The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
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Book Reviews of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Book Review: Spellbinding!
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to read more mysteries than I do now and I am so glad that I picked up a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This is a hard review to write as I don't want to give too much away as to spoil the story for those who haven't read the book yet. This book has a slow start, a few friends warned me that the first 150 pages would be slow and it was. It was filled with lots of information but I still found it interesting and wasn't tempted to put it down. So, if you're reading it and find the beginning slow...don't give up, it gets SO much better!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was truly spellbinding to me...it pulled me in and I couldn't put the book down near the end. This book covers it all including murder mystery, family sagas, family secrets, love story and financial intrigue and mystery. There are several story lines within the book that I didn't have a problem balancing as I read. There is the storyline of Mikael a political and financial journalist who is charged with Libel. He runs and co-owns a magazine called Millenium, thus the series is referred to as the Millenium series. Mickael is hired to investigate a missing person case and the woman has been missing for over 40 years.
My favorite storyline and character is Lisbeth a twenty-something pierced and tattooed young woman with a horrible past full of secrets. She is intriguing and mysterious and her mind works at a genius level including her computer hacking abilities. Her social skills are limited and this causes her a lot of problems. Her past gets intertwined into the story as she teams up with Mikael to help him solve the missing person case.
There are definitely disturbing parts to this book that are graphic in nature so be forewarned if this is something that bothers you. I usually don't tolerate graphic abuse very well and there are definitely squeamish and violent scenes in this book but the storyline was so amazing and intelligent that these dark aspects didn't destroy my opinion of the book . There was a lot of violence towards women in this book and it seemed excessive. The ugly side of human nature shines through loudly. I can understand why the title was originally called "Men who hate women" when it was first published in Sweden.
Book Review: Compelling Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a bit of two minds about this book. On one hand I thoroughly enjoyed the greater part of the book which deals with the disappearance and possible death of Harriet Vanger, "a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden." The author crafts an excellent mystery while also making a statement about societies tacit acceptance of certain types of violence toward women. (The story is based in Sweden but sadly resonant the world over.) The storyline is compelling and well executed. A secondary plot line involving a libel judgment and corporate malfeasance is less successful.
The book starts slowly and it is ever-so-tempting to give up on it before the plot really takes off. Only the generally positive reviews and assurances that I would be rewarded for my efforts kept me plugging along. Once the story got moving, the book was hard to put down. It was a compelling read right up to the conclusion of the heiress saga. Then the author turned his attention back to the secondary plot line which involved corporate fraud, computer hacking, investigative journalism, journalistic standards etc. It could be just my lack of interest in those subjects or the fact that I did not personally care for the journalist, but I thought this plot line dragged the book down.
Mr. Larsson's characters are a hit. the male protagonist of this story is compellingly repellent. He is a gifted investigator and a principled scribe, he is also a faithless lover, a negligent father and a sexual opportunist. The female lead is more sympathetic but no less "well rounded". On a macro level she has difficulty functioning in society. She is antisocial in the extreme and like a frightened abused animal strikes out when threatened, often to her detriment. On a micro level, she is absolutely brilliant in her sphere of expertise - computer hacking and personal investigations. At certain points in the story her level of social incompetence does seem to conveniently recede, but the slippage is almost required to keep the pace of the story moving along. Secondary characters are similarly satisfyingly complex.
Overall a really good book with a strong social message. But for the secondary plot line I would have given it 5 stars.
Book Review: Compelling and well Written
Summary: 5 Stars
Instead of retelling the story, I'll make a few of my general observations about what made the book so surprisingly readable:
1. How many books have you read written by a Swedish author from a Swedish perspective? I found it fascinating to compare what must be the norm regarding Swedish businessmen, a somewhat more liberal feeling about sexual relationships, friendship, normal food, living quarters, all things Swedish.
2. The author was a trained journalist, knows the rules and law of journalism and accurately portrays the writing and publishing world which can sometimes be brutal and highly competitive.
3. How many of the royal business families in the United States are made up of dozens and dozens of heirs who are made up partially of spoiled and troubled people with sometimes creepy lives? The story here is very believable, goes back a couple of generations where the main character journalist is able to uncover some family Nazi roots and bad behavior which have permeated down to the current generation.
4. One of the most compelling and excellent things about the book is the creation of a waifish, backward, tattooed and pierced girl who seems like a total outcast and belongs in an institution. But as her personality and skills start to unfold and mix with the journalist main character, she becomes this amazing and even lovable character and I have to admit, that I cared deeply for her and kept holding my breath hoping she wouldn't die.
5. The story is long, meticulous, gets into detail that main American detective writers would never take time to do. And yet, it is this careful, slow work that makes it all the more believable and when some solutions start to emerge, it has been well worth the wait.
6. There were a few things that were a bit strange to me, a bit over the top, didn't quite seem right, but I don't want to give anything away here.
Suffice it to say that I'm very excited for the next book to come out and I can't believe I have to wait until July.
The book is adult and R rated with some scenes that will be offensive and hard to take for some readers.
Book Review: A troubling look at Sweden's dark underbelly
Summary: 4 Stars
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a very intricately layered novel. While the book mainly centers on two separate mysteries that are loosely connected due to the players involved, it also deals--almost casually--with everyday violence and especially violence against women. It is the frequency of this violence in the novel that makes it so disturbing.
The novel's most interesting character is Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth is a social misfit with a core of anger simmering just below her surface. The author is coy about what it is that motivates Lisbeth but the reader is given some hints as to past events in Lisbeth's life that have led her to become the very antisocial person she has become. Her methods of dealing with events in her life are unorthodox, to say the least, but she is a very sympathetic character and I found myself both rooting for her and feeling her pain.
Aside from Lisbeth, the novel has a pretty vast cast of characters who are all very well-drawn and unique. Larsson's characters are very three dimensional and lifelike. His Vanger clan is filled with truly diverse characters.
The two mysteries at the core of the novel are both fascinating in their own right. One of the mysteries has to do with the disappearance of Harriet Vanger nearly fifty years previous while the other has to do with the activities of a prominent and much-lauded Swedish businessman. Larsson does a deft job of weaving these two stories together, even though the two have no real connection to one another and each would have been enough in and of itself to constitute a novel.
At its heart, this is a dark story of indifference to--if not acceptance of--violence. Whether Larsson is describing crimes against women or the rise of the Nazi movement in Sweden, Larsson is making a statement. The crimes he describes aren't exactly rare and I had a sense of anger that more or less permeates every page. It seems as though Larsson wants to draw attention to the ills of his country and I was left with the impression that perhaps Sweden--like many other nations--sometimes has the tendency to overlook its problems rather than acknowledge the horror of them.
Book Review: IF YOU LIKE A MYSTERY BUY THIS BOOK
Summary: 5 Stars
IF YOU LIKE A MYSTERY BUY THIS BOOK
If You Like Character Development Buy This Book.
Mr. Stieg Larsson's debut novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is terrific. An intricate novel that combines a complex murder mystery with a dysfunctional family saga, a complicated person love story, intricate financial corporate intrigue, and an esoteric 50 year serial crime spree. Well written, Mr. Larsson's keeps the reader in absolute suspense from page one to the end of this amazing tale. In many ways this novel is a lot like an expanded and more complex Agatha Christie or Conan Doyle mystery. Mr. Larsson builds the mystery as he adds facet upon facet until a complex mosaic leaves the reader wondering where the author will go next? The good news is that Mr. Larsson does not disappoint as he weaves layer upon layer of suspense. The basic thesis involves a discredited reporter who is hired to investigate and find the strangely missing niece of a very rich Swedish businessman. From there the story grows into a labyrinth of who-done-its, as Mr. Larsson brings in a multitude of interesting and in many ways despicable characters. To go into more detail would spoil a wonderful tale of mystery. Again, this is an extremely well done and satisfying mystery on many levels.
Character development was superb and the very heart of this novel. Mr. Larsson's literary forte is his wonderful ability to develop numerous characters and have then all interrelate. As the mysteries deepen, the characters become even more complex until the story reaches a thundering climax or should I say climaxes! Bravo and well done Mr. Larsson.
Heavy use of raw language and some extreme violence but all germane to this tale of interpersonal relationships. No gratuitous sex.
I heartily recommend this novel. The beginning drags just a bit as Mr. Larsson sets the literary table but then by page 20 or so hold on to your seat as the roller coaster ride begins. Could be book of the year. If you liked Child 44 you'll love this novel. Worth the hardback price. I am looking forward with anticipation to Mr. Larsson's next novel .