Larsson Stieg Quotes & Sayings

Cuando llega la hora, llega la hora. A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do and all that crap. — Stieg Larsson

Taking away a person's control of her own life - meaning her bank account - is one of the greatest infringements a democracy can impose, especially when it applies to young people. It is an infringement even if the intent may be perceived as benign and socially valid. — 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

She had doll-like, almost delicate limbs, small hands, and hardly any hips.
But she now had breasts.
All her life sje jad been flat-chested, as if she had never reached puberty. She thought it had looked ridiculous, and she was always uncomfortable showing herself naked.
Now, all of a sudden, she had breasts. They were by no means gigantic - that was not whatshe had wanted, and they would have looked ridiculous on her otherwise skinny body - but they were two solid, round breasts of medium size. The enlargements had been well done, and the proportions were reasonable. But the difference was dramatic. — Stieg Larsson

To Sally, who showed me the benefits of the sport of golf. — 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

Nobody can avoid falling in love. They might want to deny it, but friendship is probably the most common form of love. — 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

He often wondered whether it were possible to be more possessed by
desire for any other woman. The fact was that they functioned well
together, and they had a connection as addictive as heroin. — 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

You know what? I think you ought to recruit her for the Section. — Stieg Larsson

Plague might be a social incompetent, but he was unquestionably a genius. — 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

You were difficult enough to catch, Faste said. Salander gave him a long look, satisfied herself that he was an idiot, and decided that she would not waste too many seconds concerning herself with his existence. — 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

It would be deplorable if the special interests had the power to silence those voices in the media that they find uncomfortable. — 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

The pace of Swedish crime fiction is slower - Stieg Larsson's the exception. And I think we use the environment more. — Camilla Lackberg

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

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

The constitution had nothing to do with it. It was, after all, a matter of national security. — 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

If love is liking someone an awful lot, then I suppose I'm in love with several people. — 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

I mean, I may not hold the record in cleaning house either, but if I've got old milk cartons that smell like maggots I bundle them up and put them out."
"I'm on a disability pension'" he said. "I'm socially incompetent. — Stieg Larsson

When I find the motherfucker who tortured an innocent cat to death just to send us a warning, I'm going to clobber him with a baseball bat — 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

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

In many respects I have gone out of my way to avoid the usual approach adopted in crime novels. I have used some techniques that are normally outlawed - the presentation of Mikael Blomkvist, for instance, is based exclusively on the personal case study made by Lisbeth Salander. — Stieg Larsson

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

At some point on the morning of the second day she came to a terrifying realisation. She had no idea how it had happened or how she was supposed to cope with it. She was in love for the first time in her life. — Stieg Larsson

Bullshit," Salander said again. "Gottfried isn't the only kid who was ever mistreated. That doesn't give him the right to murder women. He made that choice himself. And the same is true of Martin. — Stieg Larsson

He knows that I have a photographic memory ... and that I'm a hacker. — Stieg Larsson

Being a homicide detective ca be the loneliest job in the world. The friends of the victim are upset and in despair, but sooner or later - after weeks or months - they go back to their everyday lives. For the closest family it takes longer, but for the most part, to some degree, they too get over the grieving and despair. Life has to go on; it does go on. But the unsolved murders keep gnawing away and in the end there's only one person left who thinks night and day about the victim: it's the office who is left with the investigation. — Stieg Larsson

He's pulling the load of an ox and walking on eggshells. — Stieg Larsson

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

I am not altogether confident of my ability to put my thoughts into words: My texts are usually better after an editor has hacked away at them, and I am used to both editing and being edited. Which is to say that I am not oversensitive in such matters. — Stieg Larsson

Salander fitted into this picture about as well as a buffalo in a boat show. — Stieg Larsson

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

When their love was not reciprocated, it could quickly turn to violent hatred. — Stieg Larsson

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

Then I discovered that being related is no guarantee of love! — Stieg Larsson

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

The Salander investigation is fake. Bjorck's original doesn't match Blomkvist's version. Classify Top Secret. — Stieg Larsson

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

The reason I work out is that it feels great. That's a normal phenomenon among people who do extreme training. The body produces a pain-suppressing chemical and you become addicted to it. If you don't run every day, you get withdrawal symptoms after a while. You feel an enormous sense of well-being when you give something your all. It's almost as powerful as good sex. — Stieg Larsson

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

He's a moron," Blomkvist said. Vanger laughed, but he said: "That may be. But he's not the one who was sentenced by the court. — Stieg Larsson

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

No, she did not want to go to hospital. Yes, she would like a cup of tea. Only then did she begin to think rationally again. — Stieg Larsson

She saw him drenched with gasoline. She could actually feel the box of matches in her hand. — Stieg Larsson

[Her] greatest fear, which was so huge and so black that it was of phobic proportions, was that people would laugh at her feelings. — 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

Impulsive actions led to trouble, and trouble could have unpleasant consequences. — Stieg Larsson

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

Salander was an information junkie with a delinquent child's take on morals and ethics. — Stieg Larsson

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

What Stieg Larsson was up to - it was the Swedish guilt over World War II. All of our neighbors had the most terrible experiences with the bad forces, but Sweden didn't. I think we use the thrillers in a different way. We never write a thriller like 'Who is the murderer?' The big question in most of our thrillers is ... 'Why?' — Michael Nyqvist

Hey, you fucking creep, in this shithole! I've got a monopoly on that one. — Stieg Larsson

I'm not arguing. I just think that it's pathetic that creeps always have to have someone else to blame. — Stieg Larsson

What irritated her most was that they kept brushing off her arguments with patronizing smiles, making her feel like a teenager being quizzed on her homework. Without actually uttering a single inappropriate word, they displayed towards her an attitude that was so antediluvian it was almost comical. You shouldn't worry your pretty head over complex matters, little girl. — Stieg Larsson

I feel more related to some American crime writers than I do to Stieg Larsson. — Jo Nesbo

What do you need me for? Salander's greatest fear, which was so huge and so black that it was of phobic proportions, was that people would laugh at her feelings. And all of a sudden all her carefully constructed self-confidence seemed to crumble. — Stieg Larsson

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

I'm not going to apologize for the way I've led my life. — Stieg Larsson

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

He comes off a little like Practical Pig in The Three Little Pigs. — Stieg Larsson

She cursed her gender. Nobody would have dared attack her if she had been a man. — Stieg Larsson

Take "no" as an encouragement to redouble his efforts, so it was easier to say "yes" right away. — Stieg Larsson

I was a scared little girl barely into my teens then. Now I'm a grown woman. I can kill you whenever I want. Again — Stieg Larsson

I don't know if I want a steady relationship, but I'm terrified of losing you. — Stieg Larsson

Her voice was as rough as sandpaper. As long as Blomkvist lived, he would never forget her face as she went on the attack. Her teeth were bared like a beast of prey. Her eyes were glittering, black as coal. She moved with the lightning speed of a tarantula and seemed totally focus on her prey as she swung the club again, striking Martin in the ribs. — Stieg Larsson

I write best when I sort of collide myself with another man. So I think, I hope, that a combination of me and Stieg Larsson will create something good. — David Lagercrantz

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

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

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

It was troubling that one of the few people she trusted was a man she spent so much time avoiding — Stieg Larsson

Apart from the fact that you're not really a dyke. You're probably bisexual. But most of all you're sexual - you like sex and you don't care about what gender. You're an entropic chaos factor. — Stieg Larsson

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

Oppurtunity Makes the Thief — Stieg Larsson

Men who just call to say hello generally have ulterior motives. — Stieg Larsson

The media have the ability to attract the craziest people to call in perfectly absurd tips. Every newsroom in the world gets updates from UFOlogists, graphologists, scientologists, paranoiacs, and every sort of conspiracy theorist. — Stieg Larsson

I was so obsessed by Lisbeth Salander and all the characters, but of course if you're going to write a crime novel worthy of Stieg Larsson, you need a plot, don't you? — David Lagercrantz

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

It was completely impossible to box with her. She had only one style, which we called Terminator Mode. She would try to nail her opponent, and it didn't matter if it was just a warm-up of friendly sparring. — Stieg Larsson

Part of the brilliance of Stieg Larsson's books is that they are so complex, so many different facets coming together. — David Lagercrantz

Only a woman who had killed a man in battle was allowed to give up her virginity. — Stieg Larsson

When other people are grieving, the newspaperman turns efficient. — Stieg Larsson

She had taken many more punches to both body and soul than anyone should ever have to endure. But she had been able to rebel every time. — Stieg Larsson