Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson


I will admit I bought this book for two reasons. One, the bright cover kept grabbing my attention and two, it seemed like everyone was reading it. I thought to myself "well it has to be popular for a reason." I should have known better since that is how I became addicted to Harry Potter and Twilight, but another addict no where in my thought process I started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.


This is another book I picked up with even knowing what genre it was. I found out quickly. The main character, Mikael Blomkvist is a financial report with an independent magazine and he has just been dealt a career king verdict of guilty for liable. Instead of taking his co-workers and friends down with him, he decides to take a job offer from a prominent industrialist to write the family biography. The family history includes not only business prowlness, but Nazis, family squabbles and the disappearance of a loved family member. A simple fluff job ends up being a mystery Mikael and his companions will never forget.


I haven't read a mystery novel in many years and I am happy I started back up with this one. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had me sitting on the edge of my seat, or bed depending on the time I was reading, with every chapter. The events that unfolded through out the novel had me saying out loud, "Your kidding right?" The characters were strong at some points and fragile in others. They were well rounded and the words portrayed their emotions expertly. At no point did I feel a character was just plain unrealistic and with some of the situations they came across I think this is the greatest achievement of the novel.


I will warn you that there are a few sensitive subjects of the sexual nature in the book. I can not go any deeper into this without giving away plot points but if you have a sensitive stomach towards forceful sex or rape, this is not the book for you.


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first in the Millennium Trilogy and it is safe to say I will be reading the next. Even though this piece was wrapped up very well, especially with how many side plots were floating around, I have a yearning to find out what happens next for the characters, especially the female lead. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

1 comment:

  1. You might be shocked by this Ms. Jaime but I agree with you. :) The only thing that I had a little bit of trouble with as far as the over all flow of the book, is that since the setting is in Sweden, the geography and the currency references were at times hard to follow. But after arming oneself with a World Atlas and a Forbes Magazine those smaller wrinkles in an otherwise free falling plot line can be quickly ironed out. It was a slow start for me but solid background story is like foreplay, you really want to preheat the oven before you stick the muffins in, if you catch my meaning. By the end of the book I too was on the edge of my seat, bed, bar stool or strippers lap depending on what day of the week it was. I had said aloud “No fucking way!” a number of times. A solid read and twisted tale that makes you feel part Red Riding Hood and part Wolf the whole story long.

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