The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
discussion
Did Anyone Else Hate This Book?
Nice comments, Viggo. Agreement here.
I liked it. However, I did feel that there were quite a few unnecessary details. Ex: When talking about the computers.
I found it really hard to get into. Gave it 4 chapters and gave up. I might try it again though.
Couldn't stand this book. I felt compelled to read it because a good friend recommended it to me and loaned it to me...pressure. She made a point of telling me to "stick with it through the first 50 pages which were hard to get through". She didn't mention the rest of it was tough, too. I know people go on about the violence. I didn't find that so difficult but the story just was too tedious. All I remember clearly now is how those people drink way too much coffee!
Hated it as well. And it has nothing to do with the violence, which is really limited to a few scenes. I feel that many (not all - not insulting everyone that likes it) of the people who found this book so ground-breaking have never read violent books before, as they spend too much time on Oprah's books.The issues are that it is horribly written with long descriptions of mundane things like breakfast, with no attempt at making these descriptions poignant. I do not believe that the translation is at fault, I think it is that the author was a journalist and had no clue how to be a novelist.
Also, the mystery really ends up not being very interesting.
Four aces on that, Brian
I can honestly say that this book is the only one I have EVER given up on, I always see a book through to the end if I start it, but I read two chapters and was bored. A rarity for me, I tried the film too and i didnt think much of that either :(
Anna wrote: "I got about 2 chapters in and stopped (which is something I never normally do.)I just was not interested, it didn't grip me, I couldn't get into the story and found it didn't flow.
Maybe I should ..."
I also hated the da v code! not alone there!
I'm cheating here, because I read page one of this discussion and then jumped back here to the newest so if this has already been mentioned by someone else I apologize. I didn't care for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I do have to admit that I really wanted to because of the title. I loved the titles of all three of them (only read the first one).
Sad to say the same for Lovely Bones. Loved the title but never warmed up to the book.
Although I enjoyed all three books I agree with much of the criticism that there was too much detail in places.
Interestingly, the titles in English are not the titles in the Swedish editions. Marketing.
Oh also wanted to say Emma that nobody should be offended by your disregard for this book, we are all different and enjoy or hate many diferent books. I couldn't stand The Book Thief and was suggested that I have no soul...pathetic!
Dan wrote: "Interestingly, the titles in English are not the titles in the Swedish editions. Marketing."Really? That is interesting.
L.G. wrote: "Dan wrote: "Interestingly, the titles in English are not the titles in the Swedish editions. Marketing."Really? That is interesting."
Agreed that is interesting
I still liked them though
I bought it, tried it, and gave it away. I am not even going to bother reading this series.
I'm shocked I liked this book, for I usually go for classics, but this just got me hooked.... Maybe it's the theme, the subject, the characters, the mystery of it.... there's something there that works. I hated 'American Psycho,' one of those wretched novels that are just vulgar for the sake of being vulgar, violent for the sake of being violent, showing only the worst aspects of the human psyche, no redeeming qualities whatsoever.... In TGWDT, there is a fight against those dark forces. It doesn't glorify it, it shows it as what it is and the source of it, how others are affected by it and what they do to attempt to destroy it.
Absolutely rubbish. Can't understand why there is so much hype over it. It tries to be cool but ends up the opposite like a middle-aged man trying to be one of the kids. One of the worst books I have read in the last few years. Tripe.
This has been the first and only time that I have seen a movie first rather than reading the book first. I really liked the first 2 books. I love the main characters and the intrigue. I am sure that I was captivated by the style of writting Mr. Larson had. Can't wait to read the 3rd.
i really enjoyed these books. i am not always one to read a thriller/suspense book, but i really liked the writing and the story
Everything the original poster said about this book, I agree 1000%.
i thought it was dreadfully boring...
The book is terrible. None of the characters are believable, even as fiction they're one-dimensional. Bloomkvist or whatever his name is beds every women he meets, and has a very unrealistic relationship with his main girlfriend (i.e., a gorgeous, accomplished woman with an open marriage). Lisbeth is by now a stereotype - the uber-hacker who can manipulate the internet and computers to any end she desires. That she is a rape victim is not relevant to the action - she was obsessed before she mat Bloomkvist (or whatever his name is). And together they take down a truly repellent old family.It didn't work for me. At all.
Everytime someone logged onto a computer in the book we were given the make, model and serial number. There was a great deal of extraneous detail. The story itself was pedestrian; the characters wooden. I had no empathy or sympathy for any of the characters. All were selfish and arrogant.
I went into the books expecting not to like them but once I got used to the names I thoroughly enjoyed all three of them and the movie. I thought they were well written and liked the main characters. I found Lisbeth Salander interesting, in particular the "flaws" in her ability to deal with other people. There are some parts in all the books where they bog down, but after I read them I think they lived up to the hype.
"This nerdy computer detail was one of the many things I disliked - mind you it also irritates me when thriller writers do similar things with 'boy's toys' and weapons, I am quite able to understand the impact of someone firing a machine pistol at me - without needing to know that the Glockenspiel 750 fires 4 million rounds per second, which is 2 million less than a Dinglewanger 660 which is more accurate but has an increased hitting power over 300 metres but less accurate than the Bonklewoonkle Z40 BORING! - Dead is dead for God's sake! :-) "Awesome! Couldn't agree more, David!
This was an amazing book, I couldn't put it down.
Does anyone know how you get out of a discussion group? I feel like I'm trapped on a sticky Mobius strip.
This book bored me to tears - almost literally. Took 200 pages before anything happened, there were one or maybe two vaguely interesting characters - and that was IT! I read it a while ago - wasn't there also an excruciating exploration of the extended family? I found it literally not worth the paper it was printed on.
I too hated the book and had to force myself to finish it. I hated this and gone girl. I foound it incredibly disturbing.
I thought I was the only one who felt disgusted with this book, so the first book was okay, the plot was very interesting (at least for me) but after reading the second and third book, the plot seemed to be going no where, the author just added too much drama of Salander and Blomkvist personal life.
I also felt that Salander is too artificial, I mean, how come a punk-antisocial-boxer-girl can be a hacker ? I don't think real hackers or crackers are like that, most of them just like regular people.
and yeah, Blomkvist was an Larsson's alter-ego, a middle age journo with magical charm that could make any girl gone head over heels.
I confess I'm a big fan of these book, but also I don't like it for some reasons.
Like Meran said, it may be that the book was translated as well as being from a different culture.I read through the entire series, quickly and found it to be an excellent depiction of the Russian Mafia and the secret police hijinks that are prevalent in any country, although more so, the nearer to the Russian border, of course. And the devastation to victims of these machinations. I did not find Salander to be one-dimensional; I found her to be a very damaged human being (compellingly so). And it wasn't a revenge novel; she studiously avoided her father for many years and only stepped up to confront him when there was no other way.
When Blomkvist tracks her down and sees how she lives in one, tiny section of her new, opulent digs and thinks how it "squeezed his heart", this speaks volumes about Lisbeth's penurious inner life. There are many more insights of all the characters handled that way.
Most of us will never come into contact with any people like the ones in the book, so it may be that we're quick to dismiss the violence as gratuitous, the characters as shallow or unbelievable.
The writing style was, indeed, noir-ish but that doesn't hurt the book, it's part of it.
As a non-violent, peace-loving person, I could have let the entire subject appall me, but I just finished my Bachelors in criminal justice and found that there really is a whole world of hurt out there that I hope I never have to experience. If I come across victims of such heinous crimes I will, however, have some insight into their psychology.
Emma wrote: "I have to be honest; I hated this book.I found the first third of the book clunky, slow and bogged down with jargon and pointless detail.
I found it disturbing and hard to read (which is not nec..."
I also disliked this book and found the writing clunky and uninspired. The characters were not memborable and the plot tired.
Wouldn't go as far as to say that I hated this book, but I did find it hard going.
Emma wrote: "I have to be honest; I hated this book.I found the first third of the book clunky, slow and bogged down with jargon and pointless detail.
I found it disturbing and hard to read (which is not nec..."
I also hated this book. It took a long time for me to finish reading it. I've tried to find excuses for it, but at last i've had to admit that the reason was simply the fact that I did not like it at all. 1) I didn't identify with any of the characters; they're all too weird, im my opinion. I must be honest and say that I couldn't even be happy for the girl1s and the journalist1s achievments as I read the book. I think this was also due to the lack of values and principles of them - everybody sleeps with everybody and everybody knows; it was too strange for me. 2) There's a great lack of verisimilitude, specially when it concerns to Lisbeth, the way she can just discover everything with the computers, it was too much magic for me. I think that making a character who is a hacker is a very easy way to justify every discovery, without having to use any creativity or strategy to lead to the mistery's solution. And also the thing she did with the guy that raped her. Too unbelievable, I think. 3) The book is too long for the plot; there are many boring and unnecessary parts. 4) The book is too disturbing and sordid, yes.
Obs.: I'm brazilian, so I'm sorry for my English errors.
I hated the book and had to struggle to get through it.
One of the best books I have read in years.
Lisbeth Sanders is a great character, but there were too many coffee breaks and too many rolls in the hay (or is it lichen?). Where was his editor????
Lily wrote: "Lisbeth Sanders is a great character, but there were too many coffee breaks and too many rolls in the hay (or is it lichen?). Where was his editor????"What you found disagreeable is exactly what I enjoyed about the book. The coffee I always took to imply the cold harsh Swedish climate and and yes, Blumqvist was a slut when viewed through the eyes of repressed American secular sexuality, however I took that as an insight into a less repressive view of sexuality, characteristic of mainland Europe. Similarly I was fascinated by the portrait of middle (Lysbeth) and upper middle-class (Blumqvist) life in Sweden. Not arguing with you, to each his own, just saying that the "Swedishness" of the book had a strong appeal for me. Did you read the other two volumes?
ked wrote: "Lily wrote: "Lisbeth Sanders is a great character, but there were too many coffee breaks and too many rolls in the hay (or is it lichen?). Where was his editor????"What you found disagreeable is ..."
The Scandinavian countries make up 4 of the top 6 coffee consuming countries in the world. While Swedes may not be up to Fins love of java juice, they drink almost 2X as much as Americans. So the coffee consumption, which I did note while reading all 3 books, seems totally appropriate.
I didn't hate it but it was slow going in the beginning and hard for me to get into. I was more than halfway through when it finally got good for me. I have the second book but I haven't read it yet because I'm hoping it's not the same way as the first.
Suge wrote: "I didn't hate it but it was slow going in the beginning and hard for me to get into. I was more than halfway through when it finally got good for me. I have the second book but I haven't read it ye..."2nd book starts fast and continues fast then leaves you hanging. Couldn't wait to move on to the 3rd book (the next day) when I finally finished the 2nd.
Love this trilogy, the first is the slowest and hardest to get through. 2 & 3 are actually 2 parts of 1 longer work in my mind, though the divide is clear and appropriate.
the meandering (for lack of a better word) plot seems to be a common theme in this genre in genre - if you look at something like Henning Mankell's Wallander series - you find out more than you ever wanted to know about his bowel movements...to me it is a way to make them more real/personable - you see their failures as investigators, rather than the wham bam case solved which seems to be prevalent in US based crime fiction
Really liked the book. You have tonstick with it. If you do, guaranteed you will not put it down.
Read the entire thing. Hated it. When it wasn't gratuitous sexual violence, it was talking about Scandinavian bankers. Eliminate these two things, and you've got a pretty standard whodunit. I actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit, though (the David Fincher one).
Matthew wrote: "Read the entire thing. Hated it. When it wasn't gratuitous sexual violence, it was talking about Scandinavian bankers. Eliminate these two things, and you've got a pretty standard whodunit. I actua..."Very good description of the story, it's just that.
No, I thought they were all brilliant, and very well translated. I'm very much into Scandinavian crime novels and am a huge fan of Jo Nesbo. Just recently finished Headhunters.
I enjoyed all three books. They're not great books, but they kept me turning the pages and I was entertained. Just saying.
I read the book because everyone else was reading it. I did not enjoy it at all and refused to read any of the other books. I donated my copy to the library's book sale. Do not see any of the attraction to the book
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I'm not going to complain about the writing style because unless you're reading it in Swedish you are reading a translation and a lot can be lost in translation.
However, I found the characters to be one-dimensional and unrealistic. Lisbeth is touted as some strong feminist idol but I have to admit she could have avoided a lot of her problems by being a little more proactive in her earlier life and being less hostile and anti-social. She is so determined to live in her own little world that she becomes incapable of living in the real one. I found Blomkvist to be just as misogynistic as the "villains" in the story and felt no sympathy for him whatsoever. If anything, Larsson tried too hard to make these character sympathetic and I just became annoyed with their sense of self-entitlement.
All-in-all, the only character that I did like was Harriet Vanger. The mystery surrounding her was what kept me reading, not any of the active characters.