Larsson, Steig.  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  New York : Random House Audio, 2010. ISBN: 9780739384190.  Read by Simon Vance.

Like the rest of the world, I have become obsessed with the works of Steig Larsson.  Upon completing his last book in the Lisbeth Salander trilogy (although there are rumors that there is a fourth book), I was equally pleased and disappointed that I will no longer be able to live vicariously through the Swedish heroin. Larsson portrays the most unlikely female who is able to successfully wage a war  against a world that has been against her since her childhood.  She is small and slight physically, but her mind and willpower defy logic.  Lisbeth’s ability to strike back against her enemies through her unbelievable computer hacking abilities leaves her to be a powerful weapon that threatens national security.

Larsson has created one of the most power female protagonists in recent history to hit the shelves of bookstores and libraries alike.  In conjunction depicting strong characters, lest not forget journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Larsson is also able to illustrate a tangled world of corrupted politics, rough and organized gangs that delve into the sex trade, and rogue police forces.  He creates various layers that are at work against Lisbeth and the truth that she threatens to expose–a secret that could topple those that have been secretly working for the Swedish government for the past 40 years.

On top of having one of the most successful trilogies in recent years, Larsson’s works have now carried over to the big screen.  Sweden has turned all three books in the movies, and of course, American versions are in the works.  Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actress portraying Lisbeth, is perfectly cast, and I am afraid no American actress will be able to convey such a strong character as well as Rapace has done.

Of course, this post would not be complete without referring to the audiobook versions of Larsson’s works, which are narrated with perfect precision by Simon Vance.  Effortlessly, he gives each character his or her own voice with inflection and personality.  He made an already wonderful story come to life through the speakers of my Honda Civic.  If only all audiobooks could be so interesting–to the point I would often take the long way home in order to see what was about to happen next.

In all, and I think I am already reiterating the opinion of most people who have read Larsson,  this is truly one of the most original and fascinating body of works that I have read in recent years (Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games would be a close second.)  He is able to combine so many various layers into his story-telling, in combination to characters that are equally flawed, passionate, and striving to get back at all of those how have abused their power.  I am skeptical about what Hollywood will do to the story–turning it into to something that will no longer resemble the original storyline–the main reason why I absolutely love the Swedish versions, I will still see what they will have to offer an American audience.  In the end, I hope that they prove me wrong and give me another way to enjoy the works of Larsson.  Please, visit the Steig Larsson website to learn more about the author, who has an equally interesting personal story: http://www.stieglarsson.com/.

–Melissa the Librarian