The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo :: review

 
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By Stieg Larsson

paperback, 590 pages. Vintage. $14.95

published 2005

 

I don't like scary, I don't like creepy, and I hate anything related to sexual abuse... but, strange enough, I liked this book. In all fairness, I didn't think it was actually very scary though I can see how others might. It was definitely creepy with a capital C. In fact certain parts were cover-your-face-I-can't-believe-I'm-reading-this creepy. Don't let that deter you from reading the book, however, just be warned. In fact, I highly recommend this book. The mere fact that this is not my typical cup of tea but I gulped it down in almost one day is witness enough to its level of entertainment factor. 

Though others have remarked on the bad translation or Larsson's lack of writing skills, I have to wonder: how many people pick up a crime mystery expecting Hemingway? If you are one of them, might I warn you not to do that? Perhaps because of translation there are words that I haven't seen since Shakespeare, such as anon which is used frequently throughout the book. And it helps to know that this was translated into British English instead of American English. Did that interfere with the plot? Not at all. I was too busy trying to figure out the mystery to worry about the wording. And I venture to say that you will be too as I have not met a single person who figured out the details of this book before it was told to them in the pages. Honestly, if someone had, I would be worried about them because figuring out who is behind the main mystery is not as difficult as figuring out why it happened (which is the crux of the story anyway). Along with the engaging story (which others have said takes a good 100 pages to get into, but which only took me about a chapter) I enjoyed the characters. Lisbeth and Erica were two of the most interesting women I've read about in awhile and I actually found myself liking Mikael. 

Take note that there are a lot of characters (I read this on my Kindle so wasn't able to flip back to the family tree very easily). Also, there have been discussions about who was supposed to be the protagonist (being that it was named after Lisbeth but seems to follow Mikael more closely), so that could have been clearer (maybe just with the title, which they ended up changing from Men who Hate Women to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). And the fact that Lisbeth is supposed to have Asperger's Syndrome is farfetched -- and also seems to be an irrelevant point -- unless they bring it out more poignantly in one of the following novels . But I'll forgive that considering I haven't read the rest of the series and I have to factor in translation. 

I'm absolutely looking forward to reading the next book and have already bought my copy. An absolute page turner that I recommend for anyone who enjoys a riveting tale!

Comments

[Sherry]

You are invited to add a link to your review to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon
( http://www.semicolonblog.com ). The Saturday Review happens every week, and it's a great place to find links to other bloggers' reviews.

[Coconut Library]

Thanks, I'll do that right now!

[Carin B.]

Oh I think it made sense that Lisbeth had Asperger's Syndrome. It accounted for her really strange behavior. We talked about high functioning austistics in my book club when we read this and one of the ladies said she thought that it was written well in that respect because she has experience with a high functioning autistic.

I actually thought the book was written really well in comparison with other thrillers. It's my favorite thriller of all-time. Lisbeth is also one of my favorite female characters of all-time. Also, the movie was fantastic. Noomi Rapace was amazing as Lisbeth. I highly recommend you see it!

Would you consider doing a guest post on your experience with your Kindle? I have a Sony Reader and really like it, but I'd like to maybe write a few posts on e-readers in general. If you are, just sent me an e-mail to let me know! Thanks!

[Coconut Library]

Let me explain in a little more detail why I didn't think Lisbeth's Asperger's was very believable..
* spoiler alert*
I see your point, and I'm not totally unconvinced of her Asperger's but I've worked with plenty of children who have had it in my teaching career and there were things that didn't link up for me. It seems to me that her lack of desire to be social (and touched) by other people comes from a separate issue from her past rather than from a special need. Since I haven't read the other two books I realize that I don't have all the information, so I'm waiting to see if we get more detailed information about her. The social interactions that she was capable of and incapable of seemed inconsistent to me if she did indeed have Asperger's. I am assuming she had something else happen to her to get her to the place where she seems to be (which seems more angry and specific rather than a broader lack of social skills).
* Spoiler over*

I haven't seen the movie.. I wanted to wait until I read the book, but now they have taken it out of theaters near me. I heard someone has bought the rights and is going to make an new version in English. I will definitely be renting the original version so I can compare the two and will be interested in hearing your thoughts. Thanks for the heads up!

I will e-mail you about the guest post... am definitely interested. :)

[Carin B.]

I think the idea of an American version of the film is folly...but that's just me. I really liked the Swedish film...a lot. I see your point about Lisbeth. We actually argued about that in my book club because while Lisbeth had some autistic tendencies, (SPOILER ALERT) some things in the movie pointed to her being mistreated in the past. I sort of thought she was a sociopath in the book because she seemed to lack empathy for people. So, overall, I think I agree with you about that. I see both parts because I think in the book he says she seemed to have Asperger's behavior sometimes (like the photographic memory), but then also was able to function well in other ways that high functioning autistics might not be able to. Honestly, I don't know enough about Asperger's to really know or have a learned opinion on the matter.

I haven't read the second or third book either (ugh with my TBR shelf in my house...I will get to Larsson's other stuff someday). I loved the first book though and would like to get to it sooner than later.

[Coconut Library]

I heard the movie was all three books combined. Did it seem like that to you? That was just hear-say so it could be wrong.

I agree that I think an American version of the book might ruin it a bit. It will, undoubtedly, be a big budget film which will mean it will probably differ significantly from the book because they will have a long line of people to OK things. Also they will want to target their widest audience possible. That's why I tend to do Indie films now-a-days. I actually just found a small theater near me that has it, so I might try to go see it there!

Maybe we can do a joint read-a-long of the second one... to get us both motivated?

[Zoe]

I totally agree with Carin B. about the movie versions. Lisbeth is one of my favorite female characters in literature and I was very apprehensive about seeing the movie. The actress completely nailed the role, though. I honestly came out of the theatre liking Lisbeth even more! I really don't think the American version of the movie is going to be able to capture the "essence" of the book, so to speak. I'm not even sure if I'll go see it.

The movie that is out right now is almost completely based off the first book. There is a tiny part in the movie about Lisbeth's past that isn't revealed until the second book, but other than that the movie is very true to the first book. I think there is already a sequel to the movie (which would be the second book), but it hasn't been released in the US. I could be wrong about that, though.

Can't wait to see what y'all think of the second book. I enjoyed it even more than the first and I'm anxious to hear your thoughts.

[Coconut Library]

Zoe, good to know! I am going to try to see the movie later this week. Im excited to read the other books in part because I like Lisbeth so much and want to see what happens with her.