The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
discussion
Anyone finding it hard to get through?
I might have to attempt it again. Maybe in small bites. Now I'm curious about the other books in the series.
Loved the book even though keeping the Swedish names straight required concentration. Well written!
It's like everyone who has read the book will tell you... just.keep.going! Sadly it's painful but the payoff is worth it.
It is an easier read when it is an audiobook. I knew that the beginning of the audiobook if read would made me put the book down because it was boring. The rest was amazing but then again I think it is easier as an audio book!
My advice would be to embrace the abundance of details and try to solve the case before Salander and Blomkvist as a challenge. This really helped me get through the pages. I'm not saying I got it right in the end, but I found that technique very helpful with this book, beacuse trust me when I say it is brilliant.
It was not so much for me having a hard time getting through the first so many pages as understanding them. After I got to a certain part though I did understand and loved the first and second books. As far as Salander being a hacker, there are hackers just as good as her in real life. I thought it was a good book and to me there was not more sexually explicit parts in this books as others you read, just done about different things. I thought it was horrible what happened to Salander and I was so glad she did what she did to the creep. It was a good book, both and as soon as I finish a book I reading now I will get back to reading the third one. I read in a blog that there was to be one more but due to family conflict with his girlfriend of many years, who has the manuscript, it may never be published and that is a shame. Not for the young and not for anyone who can't deal with molestation. From what the books say though it happens a lot in Sweden, molesting women that is and someone should put a stop to it and start castrating the bastards that rape and sodomize their women...
It took me a very long time to get through this book. To many characters in the book. My bookclub did talk about the book. One person who was going to moderate the book, gave us a Quiz for fun, to see who could remember any of the people in the book....We had forgot about the people.
I resisted reading these books then I found myself out in the country with nothing else to read for days. I found I really liked the first book and quickly picked up the next one. Nazis and mystery. Freezing cold Europe and a rich estate. Characters you don't see every day. Too bad the author passed after the release of these 3 novels.
I couldn't get past first few pages maybe should try again one day .
Stick with it --- the pay-offis definitely there and the trilogy gets better and better. Found myself thinking the same thing when I started this and wondered what all the hype was --- then the novel kicked into high-gear and was a non-stop thrill-ride to the end! Enjoy.
Actually the first part is dealing with the Uncle who is looking to find out if his niece was murdered and who may have done it. It also has the conversation that leads Blomkvist to write the Wennerstrom story in the first place, not knowing that his friend would deny things said. So if you read that and remember it when you are reading the rest, especially the very beginning part about the flower, which goes back to the Uncle who hires Blomkvist to do the research about what happen when his niece went missing in the first place. I could help to skip over this and read from a couple of chapters on and then go back and read the beginning but for me it would have ruined the whole book. Some think it is a good idea and others don't. :/ Have to use your own judgement about that. I remembered the beginning when I was reading the parts that concerned Wennerstrom and mostly the flower that arrived. I was glad to know what the point of the flower was. I loved the book and the 2nd was even better and will let ya know about the third when I finish another series I had to start.. Can't wait to read it though. Hope it helps some.
Ivy wrote: "Ok, I have had this book for months and continue to try to get through it but I just can't seem to get through the second chapter. I keep hearing from everyone its great, but you have to first get ..."Perseverance my dear, the first part is very long but jeep reading it gets better.
I finally got through the very long book. I dont know why everyone thought the book was so great, and wanted to read the other 2.If you watch the movie, it might be faster then reading the book.
Keri wrote: "I finally got through the very long book. I dont know why everyone thought the book was so great, and wanted to read the other 2.If you watch the movie, it might be faster then reading the book."
I agree with you. Your experience with this clunker reflects all I felt.
yup! this book sucked right until the end. it was like if you had to read Pulp Fiction. totally a waste of time- better to see the movie and save yourself time instead of reading this.
Slow to read, but gathered pace halfway through. I took a month to complete it.
Ivy wrote: "Ok, I have had this book for months and continue to try to get through it but I just can't seem to get through the second chapter. I keep hearing from everyone its great, but you have to first get ..."Just go to a place where you have a couple of uninterrupted hours, a cup of good tea and give yourself time to concentrate . I couldn't put down the books. Good luck!
All books have a bit where it slows down a little. This book just has a little more than most. And honestly, I think that's a good thing. It packs a punch at every turn, and then gives you time to process what just happened. I found that the lengthy paragraphs where pretty much nothing happens to be a nice haven to contemplate and think about what I had just absorbed. But that's just me.
Yes, at first I decided that I might skip this book, but when I read on (just because I liked to say I read the book, I'm ready to criticize the movie), I'm absorbed with the topics of sadism (I can't spoil the whole sexual assault). That is what I think is the blood of the book, not Blomkvist's or Salander's lives.
I read this series, and I found the first little bit hard to get through, however I flew through the second and third books! Loved them!!
The first 150 pages are awful. Stick to it and you won't be sorry. It really becomes very suspenseful. There are too many characters to keep straight but in the end if you like suspence, thrillers and mystery, this is a great book. The other two in the series aren't quite as hard to get into.
I also had problems getting through the book. It definitely took me longer than usual to read it as compared to other mysteries. It's not that it wasn't well written. I just didn't find it interesting, especially the beginning. I definitely won't be reading the sequels.
The sequels are so much easier to get through; the first one was just too dry
I read all three of the Millennium Series way too fast. I thought the first and third were excellent and though not quite as good I understand where the second book was necessary to connect one and three. At that, on a scale of the 5 stars used in Goodreads, #2 was 4 where the other were 5 stars. Excellent, and way too fast reads.
With all three books I found the first 100 pages very difficult. Too many names, too many characters to pay attention to, I don't really know how I managed to get through, but once that threshold was conquered they all were a fun read.
I found that this really should have been two different books. first, the libel case that bookended the novel and then the mystery from the past. I found the first 80ish pages a little bit of a slog to get through but then when the series moved the entire focus to Lisbeth I enjoyed them. The Lisbeth character was the only reason I continued and read the entire series
When I first started the read, I kept a copy of the Vanger family tree on my iPhone. I had to check it a few times, but it got better towards the end. The second book is great and a bit of an easier read.
Sorry, but 90% of all the really great books have a build up. YOu just have to suck it up! In the case of Dragon Tattoo, it's well orth the inconvenience!
Ivy wrote: "Ok, I have had this book for months and continue to try to get through it but I just can't seem to get through the second chapter. I keep hearing from everyone its great, but you have to first get ..."<Download the book to an ipod or check out the cd's at your library. The whole series is amazing. And you can do other things while listening to the book.
The first half of the book was like force-feeding yourself cardboard... you really do just have to suck it up. All that information that seems useless now DOES come into play later. Then all of a sudden there's a horrific rape scene.. (not winning brownie points) and the action picks up and the book takes off full momentum!
Keep reading .. the second book (girl who played with fire) is the best one.
yes...just push...push...push...push...push....lol
i too am finding it very difficult to read. but having read the comments i guess i will give it one more try....
Way easier start than Lord of the Rings - but both worth it.
I read it several years ago, and yes, found it hard to get through. Never read the sequels for that reason.
Yes I read it years ago, It was very hard to read. In the end I watched the movie.
I started it a few years ago, and gave upl watched the movie and then reread. Much better!!
In some ways the American version of the movie was closer to the book than the Swedish version. However I enjoyed the Swedish very as well, having seen it and the 2 others before I saw the American version. I don't know when the 2 additional American movies are due to come out. As for the book, as I've stated, I enjoyed all 3 quite well.
enjoyed all 3 although the 2nd one did drag somewhat. did think there was just too much background around the magazine. I thought the Swedish film was far more true to the book and the Hollywood version a poor version.
Catherine wrote: "I had trouble getting through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but for different reasons. A lot of the explicit parts had me wincing and I literally had to put the book down to process it.Really,..."
This was me!! I can't deal. I read it --- finished it and then thought to myself why did I just put myself thru something so uncomfortable?
Life is too short to read a book you're not enjoying. I'm glad, though, that I stuck with the first book because I appreciated them all eventually. (The subject matter stops me from using enjoyed.) We all have different tastes and thank goodness for that!
This series is awesome! One of my favourites of all time, even though I only read them fairly recently. I can't remember if it started out slow, but if it does, it won't stay that way. The story and plot totally draw you in. The only thing I found a little bit slow, was some minor points in the third book where it seemed to get bogged down in detail of the police departments in Sweden. Otherwise, this trilogy is fantastic, in my opinion and can't recommend enough.www.jadorebooks.com
I read THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO a while ago. When I started it, I almost put it down. The idea of enjoying a book about a guy who put out a money magazine seemed really out there to me. I think it was about 20 pages in that the book really took off form me. Without a doubt, this, and the subsequent two books, were a thrilling read.
This is not American fiction, and it works differently. European stuff--even whodunits like this--gets much more involved in the daily issues of work and life than do books on this side of the ocean. This being said, that does occasionally make for painful reading. I've always thought this book and Larsson's others were in serious need of an editor. I think he self-edited. The result is a work that could easily have been lightened by about 60 pages.
I read all three in like a week and they are VERY LONG! I had absolutely no trouble though and actually loved all the small details that only an absolutely fantastic author could ever conjure up
I tried to read the first book years ago, but it was too difficult to understand. Then I saw the movie before I tried reading the book again...and I am glad that I did because I was able to fly through the 2nd and 3rd books in a matter of days. The first book was a rough read for me...it was hard for me to identify characters, plots, etc..., even after I had seen the movie and knew who the characters were and tried to read the first book again. Needless to say...this trilogy is ridiculously awesome!
couldnt manage to read it but finally watched the movie...i dont think it matched its hype..it was an average story...i wont recommend
I found the first of the trilogy hard to get into, mainly because of the Scandinavian names (I did recognize IKEA!) and sometimes the author referred to his characters by their first name, other times by last. Once you get used to this, the story is quite good and gets better with each book of the trilogy.
Took me a while to get through the first 50 or so pages, but after that I couldn't put it down. The author has since become my favorite author of all time, and I am devastated he passed away. Has anyone read the 4th book that was put together in order to keep the franchise going?
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Couldn't agree more. Second book really captured me and the ending of that one just made me reach for the third book as fast as possible. Can't wait to finish this trilogy...I better finish this comment...I should be reading...