Finding love in a ‘hopeless’ case

MANILA, Philippines - Ideals — we all have them. We all have our own set of standards for what we accept and what we don’t. As with books, I realized I have also developed standards on what I should be reading: a) it must be inspirational enough to change lives; b) it will make assertions to some truth about the universe or life or humanity; c) the main character/s can be a role model; d) all of the above.

With these, I have prided myself on having read books that deal with philosophy, faith, the poetry of life, and other such topics that I consider “smart.” Nonsense books will not contribute knowledge of the world to me.

I don’t know how or when or why I came up with the reading list standards. On the other hand, my discovery of these brought me the realization that setting up such standards limits me in discovering other books that are otherwise amazing. My ideals had boxed me in.

So, it was not love at first sight when I met my favorite book back in late 2011.

With my ideals of what constitute a good book shadowing my thoughts, I would have passed on Stieg Larson’s The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, if not for the catchy title. The cover features a girl with a nose ring sporting a punk hairstyle. My initial thought was that she is probably someone violent, involved in illegal activities, maybe even self-destructive. I didn’t like her, she could not possibly inspire a mythic change in me — just look at her! She is worlds apart from my ideal heroine who is well-mannered and smart. I put the book back.

After I discovered my liking for the intellectual side of solving crimes — the unfolding of events as pieces of evidence are gathered, the exhaustive detective work — I found romance with crime fiction. It is with this newfound love that I bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Dragon Tattoo is the first book of the Millennium Trilogy by Swedish author Larson, the other two books being The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. As I become entangled with the series, I realized that the first book would hardly be my favorite.

As the next book is built on the preceding one, it is hard to have a favorite among the three. Each book has, of course, its own story; however, at the core of these stories are two of the most intriguing and interesting characters I’ve ever encountered in literature: Lisbeth Salander, a socially withdrawn young woman with impressive knowledge in computer hacking, and Mikael Blomkvist, a famous investigative journalist known for his fearless reporting.

The two characters go through an adrenaline-packed roller coaster ride in discovering the riddle behind the mysterious disappearance of a member of one of Sweden’s influential families, the search for truth in the murders of two journalists, and justice for Lisbeth Salander in the course of the trilogy.

Somewhere between all the crimes, spilled blood and guts, my standards came crashing down. The novels released me from my literary box and I found out it is possible to find morality and inspiration in the face of  the violence and injustices of the world, and to love characters that are different and broken,  like Salander and Blomkvist.

Salander is not my ideal fictional heroine. She is considered an outcast and has been labeled an “incompetent.” Her looks are unconventional with the piercings and tattoos, and she is prone to violence. It is easy to judge her and people are convinced she is a murderer and a threat to society. 

I shared their judgment at first, until I began to understand that her actions were the result of a disturbing past. By the middle of the second book, it was excruciating to be reading how Salander was perceived by people. There were times I wanted to shake some characters and scream, “If only you knew her!” and “You don’t understand!”I felt these emotions as though she were my friend. But then, I remember my first impression of her on the cover of the book and I realized how in the beginning I was like the rest of those people who are against Salander. I was racked with guilt until the end of the series and felt the need to apologize to her.

Mikael Blomkvist is the other protagonist. In some ways, he is the knight in shining armor to Salander. He is the curious one and is cautious about all the information he gets. He doesn’t pass judgment until he has verified all the facts given him. He is not perfect but will always stand behind, with integrity, to see to it that one is treated correctly.

Mikael’s attitude inspires me. Without meaning to, his character reminded me to keep calm and be objective, to be accepting, to not judge and to not be swayed so easily by the opinion of others. I should be more like him, I thought.

The books woke me up and made me notice that I had become the person I did not want to become — quick to judge, not bothering to find out the truth first.

I don’t know if stereotyping was one of the issues Larson tried to raise in the trilogy, but surely, when I fall to this kind of thinking again, it will now be easier to avoid it. I cannot possibly forget this girl with a dragon tattoo on her back, and the realizations that came with knowing her. She will stay tattooed on my mind as she stays on the minds of other readers who have met her. 

THIS WEEK’S WINNER

Pat Labitori, 22, is a graduate of Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) from Miriam College. She worked as a volunteer staff at the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary in Baguio City, and as a junior research assistant at the Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC). She wants to be successful in the field of Environmental Science.