Luftslottet som sprängdes
2007
- political corruption
- nyt:hardcover_fiction=2010-05-23
- revenge
- fiction
- computer hackers
- journalists
- lisbeth salander (fictitious character)
- mikael blomqvist (fictitious character)
- suspense fiction
- swedish fiction
The story
Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back. ([source][1]) [1]: http://www.stieglarsson.com/Castles-in-the-Sky
What it’s like
Clinical hospital corridors give way to grey Stockholm streets, sleet-slick pavements and the glow of newsroom and laptop screens, so the book feels hard-edged and wintry. Larsson's prose is brisk and reportorial, built from short sections that switch between viewpoints, timestamps, emails and interview transcripts, in a cool, matter-of-fact voice that rarely lingers on scenery. Sound is sparse: ward machines, ringing phones, the clatter of typing, a distant courtroom. The mood is tense, cerebral and gritty, a slow-burning dread threaded with a satisfying appetite for justice, and the arc follows a battered, defiant woman reclaiming control. Violence is significant, including a shooting, brutal confrontations and frank depictions of abuse and cruelty, but it's rendered in plain, unflinching sentences rather than lingering gore. Best suited to long, focused reading sessions, for readers who want a dense, page-turning investigation into institutional rot, with a vengeful heroine at its centre, and who can handle sustained brutality and harsh subject matter.
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