The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Merci to La Madamoiselle for hosting a really fun BC last night.  It was great to have Logan's Run back with us but it sure is a revolving door these days--Ms. K will be out next, then the Highlander. Pretty soon, we'll need to take volunteers for apps, dessert, and next pregnancy!

We started out with the Contessa's ever-delish roasted eggplant dip with baguette slices, followed by that perennial IKEA special, Swedish meatballs! Kudos to La Madamoiselle for finding a way to keep in theme without serving us herring and mustard sandwiches with coffee.  Alas we didn't think to bring the Aquavit!  But really, those meatballs were delish, with Swedish cheese inside, served over egg noodles with a side salad.  And for dessert, mixed berry tarts. Quite an impressive feast, as usual.

Now, onto the book.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, nee, Men Who Hate Women, generated a surprising spread of ratings. Everyone thought this would be right up La Madamoiselle's alley (we're still waiting for something to impress her as much as the Da Vinci Code; maybe Dan Brown's new novel?  It's available at Costco!), but no, she gave it a lackluster rating as did several others. Only the Highlander's write-in "9" saved it from total mediocrity. On average, a little over a 7. Which isn't bad, and certainly the book spurred a lot of conversation.

Every person finished this 500+ page suspense murder mystery, and across the board we all agreed it was a page turner. But, we were split between those who knew it was Martin from the moment they saw the Vanger family tree, and those who didn't suspect the pudgy, friendly CEO for a moment until they entered his underground lair (don't you love the word "lair?!");  those who knew Harriet was alive and sending pressed flowers to her great uncle each year, and those who had to do a double-take (or double-read) upon discovering her on a sheep farm Down Under.  But, whether fooled by the mystery or not, there was not a single one of us who was prepared for the dark, Satanic, sadistic twist that the novel took in its last 100 pages. Our reactions ranged from not wanting to read about such disgusting acts, to thinking it was just so over the top that it ruined the book. In any event, we did agree that this author has some serious issues that needed to be worked out, and we wondered how they contributed (as they most certainly did) to his untimely demise. Finally, El Jefe would be remiss not to mention--especially following upon the ast meeting's titillating conversion about M.H.'s--how much air time we gave to B.P.'s. Did you guess it yet? They look like big mushrooms and they can be used as votive holders. Is El Jefe hearing things or did someone actually throw that out there....and over dinner!?

Our November book is Lie Down in Darkness, by William Styron. The November meeting is at the home of Logan's Run (we can't wait to meet little Logan!) on the first Wed. in Nov., the Doctor is bringing apps and the Foxx dessert. The December co-ed book club is at P_____'s house at Mandy (tentatively, Dec. 2), and the January meeting is at the Doctor's. The January book is The Help.  Until next time, read early and often! xoej