I’ve had a number of requests for comments on the books I’ve been listening to now that so much more of my ‘reading’ is going to be done through the medium of my ears, so here is the first of what will undoubtedly be a series of posts on my impressions of audio books.
As I said when I first started out on the audio trail, I deliberately chose the third in Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy on the grounds that if I could follow something as complex and as culturally foreign as this I could follow anything. So, perhaps the first thing I should say is that I had no problems at all either in terms of comprehension or, perhaps more importantly, in terms of becoming engaged. The Bears and I have devoted the last hour or so of every evening for the past three weeks to listening to the (unfortunately) final episode in the adventures of Lisbeth Salander and have been almost drooling at the mouth each night ready for the next exciting installment. (The Bears are indignant. They say they would never do anything so undignified as drooling. All I can say is that you should see them when there are marmalade sandwiches about!) So, I don’t think listening to a book is going in any way to impair our enjoyment of the written word. As long, that is, as we have a good reader. Saul Reichlin, who is the reader for all three of these books, is superb. I have been carrying his cadences around with me in my head as a sort of backdrop to whatever else I was doing during the day and I never once failed to recognise which character was speaking over the whole three week experience.
Having said that, I can imagine that not everyone who sat down to listen to this telling would be as enthusiastic, however, my reservations have nothing to do with the audio experience but are rather to do with the nature of the book itself. You have to be very interested in the way in which government works, I think, to really appreciate this novel and in order that you understand what is going on you have to listen to/read some very long passages about the Swedish parliamentary and police systems and take it all in. I can imagine that a good many readers would skim through some of these passages, but when you’re listening that isn’t so easy. The longest section takes almost an hour and that is asking a lot of even the most dedicated fan. Most of us managed it, but if I’m honest, there were one or two Bears whose eyes were becoming a little bleary as the time went on and who were definitely glad when we moved into more plot driven sections of the book.
Once those plot driven sections were reached, however, it was all go. Would our favourite characters survive? Would there be a real resolution given that in Larsson’s mind this book wasn’t even going to be halfway through the whole projected series?
Posing the first of those questions taught me something about myself as a reader. There was one character I was fairly certain was going to get killed and I really didn’t want that to happen. What I realised as we sat there holding on to the edge of chairs, was that if I had been reading I wouldn’t have exactly read ahead, but I would have checked the last few pages just to reassure myself that s/he was still going to be around as the story drew to a close. Listening, that isn’t an option. We had to agonise through every last word to find out.
The second question leads me to the only real worry that I, personally, have about the book and that is its final resolution. If I’m honest, the last five minutes (2/3 pages?) didn’t ring true. I don’t believe in the decision one of the main protagonists takes. It seems completely out of character and far, far too neat. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like (if you must) but I can’t help wondering if this wasn’t some nice little wrap up done by the publishers. if it was, then it was a mistake. The book is immeasurably weaker for the way in which it ends. Whatever the original ending was (and you see how convinced I am that I am right:)) it should have been left intact.
That gripe apart, I loved this book and I loved the experience of having it read to me. Even though I’ve read the earlier volumes I shall be buying them as downloads and storing the whole expereince away to enjoy at some future date. If you haven’t read or listen to them then you have a treat in store.
Your reaction is similar to mine. While I loved the book, I felt that there were some aspects of the ongoing plot that were resolved that should not have been; i.e., as you have said, they didn’t ring true and seemed like editorial decisions. In particular I thought the Figuerola situation was particularly absurd. (sorry to be abstruse but I wouldn’t want to include a spoiler!) I’m not sure if the scene that bothered you in particular was the bagel scene, but that one didn’t bother me as much.
I don’t blame the editors though – they probably had to do quite a bit to get the 3rd out of 10 planned books to sound like the end of the series! What a shame though. It is a wonderful series!
Yes, RIB, it was the bagels right enough, although I agree with you about Figuerola (is that how you spell it ???? That’s what listening does for you. I’d never have put a ‘u’ in it.) . I would love to know how it really did end. Did you know who ( and I don’t mean Voldermort!) really die? I would have thought that the need to finish that strand of the story off would have been the springboard for the next book.
By You-Know-Who, if you mean the one whose name starts with N, I believe that person does really die.
It also occurs to me from this conversation that if a book club were to meet to discuss this series, it would be just dandy to schedule the meeting for brunch and have bagels and coffee!
What’s put me off this series so far has been the comment I’ve seen around the blogosphere that it contains a great deal of unnecessary and extreme violence towards women. I can deal with it, more or less, if I know it’s essential to the plot, but I guess I have to be in the right frame of mind to pick up a violent book, and I would probably want to read it rather than listen so that I could hold it away from myself a bit when necessary. What did you think about the violence level, Ann?
Litlove, it’s certainly true that in the first two books there is considerable sexual violence, although very much less so in this one. Whether or not it is unnecessary is more of an issue. Larsson has based much of his work on cases that he has come across in his ‘day job’ and I don’t think we do the sufferers of such violence any favours by pretending it doesn’t happen. I think the onus here is on the reader to respond in a way that is appropriate to the memory of those who have been victims.
So glad you are back, Ann! I’m also glad you are enjoying audio books. I listen to them in my car while on my work commute. The only difficulty I encounter is sometimes missing something because I have to concentrate on my driving. I’ve not read any Larsson yet, as I tend to shy away at first from books that get a lot of press. Maybe I’ll pick up the first one from the library.
I’m glad to see you around again as well, Sharon. I hope things are settling for you. It must be a very different environment for you. The Bears and I are well into the world of audio books now, but I wouldn’t advise Larsson for the car. He takes a great deal of concentration.
Hah. I’m so glad that I’m not the only person who might just happen to flip ahead on the off chance of catching sight of a character’s name to assure myself they were still there! I did try and listen to the first of these books on audio, but it was not successful for me. Of course I tend to walk as I am listening and outside at that so my attention might be diverted to traffic, which is obviously not the best condition to listen to these books and I noted that immediately and bought the book. Still must read it. And you’re right–with a really good reader the experience is really wonderful. Maybe if the bears had marmalade sandwiches to snack on during that longer (read not as exciting) section of the book they may have concentrated more. Or maybe they would have just concentrated on the sandwiches. In any case glad the book was a success to listen to. I really must get going on these…
By the way–I’ve just read Litlove’s comment, and that’s what has put me off (in a small way–mostly it’s a matter of squeezing in the book amongst my other reads) jumping into the books. I’ve heard lots of comments on the violence, but after seeing your response, I think it may not bother me as much in that context.
Danielle, believe me, if you give Bears marmalade sandwiches, they lose all powers of concentration immediately. Have you read Jasper Fforde’s The Fourth Bear? If not you won’t know that marmalade is the Bear equivalent of a class A drug. They’re birthday treat (July 18th – a joint Bear birthday) only in this house.