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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

Stieg Larsson,

Reg Keeland (Translator)

Discussion: November/December 2008

Discussion leader: Jenn

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November/December 2008

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
By Jenn · 44 posts · 74 views

last updated Jun 20, 2010 10:53AM

The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry
By LynnB · 7 posts · 25 views

last updated Jun 12, 2010 10:32PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 21, 2010 Wallace rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, spring-10-seasonal-reading-chall, book-club

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 typic 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! ...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Debra rated it liked it

Noralyn told me not to see the movie before I read this, but unfortunately I already had. Knowing the way the mystery worked out detracted from my enjoyment. I also tried hard to create my own picture of Lisbeth, but kept seeing the movie in my head. I think the book could have been about 200 pages shorter and wrapped up a lot quicker. I normally do not read mysteries/ thrillers so I'm not sure if I'll read the other two. ...more

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Jul 17, 2010 SweetPea rated it liked it

Shelves: pg-count-500-plus, 2010, series

This was an okay read -- the amount of hype surrounding it kept me reading since it started out very slow and although it was okay I would have easily been tempted to put this book down and move to something else more engaging. The last quarter/third of the book was much more interesting as the mystery unfolded, but overall I did not find this to be as compelling as the reviews indicated. However, I plan to read the next book, so I guess it was engaging enough to pass that bar!

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Nov 14, 2011 Cherylann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, series

Loved it! It's been a long time since I've let myself get swept up in an adult mystery/thriller. It was fast-paced, vivid, and kept my interest. I listened to this and Simon Vance is a great narrator. I'd like to see the movie, which was why I started this book in the first place, but I have such a strong picture of who Lisbeth Salander is that I don't know if I want to see Hollywood's interpretation of her. Things I like about Lisbeth her strong and yet fragile demeanor. I like that she is flaw ...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Deeradcliffe added it

Found the setting of Sweden to fit the lack of warmth in each of the characters. Lizbeth was a challenge to like in this first book, but became a friend in the next two.

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Sep 07, 2010 Kerry rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, kindle

Not what I expected but very good and suspenseful. I would like to do a word count on the number of times "coffee" is mentioned. I thought I loved coffee, but these people are crazy! ...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Handd51 rated it it was amazing

quite a fun mystery - multi-layerd.

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May 25, 2011 Mary rated it liked it

I really had trouble getting past the graphic descriptions of the crime involved in the story, but it is suspenseful and Lisbeth Salander becomes a more interesting character as the story progresses.

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Sep 18, 2010 Annette Abbott rated it liked it

I fought buying/reading this for so long due to its mass-market appeal, but had to give in because it became a book club selection. Happy I read it and will have to admit - I'll probably read the next two books as well.

The character development phase of this book (approx the first 1/5 of book) is slow, but I can see how necessary it was given that the protagonists will appear in the next two books as well - but it picked up quickly after that. ...more

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