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

Stieg Larsson,

Reg Keeland (Translator)

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What Members Thought

Apr 20, 2010 Jennie rated it did not like it

Shelves: mystery, thriller

I avoided this book for a long time because I usually stay away from the books that "everyone" is reading. My curiosity finally got the better of me and I decided to give it a chance.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found I couldn't put it down, though I'm not really sure why. An interesting puzzle (though I figured out part of it before the big reveal), with vivid (though not really likeable) characters. For me, this book was three things: a whodunnit, a revenge story, and a message, with the I avoided this book for a long time because I usually stay away from the books that "everyone" is reading. My curiosity finally got the better of me and I decided to give it a chance.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found I couldn't put it down, though I'm not really sure why. An interesting puzzle (though I figured out part of it before the big reveal), with vivid (though not really likeable) characters. For me, this book was three things: a whodunnit, a revenge story, and a message, with the whodunnit being the primary focus. Larsson's writing was best when he stayed with the first two.

The third, his "violence against women is BAD" message, was a little clumsy and primarily took the form of random statistics in the section headers at the beginning of each part. The message resurfaced later in the book when a character is asked to make contributions to a charity dealing with women who are victims of violence. A sub-sub-subplot between one character and another in a position of power over her felt entirely gratuitous and tacked-on, and the knowledge she gains as a result could have come from someplace much less icky and still carried weight. It seems to only exist in the story so she could have an excuse to do some important Internet research, and so that we could understand her opinion of violent men (though I think a reader can feel that visceral hatred without personal experience).

There was so much about this book I didn't like: the graphic rape/torture scenes (can we declare a moratorium on these, please?); all the coffee and sandwiches; the precise measurements of every room; the male lead's strange babe-magnetude; the total lack of connection between the plotlines. Still.

Update: When I originally posted my review, I said I'd probably read the other books. After several months' distance, however, I just can't. This book is just too dark, and I don't think I can handle more of the same. I don't know why I keep holding out hope that *this* time will be the time I actually like a book that *everyone* is reading. The only time I haven't been burned by that one was with "Harry Potter". ...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Marsha rated it it was ok

Shelves: not-finishing

I am about 1/3 of the way through and am not going to finish reading. The characters are, for the most part, amoral and not very likable. While talking to people, I found out that the only character I like so far--the girl with the dragon tattoo--gets some pretty violent stuff done to her and I just don't want to read it. So I am not. ...more

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May 11, 2010 Lalitha rated it really liked it

Enjoyed reading this book immensely, but it wasn't the page turner that I expected. Moved a little slowly in some parts, but overall, this was a great read. I have to say that I probably would've have liked it better if I had read it before seeing the movie (which was a pretty decent adaptation).

-L. ...more

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Aug 05, 2014 Bryan457 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: x-rated, crime-mystery-detective, borrow-library-audio

A pretty good crime / detective / serial killer novel. Lizbeth is an interesting character. It is pretty gory and graphic in places, but not overly so for the genre.

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Aug 19, 2009 Joanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub, own, next-best-bookclub, south-shore-readers, series

Pretty much everyone I know who has read this book says the same thing-it takes a while to get in to but then it's great. I felt like after the first 150 pages I was hooked but that's not to say that I hated the first 150 pages because I didn't-it just wasn't as interesting as the rest.

There are more than enough reviews out there that recount the story with much more detail than I can almost a year and a half after I read it so I won't bother. The bottom line is the book takes a while to get go ...more

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Aug 20, 2009 Jonathan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Starts rather like Wallender, ie dull, but picks up. I don't quite understand why the various crimes at the end are covered up, it seems rather cruel. The plot twist is something you suspect from the start. The idea of a photographic memory is much abused in fiction, this book seems no different. ...more

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