Her absence had felt like torture--almost a form of personal punishment. He had nobody to discuss his feelings with, and for the first time he realised with appalling clarity what a destructive hold she had over him.

Salander never forgets an injustice, and by nature she was anything but forgiving.

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.

There were not so many physical threats that could not be countered with a decent hammer.

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 reality or with the Swedish economy.

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

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