I gotta say, I was kinda bummed when Lisbeth Salander seduces a sixteen year old boy in

[ohiosmith]

The Girl Who Played With Fire. Just started it. Don't know that I'll finish.

[NYC_SKP]

1. IOKIYAW

In our culture....

[NewJeffCT]

2. It's okay if you're a woman?

or something else?

[NYC_SKP]

3. In the US, mouth-breathing freepers think it's sexy for minor male children to be molested by women.

A critical cultural observation, nothing more.

[ohiosmith]

4. Lisbeth is a Swede. Book by a Swedish author.

Can't blame this one on Yanks.

[NewJeffCT]

5. How old is Lisbeth

in the books?

I haven't read them, but my impression from afar is that she was late teens?

However, I think 16 is legal age in a lot of states, no?

I don't think it's that inappropriate for a woman that is 19 to sleep with a guy that is 16?

Now, if I'm way off base and she's 39 and he's 16, that's another story.

[ohiosmith]

6. Twenty six/seven. The seduction takes place in Grenada. The legal age there I believe is seventeen.

[Chan790]

17. Younger I think. Closer to 22-23.

The other thing you have to factor in here is the age of consent in Sweden and much of Scandinavia is much younger than American cultural mores. 15, I think. In Iceland, it's 14.

The books were not written for an American audience. It strikes Americans as criminally-creepy and paedophilic; it was probably written to strike the target audience as merely uncomfortable and dysfunctional.

[ohiosmith]

18. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere in "Fire" she is 26 or 27. I know in "Dragon" she was 24.

The kid she seduces is in Grenada where the age of consent is 17. I like your take on the author's rational.

[ceile]

7. Yeah, kinda creepy.

But don't let that stop you from finishing the book. Personally it's my fave in the trilogy.

[ohiosmith]

8. Thanks.

[riderinthestorm]

9. I saw it as another demonstration of how whacked-out she is on social conventions

If you've gotten anywhere into the story then you already know ******* spoiler alert********* that she's had a really rough ride in life so far. Incredibly abused, an Asperger's autistic girl with a deeply troubled history.

I saw the inappropriateness of everything she does as Stieg Larsson's attempt to try to demonstrate how deeply flawed she is (even as she's shown to be a true heroine on so many other levels). The complexity of Lisbeth Salander is what grabbed me so powerfully.

[ohiosmith]

10. I got a lot of her from "Dragon". I would've thought considering her past she wouldn't take

advantage of innocents that trusted her.

I do like your take however.

[Sivafae]

11. Age of Consent in Sweden is 15. eom

[ohiosmith]

12. The seduction took place in Grenada. Age of consent there is seventeen.

[one_voice]

13. I watched it yesterday...

[ohiosmith]

14. Haven't seen any of the movies. Like to read the books first.

How was it?

[one_voice]

15. I tried to read the books first too...

couldn't get into the first one.

I saw the original movie, the one made in Sweden, I haven't seen the American version yet.

It was violent. Rape, torture, somewhat hard to watch. But I thought the story was good. I will watch the other two movies too.

Today I watched Audition....twisted.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235198/

[ohiosmith]

16. Thanks!