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Virtual Book Club (VBC) Discussion #1: For week of Nov 21

I hope you all are liking the book! I've found it starts kind of slowly and then really picks up. Here are a couple of discussion questions for the first 100 pages to get us started.

1. First off, how much did you know about the book going into it? Had friends recommended it, or did you read reviews, or did you just dive in blind?

2. Quite a story Mr. Vagner tells Blomkvist. What was your initial reaction to it? Did you immediately form a list of suspects, or theories about what might have happened? Do you feel

3. Do you think Erika Berger is right to be mad at Blomkvist for leaving?

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Permalink Reply by DomMom on November 18, 2011 at 1:28pm

Hey Katie! I am enjoying the book very much. All I knew about the book was the little that I had read about it and that it was a movie. Once I got the book, I read the mini reviews that were on the cover and they got me really excited to read the book even more so.

I agree with Mr. Vanger's theory about what might have happened to Harriet. Although I wouldn't limit it to only family as suspects. I think maybe she was murdered about something she might have found out or new of something that was meant to be kept quiet...? The reason I think that is because the last time Mr. Vanger saw her, she had something to tell him that seemed of importance.

Erika, the lover, does have a right to be mad, but Erika, the co-owner, should not be mad. The relationship that Erika and Blomkvist have is a complex one. Because he's leaving, as lovers, she should be angry with him for leaving, for not being there for her for emotional support, but as co-owner of the magazine, she should understand his reasoning for leaving. They have to do what is best for the magazine to keep it alive. I guess this is why there shouldn't be any dating between co-workers,...lol

Permalink Reply by Katie, Mom365 Host on November 21, 2011 at 4:40pm

interesting, you think Erika the co-owner shouldn't be mad but Erika the lover might have the right to be? I think the author would have us thinking the opposite...personally, I feel like Erika is being really unsupportive of Mikael. I mean, they guy just had his entire career pretty much destroyed--a journalist with no credibility isn't worth much, right?--and so I understand his wanting to disappear for a bit. But Erika is like noooo stay and take care of things here. I guess they are a team, and the author emphasizes that, but I think Erika should be more willing to let Mikael go on sabbatical and she can run the ship with the designer and managing editor. I wonder if her being so difficult on the business side isn't really Erika the lover trying to come through.

As to what happened to Harriet, she was definitely trying to tell Mr. Vagner something...it doesn't seem like they tried focused on that hard enough to figure out what her message was.

Permalink Reply by Christi, Star Mom on November 22, 2011 at 7:44pm

it's finally starting to pick up a bit. :)

1. i knew about the book from many friends who have read it (who also said it was really slow at first, but worth trudging through because it got much better), but i didn't know much about the plot or characters until i saw the movie a couple months ago. so i'll try not to give away the ending. :)

2. my initial reaction to vanger's story was that i felt really bad for him - that he'd spent pretty much the second half of his life mourning/searching for one of the few people in his family who he truly cared for (and who truly cared for him). it'll be interesting to see what more blomkvist turns up about his family - in addition to the less than glowing descriptions vanger gave. in terms of who may have been involved, my thoughts always go to the "good guy" in things like this - like the guy you'd least expect. i'm not sure we've come across anyone yet that i'd pin it on for sure.

3. i'm torn about whether erika is right to be mad at blomkvist. i could see her not wanting him to just up and leave - that him doing so might make it look like he's running away with his tail between his legs - not to mention leaving her with just one assistant in the designer/editor in a time when the magazine is starting to struggle. but i think that he makes a very valid argument that wengerstrom (sp? sorry, i don't have the book in front of me) will just keep gunning for millenium since it's obvious that they have some dirt on him (though unproven as of now). anything blomkvist can get from vanger in terms of helping to prove that dirt is true and thereby save millenium - which is already suffering from wengerstrom's pulling ads, etc. - will only help erika in the long run. so i think that it would be to her benefit to let her go. i agree that some of her unwillingness to let him go is probably the "lover" side of her coming through. like dommom said - another good reason not to date a coworker. ha!

Permalink Reply by Katie, Mom365 Host on November 26, 2011 at 4:10pm

Wait, Christi, how did you see the movie already? I thought it wasn't out until Dec. 21?

Permalink Reply by Christi, Star Mom on November 27, 2011 at 3:48pm

i watched the swedish version - the whole trilogy, actually. they came out back in '09, but i watched them earlier this summer. i'm not sure if i'll go see the US remake because i can't really picture anyone other than noomi rapace as lisbeth - she was great! in fact, she's the new gal in the sherlock holmes sequel coming out in a couple weeks - anxious to see her in that. i think it's her first big US movie.

Permalink Reply by DomMom on November 28, 2011 at 4:41pm

I saw the Swede version as well,....I'm am trying my hardest to NOT watch the others lol,....and I totally agree, she did an excellent job with bringing the charachter of Lisbeth Salander alive. But I still want to watch the new one coming out, (w/o the need for subtitles lol), plus movies are my date nights with my honey. I want to read the other two books that come after.

Permalink Reply by Christi, Star Mom on November 28, 2011 at 5:09pm

very true about the subtitles - that will be nice to be without. :) plus, i'm anxious to hear the soundtrack - should be a good one. i'll probably end up seeing it - like you said, it's one movie i think my hubby and i could agree on so it would make for a nice date night.

Permalink Reply by Katie, Mom365 Host on November 28, 2011 at 5:28pm

I didn't know there were already Swedish movie versions of these books, I will definitely have to check into those.

Permalink Reply by DomMom on November 29, 2011 at 1:34am

They're available on Netflix, if you have a subscription with them, all 3! :)

Permalink Reply by Hima Kurada on November 24, 2011 at 9:38pm

Hi all! Hope everyone is having a great thanksgiving with family and friends.

1. I was randomly going through a list of bestsellers when I chanced on the reviews on this series. I really wanted to start reading them then but somehow ended up reading other books first.

2. My initial reaction to Vagner's story was that I really didn't buy into his theory about what really happened to Harriet or how it happened. The more I read, the more strongly I felt that the investigation was not up to par. Especially after learning that Vagner eliminated a few suspects by mere intuition or their behavior over the years and that there were huge gaps in the story. I did form a list of supsects and a theory about what could have happened (I guess I watch too many movies LOL)!

3. I am so sure on this one. I think she has a right to be mad cuz she is losing her coworker. As far as their personal relationship goes, it seems like they have an open one and they don't seem to be bothered about sharing each other with other people!

Permalink Reply by burp mcgurk, Star Mom on December 1, 2011 at 8:26pm

late...i know. it's so hard to find time to read now!

1. i didn't know anything about the book except that it was supposed to have all kinds of plot twists. i dove in blindly. it started so slowly i wasn't sure i'd be able to get into it, but it's picking up now.

2. my initial reaction was that it seems impossible to solve and that blomkvist would be an idiot to turn down the proposition in his situation. i kept thinking that there must be more because of the pictures. it makes everything seem outright strange so i am definitely more interested now.

3. no. she is married. he is going to jail anyway so for three months he would have to be away anyway.

Permalink Reply by Katie, Mom365 Host on December 7, 2011 at 5:36pm

Everyone, how is the book going? I posted some more discussion questions last week but it might be easier to discuss once we've all finished it!