Stieg Larsson Quotes & Sayings

I don't think I'm the type who falls in love. She was a friend. And we had good sex. — Stieg Larsson

Somehow she managed to survive and dig herself out and - "
"And somehow get back to the farm and swing an axe into Zalachenko's skull," Blomkvist finished for him. "She can be a moody bitch. — Stieg Larsson

Then Pastor Falk leaned towards him and whispered, 'I think she's a Catholic. She loves magic and has not yet found her God. She needs guidance.'
The word 'Catholic' obviously had a negative connotation for Pastor Falk.
'I thought she was interested in the Pentecostal movement?'
'No, no, no, not the Pentecostals. She's looking for the forbidden truth. She is not a good Christian. — Stieg Larsson

Bastards too have a right to their private lives. — Stieg Larsson

It seemed hardly feasible that anyone could tune an oil barrel, and even less credible that the barrel could make music like nothing else in the world. She thought those sounds were magic. — Stieg Larsson

Every year Swedish society produces a new generation of threatened women who can testify to the lack of legal rights and the lukewarm interest shown by the police and other authorities. — Stieg Larsson

In the evening he went to the cinema to see "The Lord of the Rings", which he had never before had time to see. He thought that orcs, unlike human beings, were simple and uncomplicated creatures. — Stieg Larsson

What she had realized was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst. — Stieg Larsson

He sat still for almost ten minutes before he heard movement in the corridor and was aware that the police had arrived. By now he was not thinking of anything in particular. Then he raised the revolver one last time, held it to his temple, and squeezed the trigger. — Stieg Larsson

One of them is that a bastard is always a bastard and if I can hurt a bastard by digging up shit about him, then he deserves it. — Stieg Larsson

I am a rapist and a sadistic pig,' if you get that tattoo removed I will carve it into your forehead, do you understand? — Stieg Larsson

Blomkvist had indeed had many brief relationships. He knew he was reasonably good-looking, but he had never considered himself exceptionally attractive. But he had often been told that he had something that made women interested in him ... that he radiated self-confidence and security at the same time, that he had the ability to make women feel at ease. Going to bed with him was not threatening or complicated, but it might be erotically enjoyable. And that, according to Blomkvist, was as it should be. — Stieg Larsson

Take it all off. I don't intend to fuck somebody in his underwear. And you have to use a condom. I know where I've been, but I don't know where you've been. - Lisbeth Salander — Stieg Larsson

The same source that tipped us off about her and Wu at Kvarnen says that she used to hang out with a bunch of girls there a while back. Some kind of girl band called Evil Fingers."
"Evil fingers?" Bublanski repeated.
"Seems to be something occult."
"Don't tell me Salander is some damned Satanist too," Bublanski said. "The media are going to go nuts."
"Lesbian Satanists," Faste said helpfully.
"Hans, you've got a view of women from the Middle Ages," Modig said. "Even I've heard of Evil Fingers."
"You have?" Bublanski said.
"It was a girl rock band in the late nineties. No superstars, but they were pretty famous for a while."
"So hard-rocking lesbian Satanists," Faste said. — Stieg Larsson

Then he realized that Salander was in costume. Usually her style was sloppy and rather tasteless. Blomkvist had assumed that she was not really interested in fashion, but that she tried instead to accentuate her own individuality. Salander always seemed to mark her private space as hostile territory, and he had thought of the rivets in her leather jacket as a defense mechanism, like the quills of a hedgehog. To everyone around her it was as good a signal as any: Don't try to touch me - it will hurt. — Stieg Larsson

I'm a fast writer, and crime novels are easy to do. It's much harder to write a 1,000 word article, where everything has to be 100 per cent correct. — Stieg Larsson

One more man who hates women, she muttered at last. — Stieg Larsson

The first email was from : I HOPE YOU SUCK COCK IN THE SLAMMER YOU FUCKING COMMIE PIG. He filed it in the "INTELLIGENT CRITICISM" folder. — Stieg Larsson

Blomkvist picked up Salander by her front door on Lundagatan at 10:00 and drove her to the Norra crematorium. He stayed at her side during the ceremony. For a long time they were the only mourners along with the pastor, but when the funeral began Armansky slipped in. He nodded curtly to Blomkvist and stood behind Salander, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded without looking at him, as if she knew who was standing there. Then she ignored them both. Salander had told him nothing about — Stieg Larsson

Normally seven minutes of another person's company was enough to give her a headache so she set things up to live as a recluse. She was perfectly content as long as people left her in peace. Unfortunately society was not very smart or understanding. — Stieg Larsson

No, I don't believe in God, but I respect the fact that you do. Everyone has to have something to believe in. — Stieg Larsson

In real life, people are integrated into society. That's what happens in my books as well. Minor characters don't just walk in and spout lines, they interact and have an effect on the events. It's not an isolated universe. — Stieg Larsson

From a purely physical standpoint she didn't have a chance, but her attitude was that death was better than capitulation. — Stieg Larsson

You could get pretty angry with less provocation. She — Stieg Larsson

Don't get politics mixed up in this. It's all about money and it makes no difference if the Social Democrats or the moderates appoint the ministers — Stieg Larsson

When she came to her senses again she cut off all contact with him. It had not been easy, but she had steeled herself. The last time she saw him she was standing on a platform in the tunnelbana at Gamla Stan and he was sitting in the train on his way downtown. She had stared at him for a whole minute and decided that she did not have a grain of feeling left, because it would have been the same as bleeding to death. Fuck you. — Stieg Larsson

As psychiatrists we must teach ourselves to interpret the overall picture. With regard to Lisbeth Salander, you can see on her body, for example, a multitude of tattoos and piercings, which are a form of self-destructive behaviour and a way of damaging one's own body. We can interpret that as a manifestation of self-hate." Giannini turned to Salander. "Are your tattoos a manifestation of self-hate?" she said. "No," Salander said. Giannini — Stieg Larsson

As the situation developed, the futility of attempting suicide in the middle of a hospital became apparent. — Stieg Larsson

Harley-Davidson," she said. "Sweet. — Stieg Larsson

Women disappear all the time. Nobody misses them. Immigrants. Whores from Russia. Thousands of people pass through Sweden every year. — Stieg Larsson

I can be a regular bitch. Just try me. — Stieg Larsson

I have tried to create main characters who are drastically different from the types who generally appear in crime novels. Mikael Blomkvist, for instance, doesn't have ulcers or booze problems or an anxiety complex. He doesn't listen to operas, nor does he have an oddball hobby such as making model airplanes. — Stieg Larsson

Every other basic right, such as the Formation of Government and the Right to Freedom of Organization, are simply practical extensions of the Right to Free Speech. On this law democracy stands or falls. — Stieg Larsson

Blomkvist had kept the promise he'd made in December to stop visiting Lundagatan in the vain hope that Salander might appear. — Stieg Larsson

He was a cocky devil. Lisbeth liked cocky devils, just as she detested pompous jerks. There was only a subtle difference. — Stieg Larsson

Capitalists' wet dreams is to be involved in charity. — Stieg Larsson

And I guess that in some way I'm falling for you because you are who you are. It's easy to sleep with you because there's no bullshit and you make me feel safe. But this all started because I gave in to a crazy impulse. It doesn't happen very often, and I hadn't planned it. — Stieg Larsson

I've never had a boy in here," Martin said in a serious voice. "I've never touched another man, as a matter of fact ... except for my father. That was my duty. — Stieg Larsson

Salander was dressed for the day in a black T-shirt with a picture on it of E.T. with fangs, and the words I AM ALSO AN ALIEN. She had on a black skirt that was frayed at the hem, a worn-out black, mid-length leather jacket, rivet belt, heavy Doc Marten boots, and horizontally striped, green-and-red knee socks. She had put on make-up in a colour scheme that indicated she might be colourblind. In other words, she was exceptionally decked out. — Stieg Larsson

Salander leaned back against the pillow and followed the conversation with a smile. She wondered why she, who had such difficulty talking about herself with people of flesh and blood, could blithely reveal her most intimate secrets to a bunch of completely unknown freaks on the Internet. — Stieg Larsson

No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on something else, to pass the time and to distract her from the situation she was in, the fear came trickling out. It hovered like a cloud of gas around her, threatening to penetrate her pores and poison her. — Stieg Larsson

I've had many enemies over the years. If there's one thing I've learned, it's never engage in a fight you're sure to lose. On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. Bide your time and strike back when you're in a position of strength - even if you no longer need to strike back. — Stieg Larsson

I don't give a damn what you do with your money. Just sign here that you received it and you can get drunk in peace. — Stieg Larsson

agent inside S.I.S. who had picked up Zalachenko's trail. Right now we're examining a large number of old personnel files." "But if the K.G.B. had — Stieg Larsson

The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every movement, every decision that was made and implemented, only led them one step closer to the abyss. — Stieg Larsson

She still weighed only forty kilos and stood one metre twenty-four centimetres tall. — Stieg Larsson

That I would have to be totally insane to stop seeing you just because you're going to leave one day — Stieg Larsson

Harald seemed to be an invisible but ever-present spirit who affected life in the village by his absence. — Stieg Larsson

I believe that everyone has it in them to kill another person. In desperation, or hatred, or at least to defend themselves. — Stieg Larsson

Oh, come off it. That surly cunt is squirming like a snake."
"Could there be some sort of Freudian symbolism in your choice of similes?"
"What?"
"Forget it ... — Stieg Larsson

It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on. She had also learned that every time she tried to make someone aware of something in her life, the situation just got worse. Consequently it was up to her to solve her problems by herself, using whatever methods she deemed necessary. — Stieg Larsson

She had discovered that the most effective method of keeping the fear at bay was to fantasize about something that gave her a feeling of strength. She closed her eyes and conjured up the smell of gasoline. — Stieg Larsson

She went out on the balcony and leaned — Stieg Larsson

I'm unhappy. I don't want to fall in love with you. It'll hurt far too much when it's over — Stieg Larsson

I am what I am,' Salander said 'I ran away from everything and everybody. I should have said goodbye. — Stieg Larsson

come much colder — Stieg Larsson

Some of the writers I've praised are Sara Paretsky, Val McDermid, Elisabeth George and Minette Walters. Strangely enough, almost all are women. — Stieg Larsson

I abhor crime novels in which the main character can behave however he or she pleases, or do things that normal people do not do, without those actions having social consequences. — Stieg Larsson

Cortez looked like someone newly in love, the way only twenty-four-year-olds can look. — Stieg Larsson

Mathematics was actually a logical puzzle with endless variations - riddles that could be solved. The trick was not to solve arithmetical problems. Five times five would always be twenty-five. The trick was to understand combinations of the various rules that made it possible to solve any mathematical problem whatsoever. — Stieg Larsson

Greeks who coined the term "Amazon." The word literally means "without breast." It is said that in order to facilitate the drawing of a bow, the female's right breast was removed, either in early childhood or with a red-hot iron after she became an adult. — Stieg Larsson

I know what kind of things I myself have been irritated by in detective stories. They are often about one or two persons, but they don't describe anything in the society outside. — Stieg Larsson

13
NOTES
She hesitated. For two years she had kept as far away from Mikael Blomkvist as she could. And yet he kept sticking to her life like gum on the sole of her shoe, either on the Net or in real life. On the Net it was O.K. There he was no more than electrons and words. In real life, standing on her doorstep, he was still fucking attractive. And he knew her secrets just as she knew all of his. She looked at him for a moment and realized that she now had no feelings for him. At least not those kinds of feelings. He had in fact been a good friend to her over the past year. She trusted him. Maybe. It was troubling that one of the few people she trusted was a man she spent so much time avoiding. Then she made up her mind. It was absurd to pretend that he did not exist. It no longer hurt her to see him. She opened the door wide and let him into her life again. — Stieg Larsson

This is so much money that it scares the shit out of me. I don't know how to handle it. I don't know the purpose of the company besides making more money. What's all the money going to be used for? — Stieg Larsson

If love is liking someone too much, then I think I'm in love with an awful lot of people — Stieg Larsson

Always retain the ability to walk away, without sentimentality, from a situation that felt unmanageable. That was a basic rule of survival. Don't lift a finger for a lost cause. — Stieg Larsson

Consider this a fair warning. — Stieg Larsson

Hey, toy boy. It's only 3:00, and I want to be properly entertained before dinner. — Stieg Larsson

Swedish democracy is based on a single premise: the Right to Free Speech (R.F.S.). — Stieg Larsson

Oppurtunity Makes the Thief — Stieg Larsson

She hardly ever began conversations with strangers just to talk. It was not a matter of shyness. For her, a conversation had a straightforward function. How do I get to the pharmacy? or How much does the hotel room cost? Conversation also had a professional function. [ ... ] When she worked as a researcher [ ... ], she had never minded having a long conversation if it was to ferret out facts. On the other hand, she disliked personal discussions, which always led to snooping around in areas she considered private. — Stieg Larsson

To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute duty. — Stieg Larsson

Salander was the woman who hated men who hate women. — Stieg Larsson

Don't exaggerate. Just give your natural bitchy selves full rein — Stieg Larsson

I have pain in my hip and long walks are a thing of the past but I'm neither morbid nor senile. I'm not obsessed by death, but I'm at an age when I have to accept that my time is about up. You want to close the accounts and take care of unfinished business. — Stieg Larsson

Too many cooks might wreck the whole dish. — Stieg Larsson

You have to distinguish between two things - the Swedish economy and the Swedish stock market. The Swedish economy is the sum of all the goods and services that are produced in this country every day. There are telephones from Ericsson, cars from Volvo, chickens from Scan, and shipments from Kiruna to Skovde. That's the Swedish economy, and it's just as strong or weak today as it was a week ago ...
The Stock Exchange is something very different. There is no economy and no production of goods and services. There are only fantasies in which people from one hour to the next decide that this or that company is worth so many billions, more or less. It doesn't have a thing to do with the Swedish economy. — Stieg Larsson

There is nothing to talk about" she said. "I'm just a freak that's all. — Stieg Larsson

Candy within reach and then I have to go on a diet. — Stieg Larsson

She marked off another day in her head. — Stieg Larsson

She went around with the attitude that she would rather be beaten to death than take any shit. — Stieg Larsson

evil shall
with evil
be expelled... — Stieg Larsson

Salander assessed the situation and saw that it was anything but under control. Her brain was working at high speed. Click, click, click. — Stieg Larsson

A journalist finds out things by asking questions of people who know. — Stieg Larsson

You have no idea how mentally handicapped I could be if push comes to shove. — Stieg Larsson

In ordinary detective novels you never see the consequences of what happens in a story in the next book. That you do in mine. — Stieg Larsson

Mimi was massaging Salander's back and neck. She had been kneading intently for 20 minutes while Salander mainly enjoyed herself and uttered an occasional groan of pleasure. A massage from Mimi was a fantastic experience, and she felt like a kitten who just wanted to purr and wave its paws around. — Stieg Larsson

When all the media assertions were put together, the police appeared to be hunting for a psychotic lesbian who had joined a cult of Satanists that propagandized for S&M sex and hated society in general and men in particular. Because Salander had been abroad for the past year, there might be international connections too. — Stieg Larsson

His attitude had always been that if a woman clearly indicated that she did not want anything more to do with him, he would go on his way. Not respecting such a message would in his eyes, show a lack of respect for her. — Stieg Larsson

Isn't it fascinating that Nazis always manage to adopt the word freedom? — Stieg Larsson

You mean that your buddy was lying? — Stieg Larsson

Martin was dafter than a syphilitic polecat - where do I get these metaphors from? — Stieg Larsson

I fell in love with you last winter. I didn't mean to, but it happened. And then I took stock and realised that you were only here temporarily; one day you'll be gone for good and I'll stay here for the rest of my life. It hurt so damn much that I decided I wasn't going to let you in again ... — Stieg Larsson

She wondered what she thought of herself, and came to the realization that she felt mostly indifference towards her entire life. — Stieg Larsson

Don't get me wrong - I was not a Nazi, and in my eyes Hitler seemed like some absurd character in an operetta. But, it would have been almost impossible not to be infected by the optimism about the future, which was rife among ordinary people in Hamburg. - Henrik Vanger — Stieg Larsson

Armageddon was yesterday, today we have a serious problem. — Stieg Larsson

Berger's eyes narrowed. She turned ice-cold. She had had enough of the word whore. — Stieg Larsson

To rest. Not to wakeup. Forgive me, Mimmi. — Stieg Larsson

She's married. I'm more a friend and occasional lover. — Stieg Larsson

It was this simple. Some had it. Others would always falter when it came to the crunch. — Stieg Larsson