The Girl Who Played with Fire

For the film based on the novel, see The Girl Who Played with Fire (film).
The Girl Who Played with Fire

First edition (Swedish)
Author Stieg Larsson
Original title Flickan som lekte med elden
Translator Reg Keeland (pseudonym of Steven T. Murray)
Country Sweden
Language Swedish
Series Millennium
Genre Crime, mystery, thriller
Publisher Norstedts Förlag (Swedish), Quercus (English)
Publication date
 June 2006 (Sweden), 2009 (United Kingdom)
Media type Print (Paperback & Hardback)
Pages 631
Preceded by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Followed by The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Swedish: Flickan som lekte med elden) is the second novel in the best-selling Millennium series by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. It was published posthumously in Swedish in 2006 and in English in January 2009.

The book features many of the characters who appeared in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005), among them the title character, Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant computer hacker and social misfit, and Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist and publisher of Millennium magazine.

Widely seen as a critical success, The Girl Who Played with Fire was also (according to The Bookseller magazine) the first and only translated novel to be number one in the UK hardback chart.[1]

Synopsis

The novel is formally divided into a prologue followed by four parts. The prologue of the book opens with a girl captured and restrained inside a dark room by an unidentified male. To cope with being captured, she mentally replays a past episode when she threw a milk carton filled with gasoline onto another man inside a car and tossed an ignited match onto him.

Part 1 – Irregular Equations

After finishing the job on the Wennerström affair (described in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Lisbeth Salander disappeared from Sweden and traveled throughout Europe. The novel opens with her on the shores of the Caribbean in St George's, the capital of Grenada. Salander has become interested in Fermat's Last Theorem and mathematics, an interest that resounds with the opening page of each Part in this novel. From within her room in her hotel she observes on several occasions that her neighbor, Dr Forbes, an American tourist from Texas, physically abuses his wife, in the next room to Salander's. Salander also befriends George Bland, a 16-year-old orphaned student living in a small shack and begins tutoring him in mathematics. Salander finds Bland's company relaxing and enjoyable because Bland does not ask her personal questions, and the two develop a sexual relationship.

Salander uses her connections among the hackers' network to investigate Dr Forbes and learns that he was once accused of mishandling funds in his faith-based foundation. Currently he has no assets, but his wife is the heiress to a fortune worth $40 million.

As a hurricane hits Grenada, concerns for the safety of the residents at the hotel cause the hotel management to begin ushering them into a cellar. Salander remembers Bland, and braves the strong wind and rain to collect him. As the two reach the hotel entrance, Salander sees Dr Forbes on the beach with his wife and realizes that he is attempting to kill her for her inheritance. Salander attacks Forbes with the leg of a chair and abandons him to the elements. Salander, Bland, and Mrs Forbes retreat to the cellar and receive medical care; Dr Forbes is later confirmed as the only fatality of the storm.

Part 2 – From Russia with Love

Lisbeth Salander returns to Stockholm after more than a year's absence. Immediately before the Wennerström affair became public knowledge, Salander had laundered a sum of three billion kronor (the equivalent of about half a billion $US) into a disguised bank account. With this sum she purchases a new upscale apartment outside Mosebacke Torg and moves out of her old apartment in Lundagatan (SV). Salander allows her current sex partner, Miriam Wu, to move into her old apartment, for the price of 1 krona and the condition that Wu forward all of Salander's mail. Salander also re-establishes contact with Dragan Armansky, her former boss at Milton Securities, and her former legal guardian Holger Palmgren, who fell victim to a stroke at the beginning of Dragon Tattoo.

Nils Bjurman, Palmgren's replacement, continues to nurture a growing hatred for his ward after the events of Dragon Tattoo. His fury has caused him to diminish his practice down to a single client (Salander) and focus his attention on capturing her and destroying the film she made of him raping her. He scrutinizes Salander's medical records, and thus identifies an incident named "All the Evil" as well as a person from her past as his strongest ally.

In the meantime, Mikael Blomkvist, the publisher of Millennium magazine, has lost contact with Salander, who has refused even to open his letters. He is therefore surprised, shortly after her return, while he is walking past Salander's apartment in the vain hope of running into her, to see her being attacked by a ponytailed man with a beer gut, a member of the Svavelsjö outlaw motorcycle club. Blomkvist attempts to help, to Salander's astonishment, and their joint efforts enable her to elude her attacker.

Millennium is approached by Dag Svensson, a young journalist, and his girlfriend, Mia Johansson. They have put together a meticulously-researched report, ironically titled "From Russia with Love", about sex trafficking in Sweden and the abuse of underage girls by high-ranking figures; this is the subject of Johansson's doctoral thesis and Svensson wants Millennium to publish his exposé in book form. Whilst the research is mostly complete, Svensson, Johansson, and the Millennium staff are intrigued by recurring mentions of "Zala", a shadowy figure heavily involved in Sweden's sex-trafficking industry. Salander, hacking Mikael Blomkvist's computer, is taken aback by the mention of Zala, and visits Svensson and Johansson to ask questions.

Part 3 – Absurd Equations

Later the same night, Blomkvist calls on the couple, and finds them both shot dead in their apartment, the killer having apparently left the building only seconds before. Blomkvist notifies Erika Berger, the Millennium's editor-in-chief and his lover, of the double murder, and the magazine's management team holds an emergency meeting at which they decide to postpone the publication of Svensson's book and the associated magazine special. They decide to backtrack Svensson's research to ensure the accuracy of the material, and to comb through it for possible murder motives, while Blomkvist is tasked with finishing Svensson's mostly-completed book.

Prosecutor Richard Ekström assembles an investigative team, led by Inspector Jan Bublanski, who selects Sonja Modig for inclusion in the team because of her sensitivity to women's issues. The team identifies Salander's fingerprints on the murder weapon, and her formal record establishes her as a violent, unstable, psychotic young woman with a history of prostitution. Armansky, Blomkvist, and Berger all vouch for Salander's intelligence and moral fiber; neither Mikael nor Erika was even aware of her psychiatric history. While investigating Salander's social circle, Modig finds Bjurman shot dead in his apartment with his own revolver, the same weapon used on Svensson and Johansson; Salander remains the prime suspect. In light of this new evidence, Ekström holds a press conference and discloses Salander's name and psychiatric history to the press, describing her as a danger to others and herself.

Blomkvist enlists the help of managing editor Malin Eriksson to investigate the murders, during which investigation Blomkvist realizes that Salander has hacked into his notebook computer. He leaves her notes on his desktop, and her replies point him to "Zala". Blomkvist confronts Gunnar Björck, a policeman on sick leave and one of the high-ranking abusers identified by Dag and Mia, who agrees to disclose information about Zala if Blomkvist leaves him out of Millennium's exposé.

Armansky realises that Milton Security should become involved in the investigation and sends two of his employees, Hedström and Bohman, to aid the formal police investigation. Miriam Wu returns from a Paris trip to find herself taken to the police station, and she confirms Salander's intelligence and moral character. However, Hedström, who carries an old grudge against Salander, leaks Wu's identity to the press, who publish stories about Wu's involvement in a Gay Pride Festival and Salander's prior friendship with a female rock group; both Wu and Salander are sensationalized in the media as members of a "lesbian Satanist gang". The press also publishes information about Salander's past.

Part 4 – Terminator Mode

Part 4 begins with Salander's wondering why the press's inside source has chosen not to publicize "All the Evil", the events which dominated the gap in her biography, information she knows would swing public opinion even further against her. Blomkvist is approached by Paolo Roberto, a boxing champion and Salander's former coach. Blomkvist asks Roberto to help by finding Miriam Wu, who, released by the police, has been avoiding all contact from the press, including Mikael. In the meantime, at Salander's suggestion, Blomkvist focuses onto Zala as the key connection among the three murders and sex trafficking. As the police continue the investigation, Blomkvist's team also notices the three-year gap in Salander's biography. Blomkvist decides to confront Björck and trade his anonymity for information on Zala.

Roberto, staking out Salander's former apartment in the hopes of catching Wu, witnesses her being kidnapped into a van by a paunchy man with a ponytail (Salander's earlier attacker) and a "blond giant". He follows the van to a warehouse south of Nykvarn, where he attempts to rescue Wu by boxing with the giant. He finds his opponent unusually muscular and totally insensitive to pain, and only through applications of massive blunt trauma can he and Wu stun the giant enough to escape. The giant recovers and sets the warehouse on fire to destroy the evidence. However, Roberto is able to direct the police to the site, where they find three buried and dismembered bodies.

Visiting Bjurman's summer cabin, Salander finds a classified Swedish Security Service file written about "All The Evil", and begins to make the connection between Bjurman and Zala, whose real name is Alexander Zalachenko. By coincidence, two members of Svavelsjö MC, Carl-Magnus Lundin (the paunchy ponytailed man) and Sonny Nieminen, have been dispatched to burn the place down. Salander physically incapacitates them, leaving more suspects for Bublanski to find. She returns to her apartment and, having no choice, decides to find Zalachenko and kill him. Salander discovers the blond giant's identity ("Ronald Niedermann") and his connection to a post office box in Göteborg, and she goes there to find him and Zalachenko.

In his apartment, Blomkvist finds Salander's keys, which he had picked up after her escape from Lundin. He manages to find her new, upscale apartment as well as the DVD revealing Bjurman's crime. With information from Björck and Salander's former guardian, Holger Palmgren, Blomkvist is able to piece together the entire story: Zalachenko is a former Soviet defector under secret Swedish protection, whose very existence is kept classified by Säpo; Bjurman and Björck knew about him only because they happened to be the junior officers on duty the day Zalachenko went into a police station and demanded political asylum. Zalachenko, initially a source of vital information on the USSR's intelligence operations to Säpo, began to traffic in sex slaves on the side. He became the partner of a 17-year-old woman who became pregnant with twins, Lisbeth and Camilla. Zalachenko was an itinerant father who physically and emotionally abused his partner when he was home. The cycle of violence culminated in Lisbeth Salander's deliberately setting his car alight with gasoline while her father was in it. This is the event Salander refers to as "All the Evil", since the authorities, instead of listening to her pleas on behalf of her mother, imprisoned Salander and declared her insane.

Salander's mother was left with the first of a series of cerebral hemorrhages which consigned her to nursing homes and ultimately caused her death. Salander realised that the government would never acknowledge Zalachenko's crimes, which would require them to admit his existence. Zalachenko was allowed to walk away, but suffered serious injuries and had to have his foot amputated.

Niedermann had killed Svensson and Johansson on Zalachenko's orders: when Salander visited them, she asked whether Bjurman had ever showed up on their list of high-ranking abusers, and they called him immediately after she left. Bjurman then called Zalachenko in a panic, leading not only to their deaths but to his own, as well.

Blomkvist does not share all of his findings with Bublanski, out of respect for Salander's privacy, but between his testimony, the various character witnesses, and the additional accomplices piling up, the police are forced to admit that their original suspicions of Salander as a psychotic murderer may have been wrong. Milton Security are ejected from the investigation when it becomes clear that Hedström is the inside source who has been leaking sensational details to the press. Armansky is satisfied, as his true goal in aiding the investigation—ensuring Salander is not simply condemned as a murderer out of hand—has been achieved. Finally, Blomkvist finds Niedermann's Göteborg address, and sets off for the farm where Niedermann and Zalachenko await. He has deduced that Salander has entered what Roberto and his boxing friends called "Terminator Mode", where she attacks without restraint to defend her life and those she cares about.

Salander enters the farmhouse and is captured as a result of secret cameras and alarms Zalachenko had installed. Zalachenko tells Salander that Niedermann is her half-brother. When Salander attempts to escape, Zalachenko shoots her in the hip, shoulder, and head, and Niedermann buries her, not realising she is still alive. Salander digs herself out and again attempts to kill Zalachenko with an axe, noting that Zalachenko's use of a Browning .22 firearm is the only reason she survived. On his way to Göteborg, Blomkvist sees Niedermann trying to hitch a ride, captures him at gunpoint, and ties him against a signpost by the road. The book ends as Blomkvist finds Salander and calls emergency services.

Characters

Main characters

Other characters

Reception

The English version was published in January 2009 and immediately became a number 1 bestseller.[1] It received generally positive reviews from most of the major UK newspapers. Many reviewers agreed with Joan Smith at The Sunday Times that this novel was “even more gripping and astonishing than the first”. Carla McKay at the Daily Mail said that, like its predecessor, the book is "not just a thrilling read, but tackles head-on the kind of issues that Larsson himself railed against in society".[3]

Most of the reviewers concentrated mainly on the character of Lisbeth Salander, with Mark Lawson at the Guardian saying that "the huge pleasure of these books is Salander, a fascinating creation with a complete and complex psychology."[4] Boyd Tonkin in The Independent said: "the spiky and sassy Lisbeth Salander – punkish wild child, traumatised survivor of the 'care' system, sexual adventurer and computer hacker of genius" was "the most original heroine to emerge in crime fiction for many years".[5] Michiko Kakutani at The New York Times wrote that "Salander and Blomkvist, transcend their genre and insinuate themselves in the reader’s mind through their oddball individuality, their professional competence and, surprisingly, their emotional vulnerability."[6]

Cultural notes

The character of Paolo Roberto is an actual person. He is a former boxer and television chef who has also dabbled in politics. He played himself in the 2009 film adaptation of the book.[7][8]

In the first part of the book, Salander is exploring Dimensions in Mathematics apparently written by L. C. Parnault and published by Harvard University Press in 1999. On February 9, 2009, Harvard University Press announced on their website that this book and the author are purely fictitious.[9]

The mysterious Karl Axel Bodin, in whose house Salander finds Zalachenko and Niedermann, is an historical name. Bodin was born in Karlstad and later moved to Sundsvall. He went to Norway to join the Waffen-SS; at the end of World War II, he was attached to the country's branch of the Gestapo. At the war's end, Bodin and another Swedish volunteer stole a car in an attempted escape to Sweden. The car's owner saw the theft, and soon a gunfight erupted in which the car owner and Bodin's friend were shot. Bodin left his friend behind and crossed the border.[10]

Film and TV adaptations

References

  1. 1 2 "Top 10 hardbacks - fiction. The Sunday Times Bestseller List, April 25, 2010". The Sunday Times. London. April 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ Gabrielsson, Eva, Marie-Françoise Colombani, and Linda Coverdale. "There Are Things I Want You to Know" about Stieg Larsson and Me. New York: Seven Stories, 2011.
  3. ↑ McKay, Carla (January 22, 2009). "Crime". Daily Mail. London.
  4. ↑ Lawson, Mark (January 10, 2009). "Hot for anything". The Guardian. London.
  5. ↑ "Boyd Tonkin: A Swedish punk tops our charts". The Independent. London. January 23, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Suspected, Pursued. Innocent?". The New York Times. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  7. ↑ (Swedish)
  8. ↑ (Swedish)
  9. ↑ "Dimensions in Mathematics - a phantom, a chimera - Harvard University Press Blog". Harvardpress.typepad.com. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  10. ↑ "Axis History Factbook: Swedish volunteers: Karl Axel Bodin". Axishistory.com. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  11. ↑ Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition.
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