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The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, recently at the wrong end of a libel case, to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance. Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone show more twice her age--and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness--assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, an astonishing corruption at the highest echelon of Swedish industrialism--and a surprising connection between themselves.--From publisher description. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
taz_ Charm school drop-outs Lisbeth Salander of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and Smilla Qaaviqaaq Jaspersen of "Smilla's Sense of Snow" strike me as unconventional soul sisters of the detective mystery. Each haunted by demons of the past, fiercely independent, armored in cynicism and misanthropy, they share a certain psychic landscape and brilliant, icy resourcefulness. If you love one, I predict you'll love the other.
332
kraaivrouw It's mentioned in the book and it's another great thriller.
50
EllieM Are you wondering 'what next?' after reading the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? I recommend that you try Child of The Hive by Jessica Meats.
Both books are plot driven action packed thrillers with a rather unexpected heroine. Like Lisbeth Salander, Child of the Hive's Sophie is a highly intelligent computer geek. Someone you would not necessarily choose as a best friend but you grow fond of her as the story progresses.
Stieg Larsson's blockbuster is a more traditional 'whodunnit' and the main plot puzzle is the identity of the murderer. Jessica Meats writes in a slightly a different genre, Child of The Hive is a speculative thriller on the borders of science fiction, and as such it presents different puzzles. For example a moral one, exactly which sub group should I classify as 'the bad guys'? As for guessing the ending, most people will not see where the book is going. I failed. But the surprising nature of the story is much of its fun. With the benefit of hindsight you can see that the climax of 'Child' is tidy and satisfactory. Certainly not one of those annoying thrillers with a plot balanced on one very unlikely clue which has been carefully draped in numerous red herrings.
Both books should appeal to a wide range of readers, but I suggest Child of the Hive is also more suitable for a slightly younger group than The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which is distinctly adult in places.
Child of The Hive is a really ‘good read’, I give it 5 stars out of five
53
birder4106 Burke (Vacchs) und Salander (Larsson) haben sehr viel gemeinsam.
20
amberwitch Wellwritten crimestories set in Sweden with female protagonists.
21
by anonymous user
charlie68 Also a good mystery about someone that disappears.
cafepithecus Another book about men who hate women, and the women who take them down.
mcenroeucsb Let the Right One In is a Swedish novel about a child vampire who just wants to be a normal kid, the pedophile who is obsessed with her, and the neighbor boy who wants to befriend her.
Also recommended by MyriadBooks
1110
fyrefly98 Both are solid, well-written, character-driven detective stories.
23
anonymous user Similar flavor.
quincidence Sometimes you have to find the inner survivor to suffer the horror, and see the end.
bookmomo Both have an eye for Swedish nature and society, as well as contemporary history, and they describe human cruelty in its purest form.
13
Wova4 The GwtDT reminded me of the character Ripley, who is very much a morally ambiguous protagonist with a complicated psychology.
69
ansate The mystery in this reminds me of the mystery of Harriet
15
pedro_felipe The protagonist, Maureen, has a similar family background to Lisbeth's. Moreover, both trilogies deal with themes of abuse against women.
Member Reviews
The genius of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson is the Girl of the titles. Lisbeth Salander alone is worth diving into these books for. Her specific vision of the world and her extreme reactions to almost everything are a delight. This intro to the series was my favorite of the three books largely because Salander is more actively involved throughout. The story sets up one mystery that quickly turns into parallel mysteries that span generations and tease along throughout the book. Journalism is the hero in the person of sexual vagabond Mikael Bloomquist. His heated idealism balances nicely against Salander’s cold pessimistic practicality. Either character alone might tend to smother the narrative but bouncing back and forth show more between them constantly injects fresh air. My eyes widened at several of the surprises in the book, and my pulse pounded at a couple. One mystery involves family drama and murder while the other corporate malfeasance in the extreme but throughout both extend the ideals of responsibility and watchfulness. The book is busy enough with its mysteries not to dwell on these themes heavy handedly. While the two mysteries have connections, their solutions remain separate—calming my fears of one big tidy solution. Fortunately, not much is tidy about this book especially the relationship of the two main characters—devout individuals realizing their situational dependence on each other and not always liking it. show less
For some reason, I’d put off reading this series – I guess all the hype turned me off. But I found myself in an airport with nothing to read – so I bit the bullet.
And I was sucked in from the first page.
The book is a thriller on many levels: the story about the Vanger family itself, the journalist's crusade to redeem his reputation, Lisabeth's vendettas and development, and of course, the truth about what actually happened to the missing Vanger heiresss.
Told in third person narration, we follow journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his sidekick, the resourceful Lisbeth Salander, as they try to solve a forty-year-old crime. The story is intriguing and fast-paced. Salander is one of the most remarkable characters I've read in years. show more She's a social misfit that still gets the job done (she's like Dr. Spock without the personality). The reader falls in love with her, though in reality, if you were alone in a room with Salander, you'd be totally unnerved and would be compelled to leave. And other characters are also standouts including Blomkvist, Berger, Henrik and Frode because they are multi-faceted with their own unique styles. Plot-wise, I was kept guessing right to the end, with many satisfying twists and surprises. The writing is plain and unadorned, but with a story like this you really don't need bells and whistles.
This is a superb read. As soon as I finished, I was off to the bookshop for the two others in the trilogy. show less
And I was sucked in from the first page.
The book is a thriller on many levels: the story about the Vanger family itself, the journalist's crusade to redeem his reputation, Lisabeth's vendettas and development, and of course, the truth about what actually happened to the missing Vanger heiresss.
Told in third person narration, we follow journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his sidekick, the resourceful Lisbeth Salander, as they try to solve a forty-year-old crime. The story is intriguing and fast-paced. Salander is one of the most remarkable characters I've read in years. show more She's a social misfit that still gets the job done (she's like Dr. Spock without the personality). The reader falls in love with her, though in reality, if you were alone in a room with Salander, you'd be totally unnerved and would be compelled to leave. And other characters are also standouts including Blomkvist, Berger, Henrik and Frode because they are multi-faceted with their own unique styles. Plot-wise, I was kept guessing right to the end, with many satisfying twists and surprises. The writing is plain and unadorned, but with a story like this you really don't need bells and whistles.
This is a superb read. As soon as I finished, I was off to the bookshop for the two others in the trilogy. show less
The Short of It:
Not your regular murder mystery. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is complex and rich and psychologically challenging. A page-turner but not the kind you skim through. This one you want to savor.
The Rest of It:
I am the last person on the planet to read this, so what hasn’t been said? Well, Lisbeth Salander is probably one of the strongest female protagonists I’ve seen in print in a long, long time. She is dark and moody and has been abused in more ways than one, yet she is strong and determined and always manages to gain the upper hand. Her counterpart, Mikael Blomkvist is also a very interesting character. He’s unassuming yet there’s something about him that draws the women to him. He’s essentially a good guy, show more easy going and honest but as I was reading, I wanted to know what made him tick and I’m not sure that came through for me.
As a mystery, I found it to be quite satisfying. I never felt that the story was too obvious or that Larsson was pandering to the masses when he wrote it. It’s a sophisticated story told in a sophisticated way. What did surprise me was the prevalence of domestic violence throughout the novel. Apparently, Sweden has a very high rate of domestic violence. The statistics are mentioned throughout the novel and there is plenty of violence against women in general. Although some of the violence is graphic in its depiction, I never felt as if it was unwarranted, if that makes sense.
In the end, I was left wanting more so it’s a good thing that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first book of the Millenium Series. I am reading The Girl Who Played with Fire now and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is available in the UK and can be purchased online. show less
Not your regular murder mystery. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is complex and rich and psychologically challenging. A page-turner but not the kind you skim through. This one you want to savor.
The Rest of It:
I am the last person on the planet to read this, so what hasn’t been said? Well, Lisbeth Salander is probably one of the strongest female protagonists I’ve seen in print in a long, long time. She is dark and moody and has been abused in more ways than one, yet she is strong and determined and always manages to gain the upper hand. Her counterpart, Mikael Blomkvist is also a very interesting character. He’s unassuming yet there’s something about him that draws the women to him. He’s essentially a good guy, show more easy going and honest but as I was reading, I wanted to know what made him tick and I’m not sure that came through for me.
As a mystery, I found it to be quite satisfying. I never felt that the story was too obvious or that Larsson was pandering to the masses when he wrote it. It’s a sophisticated story told in a sophisticated way. What did surprise me was the prevalence of domestic violence throughout the novel. Apparently, Sweden has a very high rate of domestic violence. The statistics are mentioned throughout the novel and there is plenty of violence against women in general. Although some of the violence is graphic in its depiction, I never felt as if it was unwarranted, if that makes sense.
In the end, I was left wanting more so it’s a good thing that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first book of the Millenium Series. I am reading The Girl Who Played with Fire now and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is available in the UK and can be purchased online. show less
We all have one. A family...the uncle who drinks too much at family reunions, the aunt that calls you cute and pinches your cheeks even when you're 22 years old, the cousin who got into trouble with the IRS, the selfish brother and the never-present father....the list is endless and different for each of us. But think darker.....think corruption, think kidnapping, think murder, think..... the horrifyingly unthinkable. Only then will you have a snapshot of some members of the Vangar family.
Mikael Blomkvist is a financial reporter, a crusading journalist who's out to get the bad guys in the gritty business world. But as the novel begins, he has just been convicted of libel against a wealthy businessman, Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. There is show more much more to this theme of corruption than meets the eye. Under the pretext of writing a history of the Vangar family, Mikael is enticed by Henrik Vangar, an elderly and very wealthy CEO of the Vangar Corporation, to find his beloved neice, Harriet, who disappeared 40 years ago on their secluded island. But there is much more to the Vangar family than meets the eye. A missing girl, an unsolved mystery, brutal murders...they are all connected somehow and Mikael needs help to prove it. Who better for this job than Lisbeth Salander, the tatoo-wearing, multi-pierced genius hacker who possesses a photographic memory. There is much more to Lisbeth Salander than meets the eye.
I was on the edge of my seat with this book. It is filled with many twists along the way and the story is layered with more than one mystery to be solved. The author jumps quickly between scenes and builds the mystery and suspense wonderfully. It has mature themes that sometimes are hard to read, but belong in the story. Things happen to characters, especially Lisbeth, that make you want to cringe, but are all important in the making of each character, making them flawed and hence, more believable. Mikael and Salander, this unlikely duo, not only unveil terrifying events, but they also discover a deeper connection between them that surprises and unsettles them both. This book has something for everyone....corporate corruption, serial murders, twisted families, misogeny, the publishing business, Swedish history, sex, adultery....all of it woven expertly together in an intriguing tale. It is safe to say that I will be reading the next installment in this Millennium trilogy. I am hooked. show less
Mikael Blomkvist is a financial reporter, a crusading journalist who's out to get the bad guys in the gritty business world. But as the novel begins, he has just been convicted of libel against a wealthy businessman, Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. There is show more much more to this theme of corruption than meets the eye. Under the pretext of writing a history of the Vangar family, Mikael is enticed by Henrik Vangar, an elderly and very wealthy CEO of the Vangar Corporation, to find his beloved neice, Harriet, who disappeared 40 years ago on their secluded island. But there is much more to the Vangar family than meets the eye. A missing girl, an unsolved mystery, brutal murders...they are all connected somehow and Mikael needs help to prove it. Who better for this job than Lisbeth Salander, the tatoo-wearing, multi-pierced genius hacker who possesses a photographic memory. There is much more to Lisbeth Salander than meets the eye.
I was on the edge of my seat with this book. It is filled with many twists along the way and the story is layered with more than one mystery to be solved. The author jumps quickly between scenes and builds the mystery and suspense wonderfully. It has mature themes that sometimes are hard to read, but belong in the story. Things happen to characters, especially Lisbeth, that make you want to cringe, but are all important in the making of each character, making them flawed and hence, more believable. Mikael and Salander, this unlikely duo, not only unveil terrifying events, but they also discover a deeper connection between them that surprises and unsettles them both. This book has something for everyone....corporate corruption, serial murders, twisted families, misogeny, the publishing business, Swedish history, sex, adultery....all of it woven expertly together in an intriguing tale. It is safe to say that I will be reading the next installment in this Millennium trilogy. I am hooked. show less
Why did I read it? Why did I not read this sooner? I must admit to having seen the books promoted for a few years now, but I never got past the cover (shame on me for judging a book by its cover). I also read rave reviews about the European films, but still ignored it. Then the BBC did its Nordic season, focussing on the Scandinavian countries, from travelogues, through myths, modern day fiction and crime writers; Stieg Larsson was featured in this season of programming, and I learned quite a bit about him and his Millennium trilogy. Although intrigued, it was not enough to tempt me to deviate from my planned reading list.
Over the winter break 2011, I watched an amazing Europen film for the upteenth time, and found myself moving on to show more even more enjoyable European cinema, which led to reading blogs about the current movie version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I knew that those that had seen this and the European version were much more enamoured with the Swedish movie trilogy. I am one of those people who prefers to read a book before watching the film, so when my monthly book club download came up, I decided to go with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Audiobook, Unabridged.
Synopsis: Mikael Blomkvist is part owner of Millennium, a magazine focussing on the financial world of Sweden. Blomkvist publishes a damning exposé on a financial hot-shot, Wennerström, but finds himself convicted of libel, facing three months in gaol and possible financial ruin. Blomkvist resigns from his own magazine, Millennium, after being lured by the (retired) patriach of a family-run, industrial company, Henrik Vanger, to investigate the murder of his niece, Harriet, 40 years ago by an unknown member of the Vanger family.
Vanger's lawyer does his due diligence on Blomkvsit before hiring him through Milton security's top investigator, Lisbeth Salander. Salander is 24, tattoo-ed, pierced, asocial, legally-declared incompetent and under the care of a guardian; Salander works alone, but Blomkvist needs a research assistant, and after reading the exceptional report Salander did on him, he finds her, and together the delve into the labyrinthine world of the Vanger family in search of a murderer.
What did I like? All of it. This audio version is 18 hours long and I have just spent two days listening to it, almost non-stop; unable to walk away from the story. Larsson is an exceptional storyteller, adept at weaving together varying threads, explaining the intricate details of the financial world, subtlety exposing the psyche of his characters using delicate shades, and hooking his audience along for an extraordinary roller-coaster ride. There is brutality in this book, but Larsson keeps you glued with descriptives that allow the reader to fill in the detail from their own experience. This was important for me, as there are times when I cannot read certain passages relating gruesome scenes, the author seeming to relish in extreme exposure, a kind of salaciousness that often makes me squirm. Larsson avoids this with great skill, while still managing to pack a punch; it helps that the book is punctuated with statistics about the brutalisation of women in Sweden.
The Vanger family is extensive, running through generations and, although I did not have a hard copy with the family tree provided, I was able to follow the extensive research into the family, and the various relationships without issue. I found myself fascinated by the various characters, the exceptional, and the seemingly plain. I had already come across the resolution of the main mystery in my research on the movies and book, and the financial world bores me, but this did not stop me being drawn into Stieg Larsson's creation and finding myself desperate to see it all through to the bitter end; I found myself addicted to characters, the story, the environment, the pace. It's rare for me to be captivated from the start of a book, many authors trying to capture the reader by starting with an action scene but failing, whereas Stieg Larsson had me from the first few paragraphs. I would say intrigue is his forte, because, as the book moved along, I found myself glued to the iPod. Now, I use my iPod in the car and on the speakers at home, but I've never used it in public, with the headsets until now. I could not step away from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it invaded my life. Everywhere I went, everything I did, I had the iPod on and was listening to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; it became my focus.
The story never felt rushed, but I found myself urging it on, desperate to learn what was to happen next. In this regard the audio version helped add to the tension, with pauses inserted between various paragraphs, not just the chapters, building a sense of urgency in me. Saul Reichlin narrated the version I downloaded from Audible and he did his utmost to give each character their own voice. On the whole, it was good narration, with clear diction, and good sound quality.
What didn't I like? Two audio issues: Saul Reichlin failed to distinguish who was speaking in a few discussions which occurred between Blomkvist and Salander, leaving me confused, disappointed and having to rewind to try and untangle the mess. There was an editorial error in the penultimate chapter of the audio version where turning over Tape 17 is mentioned. Apart from these quibbles with the audio edition, I can honestly say there was nothing I disliked about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Well, not exactly true: I don't like the fact that, under the terms of my Audible account, I have to wait until next month to download the second part of the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and another month again to download The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I'm not sure I have the patience to wait for the next instalment.
Would I recommend it? Yes! To every adult reader and I would recommend they read it sooner than later. I regret not having picked up these books when they first appeared on the shelves as recommended, or when the European films of the trilogy were widely lauded, or even as friends recommended the American film version of the first instalment. For anyone remotely curious about Swedish culture, the workings of the media, the financial world, lovers of crime fiction, intrigue and those who are interested in the inner workings of the human mind, read Stieg Larsson.
For me, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a "must read" and Stieg Larsson a fantastic writer. show less
Over the winter break 2011, I watched an amazing Europen film for the upteenth time, and found myself moving on to show more even more enjoyable European cinema, which led to reading blogs about the current movie version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I knew that those that had seen this and the European version were much more enamoured with the Swedish movie trilogy. I am one of those people who prefers to read a book before watching the film, so when my monthly book club download came up, I decided to go with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Audiobook, Unabridged.
Synopsis: Mikael Blomkvist is part owner of Millennium, a magazine focussing on the financial world of Sweden. Blomkvist publishes a damning exposé on a financial hot-shot, Wennerström, but finds himself convicted of libel, facing three months in gaol and possible financial ruin. Blomkvist resigns from his own magazine, Millennium, after being lured by the (retired) patriach of a family-run, industrial company, Henrik Vanger, to investigate the murder of his niece, Harriet, 40 years ago by an unknown member of the Vanger family.
Vanger's lawyer does his due diligence on Blomkvsit before hiring him through Milton security's top investigator, Lisbeth Salander. Salander is 24, tattoo-ed, pierced, asocial, legally-declared incompetent and under the care of a guardian; Salander works alone, but Blomkvist needs a research assistant, and after reading the exceptional report Salander did on him, he finds her, and together the delve into the labyrinthine world of the Vanger family in search of a murderer.
What did I like? All of it. This audio version is 18 hours long and I have just spent two days listening to it, almost non-stop; unable to walk away from the story. Larsson is an exceptional storyteller, adept at weaving together varying threads, explaining the intricate details of the financial world, subtlety exposing the psyche of his characters using delicate shades, and hooking his audience along for an extraordinary roller-coaster ride. There is brutality in this book, but Larsson keeps you glued with descriptives that allow the reader to fill in the detail from their own experience. This was important for me, as there are times when I cannot read certain passages relating gruesome scenes, the author seeming to relish in extreme exposure, a kind of salaciousness that often makes me squirm. Larsson avoids this with great skill, while still managing to pack a punch; it helps that the book is punctuated with statistics about the brutalisation of women in Sweden.
The Vanger family is extensive, running through generations and, although I did not have a hard copy with the family tree provided, I was able to follow the extensive research into the family, and the various relationships without issue. I found myself fascinated by the various characters, the exceptional, and the seemingly plain. I had already come across the resolution of the main mystery in my research on the movies and book, and the financial world bores me, but this did not stop me being drawn into Stieg Larsson's creation and finding myself desperate to see it all through to the bitter end; I found myself addicted to characters, the story, the environment, the pace. It's rare for me to be captivated from the start of a book, many authors trying to capture the reader by starting with an action scene but failing, whereas Stieg Larsson had me from the first few paragraphs. I would say intrigue is his forte, because, as the book moved along, I found myself glued to the iPod. Now, I use my iPod in the car and on the speakers at home, but I've never used it in public, with the headsets until now. I could not step away from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it invaded my life. Everywhere I went, everything I did, I had the iPod on and was listening to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; it became my focus.
The story never felt rushed, but I found myself urging it on, desperate to learn what was to happen next. In this regard the audio version helped add to the tension, with pauses inserted between various paragraphs, not just the chapters, building a sense of urgency in me. Saul Reichlin narrated the version I downloaded from Audible and he did his utmost to give each character their own voice. On the whole, it was good narration, with clear diction, and good sound quality.
What didn't I like? Two audio issues: Saul Reichlin failed to distinguish who was speaking in a few discussions which occurred between Blomkvist and Salander, leaving me confused, disappointed and having to rewind to try and untangle the mess. There was an editorial error in the penultimate chapter of the audio version where turning over Tape 17 is mentioned. Apart from these quibbles with the audio edition, I can honestly say there was nothing I disliked about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Well, not exactly true: I don't like the fact that, under the terms of my Audible account, I have to wait until next month to download the second part of the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and another month again to download The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I'm not sure I have the patience to wait for the next instalment.
Would I recommend it? Yes! To every adult reader and I would recommend they read it sooner than later. I regret not having picked up these books when they first appeared on the shelves as recommended, or when the European films of the trilogy were widely lauded, or even as friends recommended the American film version of the first instalment. For anyone remotely curious about Swedish culture, the workings of the media, the financial world, lovers of crime fiction, intrigue and those who are interested in the inner workings of the human mind, read Stieg Larsson.
For me, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a "must read" and Stieg Larsson a fantastic writer. show less
I read this on my honeymoon, which was frankly ridiculous as it's about the least romantic or relaxing book I've ever read! However, after a slightly slow start (which seems to be common to most trilogies or substantial series of books) it was an exciting and, at times, absolutely gripping book.
I've never thought of myself as one of those people who steadfastly refuses to read the book that everyone else is talking about, and yet something kept me from reading the Millenium trilogy until I was out shopping for possible honeymoon reads. Given that pretty much everyone I know has read it and has spoken to me about it, I was actually really surprised by the way the plot played out.
This is a beautifully plotted book with some amazing show more characterisation, particularly of the eponymous Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It also presents some really stark contrasts, particularly between the tiny island community (which actually, of course, hides some very, very dark secrets) and the city life of the two main characters.
I'm not sure why I'm trying so hard to avoid anything approaching a spoiler, given that I must surely be the last person in the world finally to read this book, but given that the main enjoyment I drew from the book was the really gripping plot, I'm going to be good and not give anything away! I have to confess that I found the subject matter a little hard-going (probably because I was reading it while lying on the beach on an island paradise that couldn't have been further from the setting of the book) and that initially put me off moving straight on to the next book in the series, but I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely finish the trilogy at some stage. Just not on my second honeymoon. show less
I've never thought of myself as one of those people who steadfastly refuses to read the book that everyone else is talking about, and yet something kept me from reading the Millenium trilogy until I was out shopping for possible honeymoon reads. Given that pretty much everyone I know has read it and has spoken to me about it, I was actually really surprised by the way the plot played out.
This is a beautifully plotted book with some amazing show more characterisation, particularly of the eponymous Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It also presents some really stark contrasts, particularly between the tiny island community (which actually, of course, hides some very, very dark secrets) and the city life of the two main characters.
I'm not sure why I'm trying so hard to avoid anything approaching a spoiler, given that I must surely be the last person in the world finally to read this book, but given that the main enjoyment I drew from the book was the really gripping plot, I'm going to be good and not give anything away! I have to confess that I found the subject matter a little hard-going (probably because I was reading it while lying on the beach on an island paradise that couldn't have been further from the setting of the book) and that initially put me off moving straight on to the next book in the series, but I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely finish the trilogy at some stage. Just not on my second honeymoon. show less
This was the vacation of disappointing reading material. There's little redeeming about the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Perhaps the best thing I have to say about it is that it's fast paced, and once you actually get to the mystery, it's a little compelling to at least see what comes of it.
That being said, there's a lot not to like. Let's start with the fact that absolutely no progress is made on the central mystery until page 294, when the character all of a sudden announces that he's found three clues. What happens until then? Lots of backstory on totally extraneous materials and three very explicit sexual assaults that have literally nothing to do with the main plotline (and never really come up again.) The pacing is particularly show more awkward, because we're usually subjected to all information once in the main plotline, regurgitated a second time (often verbatim) by the private investigators and then a third time either in a newspaper article or quoted from the main character's book. Similarly, the book extends for over 100 pages after the mystery has been solved. These pages are ostensibly to wrap up the sketchy finances plotline, but pretty much exist to tell us that the main character is drinking coffee and not going into work for a 100 pages until an authorial fiat fixes the financial plotline.
Want to talk about characters? The main character is a flimsy self-insertion, who is adored by all women, hired to solve a mystery on the basis of zero credentials and seems to just manage to stumble into evidence ignored for the previous 50ish years. Perhaps the most damning thing is that after figuring out who the murder is, despite the Mikael knows that the murder knows who he is and has already tried to kill him twice, he decides to go over to the murder's house without any backup or anyone knowing where he is, passing the gasoline and rifle used in the previous murder attempts on the way to the front door. That, friends, is a suicide attempt.
His sidekick is not just a quirky anti-hero. She's a bona fide psychopath who gets revenge on a predator by sexually assaulting him. Um, not awesome. Also, her deep secret on how she's such a good private investigator? She's a hacker. That's so lame it doesn't even deserve spoiler tags. It keeps getting repeated -- Oh no, someone might find out that Lisbeth is a hacker! Newsflash: every fictionalized private investigator since 1985 has hacked in some form or another.
How about the writing? The translation is definitely clumsy, but it can't camouflage the underlying clumsy writing. My two pet peeves? Larsson's decision that it is necessary for us to know everything that a character does at all times (at one point he tells us the time a character wakes up, the time he drinks his coffee and how long he waits before leaving the cabin.) The second is Larsson's need for us to know what brand of object is in use. It's like if I made sure you knew that Becca wrote this review on her husband's Dell laptop, having used her Android phone to use the Goodreads App to select this book at the Borders bookstore inside the Cleveland Hopkins Airport.
The graphic crimes, especially sex crimes depicted have been very controversial, and I don't feel I can review this completely without mentioning them. I'm far from squeamish, but both the crimes themselves and the statistics about violence against women in Sweden seemed to have no purpose to their inclusions. For an author who complains in his book about the use of sex crimes in literature for titillation, well, the lady doth protest too much, methinks. show less
That being said, there's a lot not to like. Let's start with the fact that absolutely no progress is made on the central mystery until page 294, when the character all of a sudden announces that he's found three clues. What happens until then? Lots of backstory on totally extraneous materials and three very explicit sexual assaults that have literally nothing to do with the main plotline (and never really come up again.) The pacing is particularly show more awkward, because we're usually subjected to all information once in the main plotline, regurgitated a second time (often verbatim) by the private investigators and then a third time either in a newspaper article or quoted from the main character's book. Similarly, the book extends for over 100 pages after the mystery has been solved. These pages are ostensibly to wrap up the sketchy finances plotline, but pretty much exist to tell us that the main character is drinking coffee and not going into work for a 100 pages until an authorial fiat fixes the financial plotline.
Want to talk about characters? The main character is a flimsy self-insertion, who is adored by all women, hired to solve a mystery on the basis of zero credentials and seems to just manage to stumble into evidence ignored for the previous 50ish years. Perhaps the most damning thing is that
His sidekick is not just a quirky anti-hero. She's a bona fide psychopath who gets revenge on a predator by sexually assaulting him. Um, not awesome. Also, her deep secret on how she's such a good private investigator? She's a hacker. That's so lame it doesn't even deserve spoiler tags. It keeps getting repeated -- Oh no, someone might find out that Lisbeth is a hacker! Newsflash: every fictionalized private investigator since 1985 has hacked in some form or another.
How about the writing? The translation is definitely clumsy, but it can't camouflage the underlying clumsy writing. My two pet peeves? Larsson's decision that it is necessary for us to know everything that a character does at all times (at one point he tells us the time a character wakes up, the time he drinks his coffee and how long he waits before leaving the cabin.) The second is Larsson's need for us to know what brand of object is in use. It's like if I made sure you knew that Becca wrote this review on her husband's Dell laptop, having used her Android phone to use the Goodreads App to select this book at the Borders bookstore inside the Cleveland Hopkins Airport.
The graphic crimes, especially sex crimes depicted have been very controversial, and I don't feel I can review this completely without mentioning them. I'm far from squeamish, but both the crimes themselves and the statistics about violence against women in Sweden seemed to have no purpose to their inclusions. For an author who complains in his book about the use of sex crimes in literature for titillation, well, the lady doth protest too much, methinks. show less
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added by grimm
[Richman reviews several Scandinavian novels, including Larsson's.]
Why have readers taken to these writers? The novels are not formally innovative: With a few exceptions, these are straightforward whodunits, hewing closely to conventional models from the English tradition. Nor does their appeal depend on a "relentlessly bleak view of the world," as a writer for the London Times has put it. show more Bleak worldviews are not particularly hard to come by in crime novels, no matter what country they come from.
What distinguishes these books is not some element of Nordic grimness but their evocation of an almost sublime tranquility. When a crime occurs, it is shocking exactly because it disrupts a world that, at least to an American reader, seems utopian in its peacefulness, happiness, and orderliness. show less
Why have readers taken to these writers? The novels are not formally innovative: With a few exceptions, these are straightforward whodunits, hewing closely to conventional models from the English tradition. Nor does their appeal depend on a "relentlessly bleak view of the world," as a writer for the London Times has put it. show more Bleak worldviews are not particularly hard to come by in crime novels, no matter what country they come from.
What distinguishes these books is not some element of Nordic grimness but their evocation of an almost sublime tranquility. When a crime occurs, it is shocking exactly because it disrupts a world that, at least to an American reader, seems utopian in its peacefulness, happiness, and orderliness. show less
added by elenchus
It’s Mr. Larsson’s two protagonists — Carl Mikael Blomkvist, a reporter filling the role of detective, and his sidekick, Lisbeth Salander, a k a the girl with the dragon tattoo — who make this novel more than your run-of-the-mill mystery: they’re both compelling, conflicted, complicated people, idiosyncratic in the extreme, and interesting enough to compensate for the plot mechanics, show more which seize up as the book nears its unsatisfying conclusion. show less
added by Shortride
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And what movies were better than the book that inspired them? in Jo's Book Group (February 2022)
Author Information
37+ Works 111,827 Members
Prior to his sudden death of a heart attack in November 2004, Stieg Larsson finished three detective novels in his Millenium series. Before his career as a writer, Stieg Larsson was mostly known for his struggle against racism and right-wing extremism. In the middle of the 1980s he helped start the anti-violence project "Stop the Racism". This was show more followed by the founding of the Expo foundation in 1995. In 1999 he was appointed the chief editor of Expo, a magazine published by the organization. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Awards
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Notable Lists
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Farfalle [Marsilio] (130)
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Is abridged in
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Has as a reference guide/companion
Has as a study
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Original title
- Män som hatar kvinnor
- Alternate titles
- Men Who Hate Women; Mannen die vrouwen haten
- Original publication date
- 2005-07
- People/Characters
- Lisbeth Salander; Mikael Blomkvist; Henrik Vanger; Hans-Erik Wennerström; Dragan Armansky; Christer Malm (show all 15); Erika Berger; Dirch Frode; Harald Vanger; Isabella Vanger; Martin Vanger; Cecilia Vanger; Anita Vanger; Harriet Vanger (Anita Cochran); Nils Bjurman
- Important places
- Hedeby Island, Sweden (fictional); Hedestad, Sweden (fictional); Stockholm, Sweden; Sweden; London, England, UK; England, UK (show all 9); United Kingdom; Cochran Farm, Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia; Australia
- Related movies
- Män som hatar kvinnor (2009 | IMDb); The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 | IMDb)
- First words
- It happened every year, was almost a ritual.
- Quotations*
- Waarom ben je teruggekomen ? - Ik weet het niet. Dat was misschien een vergissing. - Hij keek haar onderzoekend aan. - Lisbeth, kun jij het woord 'vriendschap' voor mij definiëren ? - Dat je iemand aardig vindt. - Ja, maar w... (show all)aardoor komt het dat je iemand aardig vindt ? - Ze haalde haar schouders op. - Vriendschap, volgens mijn definitie, is gebaseerd op twee dingen, zei hij plotseling. Respect en vertrouwen. Beide factoren moeten aanwezig zijn. En het moet van twee kanten komen. Je kunt respect voor iemand hebben, maar als je geen vertrouwen in diegene hebt, dan gaat de vriendschap kapot. - Ze zweeg nog steeds. - Ik heb begrepen dat je niet met mij over jezelf wilt praten, maar je zult een keer moeten beslissen of je vertrouwen in me hebt of niet. Ik wil dat we vrienden zijn, maar dat kan ik niet in mijn eentje.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She tossed Elvis into a dumpster.
- Publisher's editor*
- Βασιλική Κνήτου,
- Blurbers
- Connelly, Michael; Coban, Harlan; Lescroart, John; McDermid, Val; Walters, Minette; Pullman, Philip (show all 10); Child, Lee; Ondaatje, Michael; Rozan, S. J.; Burdett, John
- Original language
- Swedish
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 839.738
- Canonical LCC
- PT9876.22.A6933
- Disambiguation notice
- Män som hatar kvinnor ("Men who Hate Women"), 2005. English translation by Reg Keeland under the title The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, January 2008.
ISBN 0307269752 is for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Mystery, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 839.738 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures Other Germanic literatures Swedish literature Swedish fiction 2000-
- LCC
- PT9876.22 .A6933 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures Swedish literature Individual authors or works 1961-2000
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- ISBNs
- 263
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- ASINs
- 135