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...engagement with Shep's private war between doing the right thing heartwise and doing the right thing headwise saves the novel. In its second half, So Much for That becomes a page turner. Having let her characters amply articulate all the reasons life stinks, Shriver starts making a case for why even a lousy life is worth fighting for, and she does it with a biting honesty that rebukes all sentiment ality. For too long, this book had me thinking its title is dispiriting, a cynical flick at our throwaway dreams. In fact, says this viciously smart writer, the that...
...sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy, Pope Benedict XVI offered an apology: "You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry." For Ireland's bishops, the pontiff had a reprimand: "Serious mistakes were made. All this has seriously undermined your credibility." Thus the highlights of an eight-page letter from Rome received at Mass around Ireland on March...
...minute for red herrings. The only times it slows down are during a couple of grisly, graphic moments involving rape and torture - scenes that are hard to endure, even if readers of the book know they're coming. The supporting characters are less memorable on screen than on the page; Taube's Henrik in particular sadly doesn't make much of an impression, while Lena Endre is an outright weak choice to play Blomkvist's editor Erika Berger. But if Dragon Tattoo gives short shrift to some of its players, it excels at giving us a sense of place, whether...
...biggest thrill though is Salander, feminist icon to some, disturbed vigilante to others, who matters more on the screen than she did on the page, far more than her male co-star. This Lisbeth is proactive. She inserts herself into Blomkvist's detective work before she's asked. Where you might expect a movie to also make her sassier, this one makes her, if anything, angrier, more furtive, more darkly funny. Shorn of the competing love interests Larsson gave him in the book, Blomkvist only has eyes for Lisbeth now, which makes him more likeable, but less interesting - a shame...
...more about Detroit on TIME's Assignment Detroit page...