The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

No sooner had I put down 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' than I had to get hold of the 'The Girl Who Played With FIre'. Lisbeth Salander is a magic character. The problem with a magic character is that the narrative sags a little when she isn't it. There are three gripping plots within this one great book. So interesting that I hardly noticed the translation awkwardness. I mourn the loss of Mr Lasson.

When in Denmark on vacation, everyone was talking about these books. Knowing that I don't often enjoy Danish bestsellers, and that I thought the whole story sounded a bit strange, I was not attracted to it until a good friend, who is usually very trustworthy on books, highly recommended it. I bought the book for a transcontinental flight, and was absolutely unable to put it down! The main characters, Mikael Blomkvist, Lisbeth Salander and Henrik Vanger are all imperfect and with their own quirks (in particular Ms. Salander, who really comes out as the most fascinating character in any thriller I have read), but are weaved perfectly into a story that kept feeling evermore closer with many references to so many things that are "everyday life" if you live in Scandinavia. At the same time, the thriller and detective story was hair-raising, and kept me just wanting to read on!

I did wonder what all the fuss was about until I got 200 pages into it, and then, when the whole story about the missing girl kicked in, it all made sense. The main investigative plot was like Agatha Christie on a good day, in a bad mood. I particularly loved the investigation into the photos. It reminded me of the scene in Blade Runner when Deckard is zooming into the photo for clues into the whereabouts of the replicants... And here it was told in an engaging, precise, and convincing way. I also loved the twists and the revelations, and I thought they were totally worth waiting for. But - and there's always a but - there were a few things wrong with the novel. Minor things, like the translation, which wasn't anywhere near as bad as a lot of people have said (if you've read Miss Smila Feeling for Snow, you'll know what I mean), a few cliches, and some cheesy dialogue - but all those things didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. Not too much anyway. Not even the way the main character fell into bed with one of the suspects, or even the other main character, Salander, impaired my enjoyment too much because, let's face it, most genre books suffer when it comes to their love stories. Although, I have to say, when the two main characters met up for the first time mid-way through the book, it WAS a really pleasing moment, but was then spoilt five pages later he said to her, 'You have beautiful eyes,' and she replied, 'You have nice eyes yourself.' That was a definate 'groan' moment for me. The other criticisms I had was that after the main mystery is solved, the novel then dragged on for another 100 or so pages, which might have tied up the other story strands, but was completely boring none the less. I also found Salander's character bordering dangerously on the unbelievable, and found it hard to work out what she was really about. At turns intelligent, then dumb, I'm sure she was supposed to embody some complex contradictions, but there were times when this didn't work for me. (I read a review about the second book to see if I should carry on with the series and found out she get's herself some big breasts - so there goes your feminist interpretation [and no, I won't continue with the series purely based on that big-breasts-as-significant-character-development-rubbish alone]) Another thing I didn't like was the cliched way the killer bragged about what he'd done while pin-pointing his own motivations for doing so - this just sounded like the crumby bit in the Bond film when the bad guy boasts about his plan to take over the world just before Bond escapes. Having said all that, TGWTDT was a really enjoyable novel, and was worth the four stars I've given it, despite it's flaws.

A stunning and refreshing style of fictional writing. The best book I have read in many years. Whilst it involves crime its genre is more that crime. Such a complete story told in an amazing way. It is so well translated from Swedish that you are not aware unless told. I must have counted only two or three places where it was not exact English in 500+ pages. The second book of the trilogy 'The Girl who Played with Fire' is equally as brilliant.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, my only experience of Swedish crime thrillers being the turgid BBC Wallander adaptation - bleak and, frankly, rather dull and introspective. There were plenty of rave reviews on Amazon, but I'm naturally suspicious of gushing praise. Unfortunately, the first third of the book confirmed my preconceptions as it seemed to be nothing more than a rather long-winded introduction to the main characters with little going on and definitely no thrills (in fact my wife gave up at this point). However, a little persistence was well rewarded. The investigations into the mysterious disappearance of Harriet were twisty and complex and the book was hard to put down until the climax of the investigation about one hundred pages before the end of the book. I expected thereafter a dreary and uneventful finish to the book but I'm glad to say that I was wrong - there was a very satisfying conclusion of some unfinished and, at the time, seeming irrelevant business. All-in-all, a fairly enjoyable read and, although it lacked the pace and glamour of American crime fiction, it made up for it with a complex plot populated by characters with depth bound together with a masterly touch. However, it wouldn't have suffered if some of the early `padding' and the pointless tech references were removed.

The publication of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is, in itself, a tragedy - Stieg Larsson died suddenly shortly after delivering the manuscript for the book, and its two sequels, to his publisher, leaving behind the unfinished plot outlines for a further 3 books featuring the main characters, a fact that has helped his sales along the way. Because the Millennium Trilogy are all that will be published by Stieg Larsson, so there is no risk of the series being marred by further, weaker books, something that has afflicted a great deal of authors. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo follows Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced Journalist who is hired by an ageing industrialist to solve a mystery that has haunted him for decades. Whilst this storyline unfolds, we are gradually introduced to a socially inept computer hacker by the name of Lisbeth Salander - declared legally incompetent and yet incredibly gifted. As the story progresses, Salander and Blomkvist find themselves thrown together to try and solve the almost unsolvable mystery, whilst someone else will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried. The plot plods along at an amicable and gentle pace for the first third of the book, which is surprising, but at the same time works very well. At this point, the friendly pace of the book is interrupted by some brutal and fairly distressing scenes of a violent nature, before slowing back down again. This up and down feeling to the novel does continue throughout and it is an excellent plot device. The characters are likeable, although both of the main two have some annoying personality traits, and the large cast of other characters are varied, and make for a tough time trying to guess the culprit. All in all, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a great read and it is easy to see why it has become such a massive success, both in its native Sweden and across Europe. Can't wait for the Swedish made film which is released shortly, although dreading the inevitable American remake... Highly recommended.

I loved it. Reading the last part late at night did make it difficult to sleep: the subject matter is rather unpleasant. But I still loved it!

I don't usually review fiction as it is purely a matter of personal taste. This author is so frequently lionised that I thought I'd make an exception for this book, the first and only book by the author that I have read or intend to read. This book has two plotlines - one is a gripping crime thriller. The other is about forensic computer work and as I have no interest in the technicalities of computers and hacking, it bored me stupid and imho interrupted the gripping plot line too often. There was also a bit too much sociological feminism propaganda going on for my taste - I don't disagree with any of the points made by the author but generally object to having blatant political propaganda rammed down my throat whilst I am reading a novel. That is particularly so in a book where the ancient premise of a feisty young woman falling in love with an older, baggy guy is a central theme - a bit cliched, or what? I won't be reading another of the trilogy because the main female character simply doesn't appeal to me. But this book was entertaining enough, so in as far as I'd recommend fiction to anyone, I'd recommend it.

This is the best thriller I've read in a very long time. Some of the scenes described may be a little horrific but they are written in a way that adds to the story and does not gross you out. The sequel is as good. That of itself is unusual. I can't praise the author enough and am waiting for the final part to be published with impatience.

I was glad that the friend who loaned me this book advised me to persevere with it. It got much more interesting until I couldn't put it down. A good editor could have transformed the book into a real page turner and it's a shame that the book is spoiled by detail about which the reader couldn't give a stuff - who cares about the square metrage of every building into which the characters go? Or the contents of their sandwiches, their travel bags or every magazine found on a shelf? Or the life history of a bit player who appears once? I'm astonished that such rubbish was left in. I also wondered if the author had corporate sponsors while writing the book - there were the endless plugs for products, especially those of Apple Mac, including a yawningly extensive description of a laptop right down to the number of pixels on the screen (p194). However, I was amazed by the author's percipience - it was written 4 years before the banking crisis. To quote him: " ..... fraud that was so extensive it was no longer merely criminal - it was business!" The author created some fascinating characters who were incredibly life-like. I found it odd that the leading man was frequently praised as a man of integrity, although he was serially cuckolding another man. As a woman, I very much appreciate Mr Larsson being a man taking up the cry against the misogyny which is so rife in western society that most of the time we don't even notice it. Some of the assaults were incredibly realistic - the awful assaults of women, or girls, trapped by males who have some kind of power over them. I find it odd that he, like some other authors whose books address certain social issues, has suddenly died young . at only 50.