The book: Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The review: "Swedish crime fiction, like the country itself, has both class and a social conscience. It was only a matter of time before it produced its own War and Peace."
The reviewer: Robert Dessaix, Sydney Morning Herald
The verdict: Let's not even entertain the notion of comparing this titillating little thriller to Tolstoy. (Were Tolstoy's protagonists a shameless proxy for the author? Did Anna Karenina tell you the model name of her Ikea bookcase?) No, the real question is, what does it mean for a book to be the War and Peace of Swedish crime fiction? Does that make the BT building in Cardiff the 'Empire State Building of Wales'? Is Kung Fu Panda the Citizen Kane of Jack Black movies?
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