The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson (March 2012 Group Read)

[Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) , The Great & Mighty Mod! :P]

GoodReads Description

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

Feel free to talk about the whole book but please use the spoiler brackets where necessary.
< spoiler > write your message here < / spoiler >
(without spaces)

[Gemma]

I have already read this and I loved it, one thing I will say is..the first 2 chapters are tough going, and a lot of people (including me) want to give up, but DON'T once you get past that, the book is Brilliant! Looking forward to joining in discussions.

[[deleted user]]

I agree with Gemma, the first two chapters are tough. I did enjoy it but I have to say I was surprised by the amount of hype it received. I don't really read a lot of the crime/thriller genre but in comparison to the books I have read of the same kind, nothing stood out to me as 'amazing'. I'd love to hear why others think it is so popular because, other than the originality of Lisbeth's character, I feel like I missed something!

[louise]

I'm about to start it and the length is a bit intimidating to me (I haven't read anything of this length for quite some time!). I will get past the first 2 chapters though!

[Rea, Ghost]

I have to admit that I'm one of those people who was defeated by those first two chapters. :( I just couldn't take any more of the money laundering / finance / whatever jango.

I have seen the Swedish movie, though, and I thought that it was truly excellent.

[Gemma]

Rea wrote: "I have to admit that I'm one of those people who was defeated by those first two chapters. :( I just couldn't take any more of the money laundering / finance / whatever jango.

I have seen the Swed..."

The Swedish version is dreat...the Hollywood one is pretty bad!

[Rea, Ghost]

Gemma wrote: "Rea wrote: "I have to admit that I'm one of those people who was defeated by those first two chapters. :( I just couldn't take any more of the money laundering / finance / whatever jango.

I have s..."

I haven't seen the Hollywood version. I'm considering having my own little boycott of it because I don't see the point in spending millions to make a Hollywood version when there's a perfectly good, and, as you say, superior, recent Swedish version of it.

Plus I don't like Daniel Craig all that much as an actor. He only has one facial expression: pout.

[~T~]

Already read this one and it was sooo good. Like everyone else, it took awhile to get past the first part.. Like a week and a half. I'm so glad I didn't give up though. I devoured the rest in a day or two!

[Jeshu]

I have a problem with this whole saga, because the names in english are HORRIBLE!!! The spanish names are taken from the original, and I personally think that they suit the story better than the english names.
I mean, when I read "THe girl with the dragon tattoo" first, I thought it was a different novel by the same author and, secondly, that it was about martial arts (yay stereotypes!) [End of the rant]

Other than that, having read the book about a year ago, I still don't know if I like it or not. It was deeply disturbing :S

[Rea, Ghost]

Haha Jeshu, loved the stereotypes thing! When I first saw the version of this book that my dad had, I thought it was going to be about an Asian chick. Seriously, I swear the cover model looked Asian and the dragon was an Asian design.

There are a lot of... let's call them 'touchy' subjects in the book. After having read Let the Right One In, I'm wondering whether the willingness to write about these things in such a head-on manner might be a Swedish / Scandinavian trait.

[Conny]

Rea wrote: "Gemma wrote: "Rea wrote: "I have to admit that I'm one of those people who was defeated by those first two chapters. :( I just couldn't take any more of the money laundering / finance / whatever ja..."

I've read the series a while ago, and loved it. But I'm so with you on this Rea! It seems like Hollywood has to redo their own moneymaker where ever they see a working concept, they don't like taking a risk on new stories anymore - then spam us with remake after remake. Ditto on Craig, worst Bond ever btw. Here endeth the rant!

[Gemma]

Rea wrote: "Haha Jeshu, loved the stereotypes thing! When I first saw the version of this book that my dad had, I thought it was going to be about an Asian chick. Seriously, I swear the cover model looked Asia..."

I think the 'touchy' subjects make this book great! There are not many books I have read which aren't afraid to go into things like that. The things Lisbeth goes through at the hands of a person in authority are just awful, and really help you relate to her as a character and understand why she is so strong.

[Christine]

I too found the first couple of chapters hard going, but once I got into the book I couldn't put it down. Think I read for six hours straight at the end and finished the book at 1am. Just had to find out how it ended.

[Rea, Ghost]

Christine wrote: "I too found the first couple of chapters hard going, but once I got into the book I couldn't put it down. Think I read for six hours straight at the end and finished the book at 1am. Just had to ..."

Those books that you just can't put down because you need to know the ending are the very best!!

[Rea, Ghost]

Gemma wrote: "Rea wrote: "Haha Jeshu, loved the stereotypes thing! When I first saw the version of this book that my dad had, I thought it was going to be about an Asian chick. Seriously, I swear the cover model..."

I agree. I think everything she goes through, while graphic, serves to make Lisbeth a very spunky and relateable heroine. It's such a shame that we'll never get books 4 through 10.

[Christine]

Rea wrote: "Christine wrote: "I too found the first couple of chapters hard going, but once I got into the book I couldn't put it down. Think I read for six hours straight at the end and finished the book at ..."
Trouble is, I have to choose a time to read those sort of books when I CAN sit for hours and just read. Waiting to start book 3, but with an immenent house move I just can't afford the time at present. Such a shame.

[Esther]

I didn't find the beginning slow like most people but it did remind me of thrillers from 1970/80s so maybe it's an age thing.
The graphic scenes and the obvious political/social agenda did make me curious about Swedish society.
But the real reason I love these books was because I so identified with Lisbeth. I had a pretty normal childhood and never suffered like her but I did frequently get into trouble because I insisted on being honest and had seemed pathologically unable to obey authority figures when I felt they were wrong or being unfair.

[[deleted user]]

Extremely INTENSE, well written, gritty, realistic mystery. I recently watched the original Swedish film (English dubbed version) and was very impressed with it.

[Gillian]

Hey guys! I read these books a year ago and LOVED them! The first three chapters are VERY difficult, especially the one about finances and business, etc., but once you get past that it is totally worth it! This book (as well as the second and third) ended up being a lot more graphic than I expected but I was still really impressed. I also was impressed with the way Lisbeth handled herself, despite everything she had been through.

As for the movies, I saw the Swedish version shortly after it came out and it was excellent, and Noomi Rapace did an amazing job. I did see the American version and didn't think it was terrible, especially since I expected to hate Rooney Mara and ended up thinking she was decent, but it was completely pointless to remake a movie that only came out recently and was excellent already.

[Amy *Waitforit*]

I've read the full trilogy and really enjoyed it although it was really challenging in places.

Anyway onto The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I think this is the perfect novel to start a trilogy as it really introduces you to the traits of the characters especially Lisbeth who is a very complex character with such a difficult background. The novel was so much more graphic than anything I have ever read especially (view spoiler)[ the scenes between Lisbeth and Nils Bjurman, I have to admit although I wouldn't consider myself squeamish it definitely made me cringe and even consider putting the book away and never touching it again. However I didn't I carried on and as the book progressed I realised how important these scenes are, they are essential to illustrate Lisbeth's strength, although it also shows that she will retaliate with violence when necessary (hide spoiler)]

The book was very well written and I enjoyed it but I think some of the business and political stuff was difficult to understand due to my lack of knowledge both of the business world and of Swedish politics although the book had footnotes and a glossary which I found really helpful.

[Christine]

Couldn't wait any longer and am now reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Loving it. I know that at some point it will become un-put-downable, and with a house move imminent, I will live to regret my decision. I'm so pleased that I persevered through the first few chapters of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as the trilogy is brilliant.

[Alicia]

I had a hard time getting in to this book at the start. All the names and places confused me. Though once I got passed that I could not put the book down.

[Rea, Ghost]

Everyone seems to have loved this book so much! I shall have to try it again and persevere through those first few chapters of bleugh. I might even skip them and just go straight to when he heads to meet the guy who hires him. I remember no names... >.<

[Amy *Waitforit*]

Rea wrote: "Everyone seems to have loved this book so much! I shall have to try it again and persevere through those first few chapters of bleugh. I might even skip them and just go straight to when he heads t..."

I was exactly the same but seriously it is worth persevering with it. =)

[Christine]

Agreed, and remember, once you've got through those first few chapters, there's 2 further great books to read!

[Rea, Ghost]

I've already got the other two books as well. ^^ My dad gave me books 2 and 3 but he didn't have a copy of book 1. Thankfully I knew they were sequels because before now he's given me books and I haven't realised that they weren't the first book in the series and then I'm left wondering why I can't follow what's going on! Haha.

[Voula]

I hate all my work and other stuff I have to do! I started this book 3 weeks ago and right now I am in the middle. I love the way it's written and I am very interested in finding out what happens next.
Also, I find it a great way of learning stuff about the society of Sweden that can hardly be discovered unless you live there. I don't mind the vivid descriptions of unpleasant situations, it keeps me more interested.
I just wish I had more time so I can finish it some time soon. It's very "grippy" and every time I want to read one more page, but time won't let me! Grrrrr......

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

A little slow to start, but then the momentum picks up nicely.