Wednesday, December 28, 2011
A surprise ending
I know that the majority of us are finished or are finishing the book currently. I wanted to make a post to discuss the ending. Were you surprised by who was the killer? Did any details lead you to suspect them? I'd use more details but I know some people aren't quite finished and don't want to spoil anything so I'll save it for the comments section.
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I had not suspected Martin until the very end when Blomkvist put it all together. I figured out that it was him in Uppsala, and when he took Blomkvist hostage that he had come back to silence Harriet. I was hoping that Martin would be arrested so the families of the girls he killed could have closure. Speaking of dead people, Wennerstrom died too and that was annoying. It was like the way of solving everything was to just kill off the bad guys, it worked, but there was no strong sense of a solid ending. The ending was good, not great, but good. The bad guys are at least gone and Blomkvist's reputation restored and Harriet is back, but still not a strong sense of closure.
ReplyDeleteNow to Harriet. That was easy to put together. When Salander's friend said the call came from Australia it clicked. The Australian flowers made sense, and the fact that Harriet had disappeared without a trace, since we know knew that Martin did not kill her. Naturally I guessed that Harriet was still alive and living in Australia.
Some final comments: It was interesting to see Salander show emotion at the end when she bought Blomkvist that Elvis sign and then got pissed when she saw him and Berger together. He clearly has no feelings for her which leads me to believe he is more of a player, as Adrian had said earlier.
I enjoyed the story, it was very suspenseful and full of twists that you would not expect. There were a few confusing parts, such as when Salander went to Zurich and was doing all sorts of banking and money handling, that made sense at the very end. Overall the story was a great thriller and mystery, but the ending was lacking a feeling of full completeness and therefore i can only give the book an 8/10.
Absolutely speechless. I don't know what you are smoking Joe the ending was incredible. Martin and Globlblallba (the names are just insane can never spell them) as the killers came out of left field for me. Martin was undoubtedly the most normal and level headed of the family. As another example of how naive I was, I didn't suspect that the least suspicious person could be the culprit. It wasn't until I read the "glint" of metal that I fully realized he was guilty. Martin was written so well that you actually believed he was a normal, stressed out CEO. It was a rookie mistake to trust him. In fact, the entire book seemed to take me on its leash and surprise me with its twists and turns. I, unlike Dr. Joe, was actually astounded when Blomkvist said "hello Harriet" in the land down under. As the pieces fell into place I felt dumb at the same time exhilarated. And what an ending it was. Everything starts to turn brighter as each antagonist faces his or her timely end. As the balance beings to return one hopes against hope for no twist. It took the better part of 400 pages before Salander showed any significant trust let alone love. As she rushes to go make her feelings known, her sentiments shatter in front of her. I sat there mesmerized, wishing for Salander to have her humanity pay off and also for the truth of the murders to be known. The novel manages to, even in the face of great victory, show us the dark side in everything. People suck and no one can be trusted. We feel like Salander, cold and unfeeling, as we look upon the characters we loved (Erika, Blomkvist, and Henrik) with disgust and shock. 9.6/10
ReplyDeleteMartin was written very well and on the outside looked like stress CEO, as Adrian said, but I found him too "normal" for a Vanger. The rest of them were very messed up. They were Nazi doctors, fascists, rapists and murderers, or generally just detestable people like Isabella.
ReplyDeleteLet me explain why i was not thrilled with the ending. I wanted justice or, instead of suicide, Martin to die by the hand of Salander and Blomkvist to hailed as a hero for solving a 40 year old mystery. He still got his fame with Wennerstrom, but I was disappointed he just got away and turned up dead. I'm saying it was a bad ending, I felt i didn't fit with the fast paced action and twists of the rest of the book. It just didn't go out with as much of a bang as i was hoping for.
I always knew that Harriet wasn't really dead because it seemed like that kind of book.
ReplyDeleteI'm really itching to read the rest of the series because the ending was so amazing. This is one of the best books I've read in a while.
But, like Joe, I had no idea who the killer would be until Blomkvist put it all together.
I can't really say anything else because Joe and Adrian said everything, but I just have a question: what do you think the dragon tattoo is about?
I think that we don't know that much about Salander's past which could have some important details.
Oh and, 9.5/10 for me!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant read.
From just reading this book, the dragon tattoo has nothing to do with it except that it describes Lisbeth. As i had said before, the original title was "Men who Hate Women"
ReplyDeleteAnd i think I'll bump my rating up to 9/10 because the ending wasn't that bad, just not what i had hoped for.
I also did not expect Martin to be the culprit. It was really shocking to me. I would have never guess that it was him. Like Adrian, I assumed that Martin was too normal to be the killer.
ReplyDeleteAnd Joe, why did they change the book title then? I feel like there are so many questions unanswered in the first book. They will probably be answered in the other two books.
The book was great though. I think it is amazing how Blomkvist and Salander put together every detail. The process of solving the mystery was written well and kept me entertained.
The book was long and at some points it was slow and boring; nevertheless, I thought it was a great and fascinating book.
I have a question though. I don't understand why Cecilia was so angry at Blomkvist. She admitted to falling in love with him, and how she missed him (282). Then, she was the one that said that she wanted to remain friends (294). But, then she freaked out on him and ignored him for the rest of the story. I just don't understand what made her so angry. Was it just because Blomkvist was "intruding" on her family?
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I am still a little confused on the purpose of Salander poising as Monica Sholes.
Joe also bought up an interesting subject. Blomkvist does care a lot about Salander but I also don't think that he likes her the same way as she likes him. However, I feel like Salander does not show enough emotion making Blomkvist think that all she is looking for is just a fling. For instance, she always pushes Blomkvist away when he is trying to comfort her and she rudely accused Blomkvist of only wanting her for sex (500).
I thought the book was great. I actually did suspect Martin but not for the murders I suspected him of killing Harriet in the beginning because he seemed too normal.It only became clear to me when Blomkvist and Salander were putting it together that Martin and his father were the killers. And as soon as I found out that Martin wanted to know what happened to Harriet as well I knew she had to be alive.
ReplyDeleteAlso when I was reading the whole Salander going under cover thing and transferring money I was so confused and every time they mentioned and explained a computer invention I was so lost. I only got the gist of what they were saying but I really could not follow it. I just thought it was so confusing.
Also I completely disagree with you guys Blomkvist does care for Salander and he is not a player. He has morals and thats part of the reason why she likes him. But it is obvious that Blomkvist does not care for her in the same way that Salander cares for him.
Also I dont have any problem with the way the criminals died. But I think it would have been more interesting if Salander had killed Martin instead. And by Martin committing suicide shows how much of a coward he is.
all in all it was a great book and I am going to read the next two books.
I, for the most part, enjoyed the novel. The beginning did start off slow and at first it was almost unmanageable because the author packed in oodles of information to develop the setting and plot right off the bat. When he thrust forward descriptions of so many different characters in just the first couple chapters, I have to admit I was a bit lost. However, the story did pick up. The rising action of the story kept me wanting to read more, and I have to say I did not foresee the twist that Martin was the rapist. Although, there was something fishy about him always telling Blomkvist to go home and not investigate. Also, the relationship between Cecilia and Blomkvist ended at a halt. I thought there was no big conclusion to their "breakup." And, I am not sure if Cecilia is going to appear in the next book because the Vanger crime was solved. Altogether I thought their relationship was a confusing one in general. Overall, I liked the book and I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
ReplyDelete