The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo question

This book is horrible!! I wondered if there was something wrong with me because everyone else I know seems to think it's so amazing.

First, nothing actually happens. You only hear about what happened later when someone is talking about it after they've had sex and are brooding over a cup of coffee. The best example is when we learn who the killer is and Blomqvist is beng held captive. The description is minimal and vague and we only find out later that it was some kind of torture chamber. Put me in that room, Mr. Larrsen! (I know he's dead) Tell me what it feels like, what it smells like. Describe it in visceral detail. Make me feel like I'm there with my life hanging in the balance just like Blomqvist is. Be as graphic and gory here as you were in that rape scene.

Second, the resolution, after we find out who the killer is, is very disappointing. Killing him off in a car crash? Lame! The resolution of what actually happened to the girl that Blomqvist was hired to find was even more disappointing. Australia? Really!?

Finally, once you read a little background on Larssen and realize that he wrote Blomqvist as essentially an idealized version of himself, you can't get over how narcissistic and self-indulgent the whole thing is.

I downloaded the Kindle taster to see if I wanted to read the whole book. I got bored with the rambling amount of back story and never got to meet the girl of the title, so didn't bother to download the rest of the book. Looks as if it doesn't hot up until well after the bit you have to pay to download!

Yes, you were.

I really enjoyed the three books - This one was a bit slow to get into. The style was quite different to anything I've read before, perhaps a cultural thing.
I was expecting it to be all about the girl and so I was surprised at how long it took to get to her character.
I couldn't put it down once I got into it.
Really enjoyed second book. I enjoyed the third one too, but it was a lot slower - a lot of explanations of things, and less action.
There's no sitting on the fence with this book - you either love it or hate it.

See I agree I thought the book was terrible. I was waiting for the big a ha moment but it never happened. Everyone that I spoke too loved it! Not me!

I finished it - but it was an effort, and I was disappointed after all the hype. Yet my co-author loved it (I borrowed it from him.) Just different tastes, I guess.

I disagree with some of the things that are posted on here about too many details and such. I like to read fantasy, and the best kinds of fantasy are the books where you can't even read another book right after, because you are still in that book's world. These books worked like that for me. Because I was there, even while Blomkvist was sitting there eating open-faced sandwiches. The first part of the book is hard to get through, but beyond that, I think they're awesome books.

But I read it before the hype exploded, so that makes a difference. I, like a lot of people, really hate hype.

Nope- Not at ALL! It wasn't a terrible book but not great by any means. It did however make for a fantastic movie!

It was hard to get into but once you actually got into Lisbeth's story I thought it was amazing. She is unlike any other character ever developed and brought it to life. I originally decided to read it because I thought it was a tragedy that the author spend years of his life to write this trilogy and died before he ever got to see anyone enjoy them.

I am not big into journalism but I did like the fact that even though it was a fictional book I was learning something that I never thought I would.

The second and third books are more about Lisbeth, her life, her struggles and her conflicts. She has so many tortured layers and even though you know all of them by the end she is still a mystery.

Fun Fact (well not really fun but...)

Steig Larsson inspiration for writing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which was originally titled Men Who Hate Women, came to him after being haunted by the fact that he witnessed a 15 year old girl being raped and did nothing to help her.

The books are about women who take control and fight back against the men who hated/hurt them.

Think about it then reread the first book.

That is a perfectly valid question. The books that I've read so far (1 and 2) have the good and bad points. I only read them due to the hype and think that if that wasn't the case I would not have read them. I will read the last one. Now about those Hunger Games books, those I do not get.

I thought it was bad written, boring, and I didn't really care about Lisbeth. She didn't seem original but familiar.

No, you were not alone. I felt as if it could have used a really good edit (I seem to remember hearing that it was published just as it was found after the author's death).

I had two major issues:

1. It felt like two stories rather than one. The financial story was boring and occupied far too much of the overall book.

2. I found the title misleading, as I was expecting her to have some pivotal role in the mystery, such as being a relative / prime actor, rather than just being a researcher.

In general, it seemed like the author didn't really know who or what was the focus of the book.

Plus there were all those references to coffee . . . :)

Michael wrote: "I hope that I am not the only one that could not get into this book. I fail to see why it is so popular, this was one of the most overrated books in awhile. It started of good but I coudl`nt even f..."

No, you were not alone. I was looking forward to reading the book because I had heard so many good things about it, but it was such a slow read. I did finish it and I liked the way it ended, but I don't think that I am going to read the other books, or see any of the movies!

I think there were 2 issues with the book, one was a style thing because of the author. Essentially he information dumped about the Swedish Financial/Political systems.

The second issue is that it is in translation which, usually, makes it a more difficult read because of the difference in culture but also because it isn't the author's original words so the flow can have issues.

This is one of those cases where, I think, the movie was better than the book. Often too convoluted and confusing.

I admit it was a slow start for me - I picked up reading the first book of the trilogy in January 2011 and stopped after 100 pages. Finally in September of 2011 I decided that I would continue on. Everything does tie in with the rest of the story and I got hooked to read the next 2 books. But I have to say that of the three, the first one had the best plot.

I hated it - omg on every other page Bloomvist is making sandwiches or buying coffee or bedding some random woman. To me it was the fantasy world of the late author projecting himself into the role of international lover meets private detective.

The book was meh. The mystery itself was on par with most mystery novels (which makes me wonder why the book received so much hype). But what really bothered me was that it felt too obvious that the author was living vicariously through his main character. =/

No matter how many times I attempted to delve into this book, there was just no way I could get into it properly. I got about 80-90 pages in and I had to quit. This is one of the very rare books that I couldn't even finish. It seemed to have no real story.

I could not stay interested. I quit before halfway.

yeah, I really wasn't that crazy about it either. it was slow, with too many extraneous details, and it all seemed kind of disjointed- it didn't really flow very well, but I wonder if that is related to the translation.

I did really like salander's character, but not enough to wade through the other two books.

The first book of the series is okay for popcorn literature. After that, it goes downhill fast. I don't know, why it is hyped that much, either.

I read it because I thought maybe I should, it was OK. Then I went on to the second one, and thought even less of it. Won't bother with the third.

Yet another story in the abortion of a trilogie Teh Girl with the Lame Tattoo has been made into a movie. Uggh. The whole thing is an Infomercial for Apple and their iCrap.

It's not totally a plot-driven story. What draws people into this book is Lisbeth Salander herself, her personality and how she acts in the book.

I thought the book was OK, but nothing very different in essence to many other thriller/detective/mystery type books I've read.

Many of the people I know who loved it had never read a thriller before and it made me wonder if their keenness on the book was because they liked the genre, not that the book itself is exceptional. Because I really don't think it is.

Also, there were too many people with the same surname!

I thought the book was poorly written (translated?), excessively violent and misogynist. Also, I figured out the solution to the mystery long before Lisbeth and Blomkvist did.
There are many better books (mysteries) and writers.

I read it because friends praised it, but I didn't enjoy it. Then someone whose judgement I really trust told me the 2nd one is better. I tried, but I couldn't read the 2nd one. I usually enjoy books that give me a glimpse into another society or era. Larsson's books did that, but they were so poorly written and so sado-masochistic that I just couldn't tolerate them.

I enjoyed the whole trilogy but can see that some would not like it's intensity. If the first book doesn't grip you right in then you won't want to read any more because it becomes very specifically about Lisbeth's experiences.

No, you're not alone. I didn't enjoy it either.

I wanted to read this book after everyone raved about it. The first two hundred pages were horribly slow and boring but once I got to the action I was hooked. I am glad I stuck in there, and I do look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I would have preferred the Readers Digest version: focus on the plot, the main characters and give me a LOT less graphic descriptions of the crimes. Then it would be the best it could be - a terrific who-dunnit.

I personally liked the book myself. Like others have said this series is just one of those series where they start off slow. The only thing I really hated about this book was that Larsson felt the never ending need to have both Blomkvist and Salander give a very extensively detailed discription of every single room they went into. I felt that was seriously unnecessary to have every room that the two main characters walked into described down to how the fork looks. I think that unless it happened to pertain to the mystery of Harriet Vanger then the descriptions of the rooms were not necessary (which most were not necessary in my opinion). But other than that I loved it.

I didn't enjoy this book much either, myself. I thought it needed a very strict edit. Too much back story, for one thing. Weird thing is, on the back of my current novel there is a quote from a reviewer: something like, "Dalton could be the next Stieg Larsson"!
Help! He was an admirable man, but not a writer I emulate!

I not only couldn't get into it, but I hated that I read 3/4 of the book and could not take another second and quit. A good friend of mine and I totally disagree - she LOVES the book, read all three. Me, I was bored to tears. Too much Scandinavian business going on and not enough mystery. And I disliked each and every character - I'm still mad I ever picked this book up. haha

I also didn't like it. I thought the translation was terrible and made for slow, halting reading (I freak out a little over grammatical errors in books).

Disclaimer: I saw the movie before I read the book, so I already knew what was going to happen (this usually doesn't ruin a book for me), so the suspense wasn't there.

I am another person who could not finish the first book! I put off reading it for a year or more, because of the hype (memories of The Da Vinci Code) In a weak moment I thought I'd give it a go and could not get past the halfway mark.I even tried watching the movie and got bored. Just saying...

I got it from my mother who also is an avid reader, and she loved it. I couldn't get into it at all. Maybe it was that it was an English translation and better read in Swedish. I do not know. All I know is it seemed slow, and maybe it sped up, but by then, I had stopped reading because I was bored, and I do not read to be bored....

I think if you realise that Larsson was deeply affected by a rape he witnessed (and did not try and stop) in his teens, you can understand why this book was written. It was penance for his inaction and was not written to glorify the rape, but rather to raise the issue that is (apparently) quite prevalent in Sweden.

I can't say I enjoyed the story, as it was far too long-winded. Even though it was a lengthy, it still kept my interest. I would give it a three if I was just rating it on story, but resolved it to a four for being so well-written.

No, I did not find it that great, with a serial killer lurking around. Though I liked the first fifty pages.

I liked the Swedish films best, as Salander was kind of gritty & cool. But she is just not that interesting in the book, and there is way too much hype. Her intelligence wasn't that believable, Även fantastiskt att vara äkta

Jag gillar verkligen Henning Mankell. Han är min favorit.

Nope, I couldn't make it past the first two chapters or so. I tried twice, then just said, F-it. Just not my kind of book I guess. It was just overly wordy IMO. You're not alone.

You are not the only one. I did not enjoy the book very much at all. I could not get into the story and was bored halfway through.

I have to admit I started it last year on the back of recommendations / the hype / watching the first movie. I'm still at the same place I left it, about 40 pages in. It didn't really hold my interest if I'm being honest. Doesn't mean it's not a good book and that it doesn't have it's merits but it didn't grab me unfortunately. I'll give it a go no doubt in the future but I started reading it before I found Goodreads so it might be a while :)

Only one I have heard so far!

I really had a hard time with this book.. the beginning was horrible. It took me a long time to get through the first part. But once I got halfway through it I couldn't put it down. I am currently reading the second one and this one is going faster. But I have heard several people state that the beginning was slow. I didn't like all the business talk. But I did enjoy the book.

It took me almost half the book to actually get into it. I can normally read a book this size in three or four days along with doing the other things life requires of me but I was so uninterested in this book it took me a whole two weeks. but once I got into it I loved it the last half of the book was what made it so good. I will be reading the rest.

The first 200 pages were torture, but it drastically improved after that. The beginning was more for backround and information, but once the story really got underway it was good.
The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest were both very good. I enjoyed them more than the first.

I didn't like any of the characters, and I felt like the clues and solution to the mystery just kind of fell into their laps by chance. I couldn't believe that they so quickly dismissed the idea that the "murder victim" had simply LEFT the island; it seemed so obvious to me.

No you're not the only one. I thought it slow and quite dull, with unlikeable bland characters. I also thought it was very poorly written, though I think this was probably down to the translation. I will not be reading the next two in the trilogy and will watch the films instead! (I usually hate when people do this; I am a firm believer in read the book before you see the film, but I cannot put myself through two more tomes!) I haven't seen the swedish films, but the american remake was pretty decent, if awfully long.