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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(Millennium #1)
by
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of u
...more
Hardcover, 1st edition, 465 pages
Published
September 16th 2008
by Knopf
(first published August 2005)
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Start your review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

I've heard and read many complaints about Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:
1. It's misogynistic.
2. It's packed with cliché.
3. It's too convoluted.
4. It's too disturbing.
5. Lisbeth wasn't autistic enough or was foolishly autistic.
6. There were too many red herrings, and the damn Nazi red herring didn't have the usual payoff.
7. Too/Two many plots.
8. Too hard on Leviticus.
I will answer these in a moment, but first I must declare that I am an unrepentant fan of this book. This is ...more
1. It's misogynistic.
2. It's packed with cliché.
3. It's too convoluted.
4. It's too disturbing.
5. Lisbeth wasn't autistic enough or was foolishly autistic.
6. There were too many red herrings, and the damn Nazi red herring didn't have the usual payoff.
7. Too/Two many plots.
8. Too hard on Leviticus.
I will answer these in a moment, but first I must declare that I am an unrepentant fan of this book. This is ...more

Swedish people are nuts! I realize that’s a bit of a broad generalization and it sounds a bit rude, but I don’t care. Because more often than not, I’m nuts too.
I was born and raised in Minnesota, and if you know our state history, you’re already aware that we were predominantly settled and populated by Swedish (and Norwegian) immigrants. So not only are many Minnesota residents of Scandinavian descent, myself included, a lot of our quirky mannerisms and even our accents are commonly attributed t ...more
I was born and raised in Minnesota, and if you know our state history, you’re already aware that we were predominantly settled and populated by Swedish (and Norwegian) immigrants. So not only are many Minnesota residents of Scandinavian descent, myself included, a lot of our quirky mannerisms and even our accents are commonly attributed t ...more

(A) 85% | Extraordinary
Notes: It's a logical, captivating mystery where everything clicks into place. It gives backwoods Sweden a Transylvania feel. ...more
Notes: It's a logical, captivating mystery where everything clicks into place. It gives backwoods Sweden a Transylvania feel. ...more

I really don't understand the critical orgasms over this book. Amazon pushed it on me for weeks, and the minute I stepped into Borders an employee ran over and recommended it. Thinking, this really better be the best book I've ever read, I took it up to the checkstand, where the register guy asked: "Did one of our employees recommend this?" Um, yeah. And Amazon, too. So of course I asked him why.
"Oh," he replied, "we've been told to recommend it this week." That should have tipped me off right ...more
"Oh," he replied, "we've been told to recommend it this week." That should have tipped me off right ...more

Sep 24, 2009
Meredith Holley
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
NOT Elizabeth
Recommended to Meredith by:
every person in the whole wide world
Women are raised to routinely fear rape.
“If you go at night, take a friend.” “Check under the car and in your backseat before you get in.” “I’m just saying it’s a good idea to know where the exits are.” “I got you this whistle for your keychain, you know, just so you have it.” “You were an hour later than I thought you’d be! We called the police!” “Oh, that’s pepper spray; I keep it with me just in case.” “I just make sure I get my keys out and check for other weapons if I’m getting off work lat ...more
“If you go at night, take a friend.” “Check under the car and in your backseat before you get in.” “I’m just saying it’s a good idea to know where the exits are.” “I got you this whistle for your keychain, you know, just so you have it.” “You were an hour later than I thought you’d be! We called the police!” “Oh, that’s pepper spray; I keep it with me just in case.” “I just make sure I get my keys out and check for other weapons if I’m getting off work lat ...more

WARNING! This is going to be a long TED Talk because:
I could talk about this book all day without breathing pauses and I’d still not finish everything I want to say about it.
4.45/5 ⭐ for this one because I couldn't convince myself to give it 5 stars, no idea why though.
Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺
As Dragan Armansky felt in that particular moment about Lisbeth Salander, I felt that about her the ...more
I could talk about this book all day without breathing pauses and I’d still not finish everything I want to say about it.
4.45/5 ⭐ for this one because I couldn't convince myself to give it 5 stars, no idea why though.
Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺
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“I’d reckon you’d bite off my hand if I laid a finger on you”.
As Dragan Armansky felt in that particular moment about Lisbeth Salander, I felt that about her the ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

After having leaped onto the bandwagon with the rest of everyone, I feel a certain amount of pretentious indie pride saying that I wasn't as awed by this book as everyone else apparently was. Which is not to say that the book wasn't enjoyable and exciting; it just didn't knock my socks off whilst simultaneously blowing my mind and rocking my world. (that sounds like either some great song lyrics or a very complicated sexual maneuver. Let's go with the first option.)
So, the good stuff: the main s ...more
So, the good stuff: the main s ...more

Feb 13, 2013
Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
own
I re-read this book by audio and even though the narrator was good, he didn't do a good job on Lisbeth's voice. I wish that Noomi Rapace would have done her own voice. That would have been awesome.
So, I have been a fan of this series for quite some time. I have the movie trilogy box set of the books that are fan freaking tastic! Although, now I have to switch from dvd to blu-ray! I also have a couple of different copies of the books!


Lisbeth Salander is just freaking awesome. She's so bloody sm ...more
So, I have been a fan of this series for quite some time. I have the movie trilogy box set of the books that are fan freaking tastic! Although, now I have to switch from dvd to blu-ray! I also have a couple of different copies of the books!


Lisbeth Salander is just freaking awesome. She's so bloody sm ...more

Apr 30, 2009
Tatiana
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2010,
mysteries-thrillers-horror
The original Swedish title of this book is "Men Who Hate Women." If you ask me, it suits this story much better than catchier but less relevant "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," because it is in fact about men doing all kinds of horrid things to women. So here is the first warning to you, if you don't handle violence against women and children well, skip this novel.
It's hard to give a short synopsis of the book. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" starts off as an investigation of a 40-year old ...more
It's hard to give a short synopsis of the book. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" starts off as an investigation of a 40-year old ...more

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired to solve the decades-old murder of Harriet Vanger, member of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. Aided by a tattooed, antisocial hacker named Lisabeth Salander, Blomkvist unearths horrible skeletons lurking in the Vanger family closet...
For a few years now, I've been avoiding The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Since so many people told me I just had to read it, many of them non-readers, I assumed it was a lot of over-hyped, dumbed-down crap. Wel ...more
For a few years now, I've been avoiding The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Since so many people told me I just had to read it, many of them non-readers, I assumed it was a lot of over-hyped, dumbed-down crap. Wel ...more

I HATED this book. I don't understand all of the good reviews that are coming in on it. I hated the characters, the plot was thin - ugh. I can't believe I read the whole thing.
...more

Buckle up.
It's gonna be...a slow ride until about halfway through. Then it's hairpin turn after hairpin turn at breakneck speed. Whiplash.
This book was a bit difficult to get into. Mikael Blomkvist (a journalist) is sentenced to jail for liable. He knows he's right. His team knows he's right. But they don't have enough evidence to overturn it.
His magazine is about to go under and with this jail scandal....let's just say life isn't a bouquet of roses.
Henrik Vanger - ex-head of the Vanger corpor ...more
It's gonna be...a slow ride until about halfway through. Then it's hairpin turn after hairpin turn at breakneck speed. Whiplash.
This book was a bit difficult to get into. Mikael Blomkvist (a journalist) is sentenced to jail for liable. He knows he's right. His team knows he's right. But they don't have enough evidence to overturn it.
His magazine is about to go under and with this jail scandal....let's just say life isn't a bouquet of roses.
Henrik Vanger - ex-head of the Vanger corpor ...more

Jul 28, 2011
Riku Sayuj
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Riku by:
Isaac Varghese, Vikram Johri
Shelves:
genre-fiction,
r-r-rs
Larsson takes what seemed at the outset to be a juicy 'locked-island-mystery plot' and turns it first into an insightful family saga and then into a scathing political and social commentary that forces us to think about such a wide variety of themes and aspects that we normally refuse to accept as part of society. It takes an author like Larsson to shove it in our faces in all its stinking ugliness for us to stop turning the blind eye at these atrocities.
Do not mistake this for a mere fictional ...more

May 07, 2010
El
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
21st-centurylit,
peer-pressure
He slapped her hard. Salander opened her eyes wide, but before she could react, he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her on to the bed. The violence caught her by surprise. When she tried to turn over, he pressed her down on the bed and straddled her.
That's just to give you a little taste of what one is dealing with by picking up this book. If you can handle that and the previous x amount of paragraphs and the following x amount of paragraphs, you're golden. If that sort of makes that thing ...more

Män Som Hatar Kvinnor = Men Who Hate Women = The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1), Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson (1954–2004), which was published posthumously in 2005 to become an international bestseller. It is the first book of the Millennium series.
In December 2002, Mikael Blomkvist, publisher of the Swedish political magazine Millennium, loses a libel case involving allegations about ...more
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson (1954–2004), which was published posthumously in 2005 to become an international bestseller. It is the first book of the Millennium series.
In December 2002, Mikael Blomkvist, publisher of the Swedish political magazine Millennium, loses a libel case involving allegations about ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Nov 20, 2008
Manny
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Manny by:
Jordan
One of the best thrillers I've ever read. Great story, great characters, very intelligent and thoughtful. Writing is nothing special but it doesn't need to be.
___________________________________________
I finally saw the movie a couple of days ago, and I'm a bit conflicted. On the plus side, it conveys the feel of the book very well, and several of the main characters are excellently realized. I particularly liked Lisbeth, who was just perfect. But they have taken some enormous liberties with the ...more
___________________________________________
I finally saw the movie a couple of days ago, and I'm a bit conflicted. On the plus side, it conveys the feel of the book very well, and several of the main characters are excellently realized. I particularly liked Lisbeth, who was just perfect. But they have taken some enormous liberties with the ...more

Thanks to the slew of Swedish and Hollywood movies, everyone knows that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a story of a kickass hacker Lisbeth Salander who has the eponymous tattoo and a knack for solving decades-old murders.
Well, not exactly. Lisbeth is awesome and badass, no doubt there, but this book is so much more than just her story, and focusing solely on that undermines the message Stieg Larsson was sending.
The original Swedish title is Men Who Hate Women and it is precisely what the ...more

Now that's what I'm talking about! I've never seen the genre political thriller get mentioned on Goodreads, but here is a prime candidate for this moniker.
The translation seems elaborate, genuine, and faithful enough. The places or settings in the book are descriptive. The scenes are well lit.
As for the plot, it's quite intricate. Read it and find out! The characterization is not world class, but the author gives the impression that he could write purple prose, if he wanted to.
There is blackmai ...more
The translation seems elaborate, genuine, and faithful enough. The places or settings in the book are descriptive. The scenes are well lit.
As for the plot, it's quite intricate. Read it and find out! The characterization is not world class, but the author gives the impression that he could write purple prose, if he wanted to.
There is blackmai ...more

we are in low-three land here. but at least i am learning things about sweden! for example: ladies in sweden just kind of shrug off sexual abuse! they are rape-teflon! this i am learning from the facts provided at the beginning of chapters, and from various characters' reactions to events. they just brush themselves off and go back to eating sandwiches. yes, that is another thing i learned: the swedes eat sandwiches. exclusively. if you excise every occurrence of the words "coffee" and "sandwich
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Nordic noir of the highest order and very entertaining.
Larsson’s 2005 Swedish publication Män som hatar kvinnor “Men Who Hate Women” was later translated and published in English in 2008 by Steven T. Murray, by that time already an international best-seller.
And for good reason.
Complicated, intricate, and intelligent, Larsson’s journalistic prose is crisp and logical. Filled with interesting characters, exciting scenes and this just flows very well.
Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are two ...more
Larsson’s 2005 Swedish publication Män som hatar kvinnor “Men Who Hate Women” was later translated and published in English in 2008 by Steven T. Murray, by that time already an international best-seller.
And for good reason.
Complicated, intricate, and intelligent, Larsson’s journalistic prose is crisp and logical. Filled with interesting characters, exciting scenes and this just flows very well.
Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are two ...more

5 stars to Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. You heard all the hype about the author who died and his books weren't published. You heard that they were translated into English. You heard they were great and both Sweden and Hollywood were making a movie of it. Well, it's all true. So is the fact that this is a must read for every mystery fan!
Story
So many plots, so little time. Basically, the primary plot is about a missing girl. A relative wants to find out what happened that m ...more
Story
So many plots, so little time. Basically, the primary plot is about a missing girl. A relative wants to find out what happened that m ...more

Jul 03, 2009
Shannon (Giraffe Days)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Shannon (Giraffe Days) by:
Kiwiria
In 1966 sixteen-year-old Harriet Vanger, daughter of the CEO of the large family-run Vanger Corporation, goes missing from her family's island community and is never seen again. Not even a body is found, and her great uncle, Henrik Vanger, has explored every possible lead to discover what happened to his one and only favourite family member.
Over the last forty years her disappearance has become Henrik's obsession, and he's positive someone in the family murdered her - but they never found a moti ...more
Over the last forty years her disappearance has become Henrik's obsession, and he's positive someone in the family murdered her - but they never found a moti ...more

Editorial meeting of Bryant Reviews Ltd
Topic : book 1, Millennium series
- Is everyone here?
- We should start anyway.
- Okay, well, we have to figure out how to review this damned Dragon Tattoo book. The problem is, everyone and his dog has already reviewed it, and seen the movie. Movies. What’s left to say?
- Well, you could say the same thing about Dickens.
- All due respect, Larsson is not no Dickens.
- True dat.
- True dat? Who are you, gangsta-reviewer?
- What about the sandwiches and coffee?
- ?
- ...more

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ranks high among mysteries in my book. It did take me awhile to get into the story, but once I did, I became engrossed in the mystery and wanted to continue reading to find out “who did it?!” and “what actually happened?” For almost the first half of the book, there were two separate but simultaneous stories and I was curious as to how they’d intertwine, which they did, for (approximately) the second half of the book.
Mikael Bloomkvist, a recently convicted journa ...more
Mikael Bloomkvist, a recently convicted journa ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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Stieg Larsson (born as Karl Stig-Erland Larsson) was a Swedish journalist and writer who passed away in 2004.
As a journalist and editor of the magazine Expo , Larsson was active in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organisations. When he died at the age of 50, Larsson left three unpublished thrillers and unfinished manuscripts for more. The first three books ( The Girl ...more
As a journalist and editor of the magazine Expo , Larsson was active in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organisations. When he died at the age of 50, Larsson left three unpublished thrillers and unfinished manuscripts for more. The first three books ( The Girl ...more
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