The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larson. Say it ain't so! I've now finished all three of the Larson's books. And I'm not one bit happy. I hate to see it come to an end.
Of course, I knew that Lisabeth would come out the victor--who can beat the genius of Salander, particularly when she has the help of Blumqvist? Larson doesn't disappoint in weaving the story of how she comes out the victor, at least there's not much disappointment. Either way, the court room scenes, although very different from the procedure in American courts, are captivating and dramatic. Advokat Gianini systematically takes Dr. Teleborian apart, ultimately using Lisabeth's videotaped rape from the first book.
The only disappointment is that the second end seems a little forced. Like some stories, this book has a couple of endings--the end of the trial and Salander's acquittal; Salander's growing realization of what it means to be free of guardianship and to start to trust; and the end-end, where Salander confronts her half-brother. That's the ending that seems a bit strained. I figured that he'd have to make another appearance, but the coincidence of meeting him at a warehouse that she inherited from her father is a little much. I have to give it Larson, though--what a clever way to slow Neiderman down--nailed again!
Rumor has it that there is a draft of another Salander book that was left on Larson's computer before he died. I hope so. I'm not quite ready to say good-bye to Salander.
Reading: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Listening: Medium Raw
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
In my second youth
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins. Maybe the name is prophetic--the Hunger Games series has set my reading on fire. I've now finished the second in the series and pre-ordered the third, Mockingjay. The elephant in the room with any sequel is whether it can live up to the original or even come close. In this case, the answer is a resounding yes. The story moves, as we head back to the Arena for round two of the Games. This year is the 75th year, which means it's time for the Quarter Quell--Games that are bigger or more twisted in some way. The "twist" this time is that the tributes will be drawn from all the past winners. Big sigh for the youth of each district, but what a horror for the former victors, one as old as 80, who are thrown back into the ring.
Once again, there is little doubt that Katniss, the only girl victor from District 12, will return to the Arena and will survive. But the suspense is just as great, and Collins kept me guessing about who the good guys were.
She clearly planned all three books, leavving us with a cliffhanger for the next one. Will there finally be peace, happiness, and free from the Capitol when the book ends? I'll know in about two weeks.
Reading: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (??)
Listening: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Once again, there is little doubt that Katniss, the only girl victor from District 12, will return to the Arena and will survive. But the suspense is just as great, and Collins kept me guessing about who the good guys were.
She clearly planned all three books, leavving us with a cliffhanger for the next one. Will there finally be peace, happiness, and free from the Capitol when the book ends? I'll know in about two weeks.
Reading: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (??)
Listening: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Quick and complex
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Sparks. This slim little book was far more complex and took longer to read than I would have expected. I'm not sure what I think about such an intense relationship between a teacher, in her "prime" and her six students, during which over the years, she grooms them in her quest to select the correct girl to become her proxy in a sexul affair with the man she loves. Ultimately one of the girls, Sandy, betrays her, not because Miss Brodie encouraged the affair, but because Miss Brodie is a Fascist.
I've got to give more thought to this book.
Listening: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.
Reading: Catching Fire.
I've got to give more thought to this book.
Listening: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.
Reading: Catching Fire.
Almost a martyr
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. This book would easily take the first five spots on my worst book list! What an arrogant, misguided, simple-minded bitch who wrote this book! But I digress.
As a novel it fails. The story is weak, melodramatic, and ultimately utterly ridiculous. It's as heavy as a rain-sodden phone book and only slightly more interesting. The characters are flat--there's not a one that is likeable and few that grew or changed over the course of this gigantic tome. Indeed, the characters seem to fall into two or three categories: the beautiful, uber-competent industrialists; and the incompetent "looters" who hate the industrialists, but like what the the industrialists have. The strikers always know what to do. They handle every crisis easily and unemotionally. They're never vulnerable. On the other hand, the looters couldn't pour piss from a boot with instructions on the bottorm. They are, however, smart enough to recognize their incompetence, resorting to begging John Gault to please be a dictator!
And then there's the unimaginative dialogue. "What?" uttered with a sense of surprise seemed to be the go-to phrase. "I'm scared!" showed up far too often. When in doubt, go with the, "We -don't-know-what-to-do" line of dialogue. The Fountainhead had the advantage of an interesting story line to go with it. This story line rambles and bores, with little suspense beyond when Dagney would eventualy join the "strike." Like a soap opera, one could easily skip pages at a time and not miss anything because the story progressed so slowly and the prose was so over-blown.
As a "philosophy" it fails. Socialism fails because few people have the integrity and constitution to work harde, do their best, stand on their principles, and live morally simply because it is the right thing to do. There are few Howard Rourkes in the world. However, the same flaw in man that makes socialism an unworkable system makes unbridled capitalism flawed as well. There are too few Howard Rourkes who can resist the temptation of greed. They are unwilling or unable to make a fair trade of something of value in return for value. Witness Bernie Madoff or the executives in the most recent financial disaster. Consider the various coal mining disasters, directly attributable to the drive for profits.
Rand witnessed the wrecked economy of the Soviet Union. Too bad she missed the wrecked economy we're enjoying now. And for the record, the problem wasn't that there too many regulaions, but that there were too few of the right regulations to serve as a check on man's natural greed and tendency to cut corners if there are no repercussions.
Moreover, the book is anti-Christian if not anti-religion. Instead of loving God and loving others before oneself, the idea is to love oneself first. "I swear by my life and my love of it, I will not live for another man or ask another man to live for me." Rand mocks the basic tenets of Christianity; there is no place in her world of egotism for the altruism that forms an essential part of Christianity. Love my neighbor? Only if my neighbor has something of value to trade.
I am the center of my universe.
Finally for someone who claims to celebrate the mind of man, Rand has scant respect for the minds of her readers. She beats the readers over the head with her simplistic philosophy, I suppose, because we readers aren't bright enough to get it the first 67 times. That might explain the mega-sermon delivered by John Gault near the end. Really?
I could go on and on. I wish I had back the hours I spent, but I suppose this is the kind of thing I should read to be ready to challenge those who have bought this crap hook, line, and sinker. Ultimately, I feel like I've trudged through mud and come up dirty. Quite unsatisfying.
As a novel it fails. The story is weak, melodramatic, and ultimately utterly ridiculous. It's as heavy as a rain-sodden phone book and only slightly more interesting. The characters are flat--there's not a one that is likeable and few that grew or changed over the course of this gigantic tome. Indeed, the characters seem to fall into two or three categories: the beautiful, uber-competent industrialists; and the incompetent "looters" who hate the industrialists, but like what the the industrialists have. The strikers always know what to do. They handle every crisis easily and unemotionally. They're never vulnerable. On the other hand, the looters couldn't pour piss from a boot with instructions on the bottorm. They are, however, smart enough to recognize their incompetence, resorting to begging John Gault to please be a dictator!
And then there's the unimaginative dialogue. "What?" uttered with a sense of surprise seemed to be the go-to phrase. "I'm scared!" showed up far too often. When in doubt, go with the, "We -don't-know-what-to-do" line of dialogue. The Fountainhead had the advantage of an interesting story line to go with it. This story line rambles and bores, with little suspense beyond when Dagney would eventualy join the "strike." Like a soap opera, one could easily skip pages at a time and not miss anything because the story progressed so slowly and the prose was so over-blown.
As a "philosophy" it fails. Socialism fails because few people have the integrity and constitution to work harde, do their best, stand on their principles, and live morally simply because it is the right thing to do. There are few Howard Rourkes in the world. However, the same flaw in man that makes socialism an unworkable system makes unbridled capitalism flawed as well. There are too few Howard Rourkes who can resist the temptation of greed. They are unwilling or unable to make a fair trade of something of value in return for value. Witness Bernie Madoff or the executives in the most recent financial disaster. Consider the various coal mining disasters, directly attributable to the drive for profits.
Rand witnessed the wrecked economy of the Soviet Union. Too bad she missed the wrecked economy we're enjoying now. And for the record, the problem wasn't that there too many regulaions, but that there were too few of the right regulations to serve as a check on man's natural greed and tendency to cut corners if there are no repercussions.
Moreover, the book is anti-Christian if not anti-religion. Instead of loving God and loving others before oneself, the idea is to love oneself first. "I swear by my life and my love of it, I will not live for another man or ask another man to live for me." Rand mocks the basic tenets of Christianity; there is no place in her world of egotism for the altruism that forms an essential part of Christianity. Love my neighbor? Only if my neighbor has something of value to trade.
I am the center of my universe.
Finally for someone who claims to celebrate the mind of man, Rand has scant respect for the minds of her readers. She beats the readers over the head with her simplistic philosophy, I suppose, because we readers aren't bright enough to get it the first 67 times. That might explain the mega-sermon delivered by John Gault near the end. Really?
I could go on and on. I wish I had back the hours I spent, but I suppose this is the kind of thing I should read to be ready to challenge those who have bought this crap hook, line, and sinker. Ultimately, I feel like I've trudged through mud and come up dirty. Quite unsatisfying.
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