The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest book club questions

1. 1.

   The novel spends considerable time on editorial strategy and legal procedure. Did you find that more or less engaging than the thriller elements of the earlier books?

2. 2.

   Salander is largely passive in this volume — confined, waiting, communicating through screens. Does that change your investment in her character, or does her patience feel like another form of her power?

3. 3.

   Blomkvist's theory — publish everything at once and trust public attention to do the rest — is a media strategy. Does the novel test that theory honestly, or does it need it to work?

4. 4.

   The 'Section' is exposed and dismantled, but the novel is careful to show that the exposure required specific conditions. What were those conditions, and do they seem replicable?

5. 5.

   The ending gives Salander a choice about her future that the series has been building toward. Did you find that choice realistic given who she is?

6. 6.

   Larsson wrote three books about a woman who was systematically failed by every institution that should have protected her. What do you think he was working through?

7. 7.

   Compare the resolution of this trilogy to other long crime series you've read. Does the vindication feel earned by the investment of three volumes?

8. 8.

   The novel's theory of accountability relies on journalism. Given what has happened to the newspaper industry since 2007, does that argument feel more or less convincing now?

9. 9.

   Salander's relationship with Blomkvist ends the trilogy in a specific way. Did you find that conclusion satisfying or frustrating?

10. 10.

    The authorized fourth and fifth Millennium novels continue after this. If you've read them: do they serve the character Larsson created, or do they ultimately belong to someone else?

11. 11.

    The trilogy started as Men Who Hate Women. Does the third book ultimately provide an answer to the question that title implicitly asks?

12. 12.

    If someone has read only this book without the prior two, what would they think the series was about?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.