind: their free will to love. We also witness Wanderer often display more love and humanity than some of the actual humans around her who have succumbed to their hatred for the souls.
Stephanie Meyer does a masterful job of showing both sides of the picture. The souls took over to keep mankind from destroying itself. Instead they put in place a very organized, disease-free, economy-free, control-free society where no one questions your motives or actions because souls never lie. On the other hand, the humans feel as though their freedom-their very existence has been snatched away by invaders and for some, no reason or benefit is good enough.
The Host displays humans at their best: accepting, tolerant of others, and loving unconditionally. It also shows mankind at its worst: prejudiced, hateful, and murderous. Meyer does a fantastic job of allowing the reader to decide whose side they’re on but clearly tolerance and perspective are shown to be the best option no matter whose side you’re on.
I couldn’t put this book down! Any fan of Meyer will not be disappointed. But for those who’ve never read the Twilight series or even any Science Fiction/Fantasy books could still easily pick up this book and thoroughly enjoy it. Meyer has always focused on what it means to be a human-just from a perspective you might not have ever thought about before. She’s great at writing about characters-women protaganists- that always seem to sacrifice their own happiness for those they love and often feel lonely because of it. I could also compare her story here to Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. The plots are completely different, but the essence of the main character going through this personal journey to prove their worth or love for mankind while it is displaying intolerance for others is the same in both books.
Meyer writes a story that is compelling, thoughtful, and beautiful. This is a must-read for those who enjoy great story-telling at a brisk pace combined with characters that walk around in your head for months after.
1 Comment
May 14, 2008 at 5:57 pm
[...] Sam Jordison wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI couldn’t put this book down until I found out not only the truth of the mysteries but the fate of Lisbeth and Blomkvist. This unlikely pair come together over unusual circumstances but decide to work together to solve a mystery. … [...]