Read it or see the movie? Both? Neither?

[Jo Ellen]

The books really were an education in modern Swedish society. I feel I know so much more. And I also feel that I would like to read more of the modern literature that is translated from the Swedish language, which is a slightly different point of view.

[Jo Anne]

I loved this book. I have not seen the Swedish movies but I have seen the American...not a huge fan of the American movie - although Daniel Craig was hot. Do both BUT read the book FIRST!

[Jo Ellen]

I think it does add so much to see the Swedish movie and hear their language. It brings something closer to what the author intended. The Swedish film was very good and the actors were excellent. I really was not sure why an American version was even thought necessary. It was too soon. It was good, however, but always compared to the original...not good enough.

[Katherine]

I have read the book and seen the American version of the movie. While I felt that the book could have been trimmed to remove some of the bloated descriptions, I found the story engaging and the characters real. Violence against women? Yes. But the whole book grows from that and how it is handled. It didn't take me long to read the rest of the trilogy. I enjoyed it tremendously.

[Lex]

First saw the Swedish film which I thought was terrific. Than read the book while flying to the Netherlands. I noticed that they took some liberties with the movie like when Lisbeth computer got broken which in the book is a seemingly innocent incident whilst in the movie was a violent incident. However I think in hindsight it is better to read the book first.

[Jo Ellen]

Lex wrote: "First saw the Swedish film which I thought was terrific. Than read the book while flying to the Netherlands. I noticed that they took some liberties with the movie like when Lisbeth computer got br..."

I agree it is better to read the book first. So much more detail in the books. Sometimes too much, but helps in understanding the story more completely.

[Norma]

I read all 3 books and I saw all 3 swedish versions of the movie- loved them. I don't have an inclination to see the american version - I think I would be disappointed.

[Maria]

Read the books first, then watch the Swedish version of the movies!

[Dee]

Read it, didn't like it :(

[Tom]

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but the original Swedish title of the book, translated into English is Why Men Hate Women. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the very few mainstream bestselling novel successes that deals with real issues (it's the only one I can think of in fact) - violence against women in Europe today, the conservative old boy's club of European industrialists, the corruption amongst Europe's elite, the abuse within the welfare system, not easy subjects to effectively manage in a format that is essentially beach reading. Some of the prose and editing could have been better, but it's a real achievement for an author to pack so much meaning, and left wing politics/activism, into a format (this kind of potbloiler thriller) that is essentially conservative. Larsson was a journalist who specialized in far right movements in Europe, often lived in hiding, was threatened. So for me, the main achievement (other than the fact that Salander is an interesting character in this genre) is that he tells us something about ourselves that is not sentimental and that engages us to think about the world we live in in a very particular way. Just very different from the Grishams and Crichtons of this world.

[CountingStars]

Books are good, after you get trough chapter 1 of the first book. I've seen only American version of the movie (planning on watching Swedish ones this weekend) and it was OK. It was kind of too fast, compared to book. Ending was cut short, which I didn't like, but it overall is was good.

[Pam]

Love the books, but the first one was difficult to get into until I was halfway through. Actually I think the original Swedish title translates as "Men Who Hate Women" which would explain my confusion when reading the first one as to why Lisbeth wasn't the main focus and Blomkvist was. I think it would have been a bit easier for me to read if I had known that beforehand. I think the books and the first two Swedish movies were great so far (I'm currently reading the 3rd). Haven't seen the American version yet, but hope to soon.

[Pam]

Bobby wrote: "The original Swedish film version is great and the newer American version is pretty good but I gave up on the book after about 150 pages. It's some of the dullest prose I've ever read."

I agree, Bobby, that the first couple hundred pages are really hard to get into, but after I got past those, I started getting into the story and now love the books! I liked the Swedish movie versions, too, although they left out some main character relationships that were in the book. Great series, though!

[Calvin]

Personally this book is fantastic. I would highly recommend reading it before the movie, for the movie (David Fincher's Direction) ties pretty close to the book, give or take a few parts. I read it twice and I may read it again in the near future.

[Daniel]

i read all 3 of the books and saw all 3 swedish version of the film. my wife and i saw the U.S. version of "the girl with the dragon tattoo" and we left wondering why we wasted 2 hrs of our time and $20 on something we've already seen. the best thing i can say about the U.S. version, is they didnt screw it up, but definately the swedish version is superior.

[Marisa]

Neither

[Nicki]

The movie doesn't begin to do the book justice. I agree with harold...the Swedish version is much, much better.

[Marianne (Creed)]

Loved them :D
wouldnt let the other half watch the films until I had read each book ;)
Loved the swedish versions, I cant see the point of remaking a brilliant film because people cant be bothered to read subtitles!
Dont want to watch the remake !

[Carla]

I read the first two books of the trilogy. I agree that it took 100 pages for me to like The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo but I think it was because of all the Swedish names and words. After that, though, I thought it was very good. And I thought the second one was really suspenseful and a good read. I haven't seen the movie but I think it's always better to read the book first.

[Eric]

I thought the book was preachy and mediocre at best. The Swedish movie was very good, and the American movie was excellent. It had a fantastic art style, and didn't change the ending, which was one of the book's few strong points.

[Lorrea - WhatChaReadin'?]

Read the book and saw the American version of the movie...both were very slow to me.

[Bette]

Listened to the book and later saw the movie. The book develops the characters more fully but there is more graphic violence too.

[Cora]

Rachel wrote: "I still have not read this book, but have heard mixed reviews about it. I was warned there is a lot of violence against women.

Now there is a movie out, which I also haven't seen. Would you recomm..."

Read the books. The book addresses the problem/issues of violence toward woman and children. The first part of the book is a little slow (I didn't find it so, but other have said they did). I've seen both the Swedish and American versions--they both have good/neg points. I think the Swedish version (Netflix) is better than the American--Elisbeth is weak in the American version. She's a strong character in the books; she is what it's all about.

The only way to figure out if you like it is to read the book. It's not for everyone, but I loved the books and wished Larsen was alive to write more.

[Paul]

I LOVED the first two books (have to get to the third soon) And did not like either version of the movies.
Yes, the first 30 pages or so were very boring but important for the motivation of the character (Mikael) But for me as soon as they introduced Lisbeth I was in love with the character and the book. I could not even stomach the Swedish Version and Hated the US Version. Read and Totally skip the movies.

[Pam]

I found out that Netflix has a Swedish version that is the original television production that the movies were taken from. There was a lot cut from the television series.

[Danielle]

Both! The book series was amazing! I lost complete track of time throughout the whole series and the movies portrayed the books extremely well. Although graphic and violent the books are fantastic, I enjoyed every page!

[Jay]

Read them all, then seen them all - swedish versions, liked it

[Lucinda]

READ all three books!!! Movie ok, but I don't think it would be as interesting if you hadn't read the ooh. Books are almost ALWAYS better than the movie, IMO!!

[Cora]

Lucinda wrote: "READ all three books!!! Movie ok, but I don't think it would be as interesting if you hadn't read the ooh. Books are almost ALWAYS better than the movie, IMO!!"

I agree with Lucinda. However, I saw all three Swedish films and the American with people who hadn't read the books. They all enjoyed the movies--probably better than I did, as the movies couldn't live up the the books.

[Grace]

I would always say read the book first because they always capture more of the spirit of the characters than a movie. A book will take several hours / days to read (depending on how quickly you read) whereas a movie will finish within a few hours. I think that it is therefore difficult to capture the level of detail that a movie can.

I finished this book very recently and have to say that I really enjoyed it. I read it with an open mind because I didn't want to get caught up in any of the hype but I liked it. Yes, there is violence towards women but there are other books that have this too.

[Susan]

I've read the first two books, must read the third soon. Yes, I agree there is violence toward women, but that's the point the author was trying to make. Hence, Lizbeth and her vengeance motivation. Seems pretty plausible to me. There is an incredible amount of violence against women all around the world. There is a particularly terrible example of this on my blog.
http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog/...

[Adrian]

well Read all three very fast. Actually what no one seems to have mentioned, but I liked is the fact that I think the author was on a bit of a campaign, in that he quotes I guess Swedish statistics at the top of most chapters. Did no one else pick that up. Bit of a hard read from the violence point of view. Same with the American version of the film, not seen the Swedish version but friends say it was better?

[R.S.]

I have read the books and seen the Swedish films. My advice is to read the books. For me the Swedish films missed out some important parts of the books, like the relationship Salander has with her original Guardian, the trust he bestows on her and the fact that he believes in her ability to be 'normal' I had to avoid all TV adverts whilst reading the books as not to be affected with Hollywood's character make over.

[Rotapannotta]

I liked the book and I liked the Swedish film. Why do they need to shoot another american film?

[John]

I think that they hope to profit from the interest about the original as free publicity for them. The French films, Trois Hommes et un Couffin and Les Visiteurs come to mind. Both were remade by Hollywood.

[Shirl]

I have the book, but haven't read it. I did see the movie, which I did not care for. It was was dragging and not much talking and must have been the Swedish version. I would gie the movie a 2. So i didn't even want to read the book after that. I don't know what the great reviews on this story was. I didn't see it. Just my opinion though.

[Chris]

Shirl wrote: "I have the book, but haven't read it. I did see the movie, which I did not care for. It was was dragging and not much talking and must have been the Swedish version. I would gie the movie a 2. So i..."

Haha, if you didn't like the movie you really won't like the book. The movie was basically the book without the padding.

[Roxanne]

LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE BOOKS...2 and 3 sweep together...and then you find yourself reading more slowly because you know when Hornet's Nest is through, there will be no more...ever..

[Pam]

Roxanne wrote: "LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE BOOKS...2 and 3 sweep together...and then you find yourself reading more slowly because you know when Hornet's Nest is through, there will be no more...ever.."

I finished the 2nd book before the third one was published here. I had severe withdrawal waiting for it to arrive here.

[Eva]

Cheryl wrote: "read then watch the movies!"

agree. but watch the Swedish ones.

[Janet]

Read the first two and found book three got so disturbing that I gave it a rest and will have to give it another shot in summer! The books and Swedish films were very dark. The Scandinavians are exps at creating brooding atmospheric, sordid, beak landscapes. S is well cast. Thesexually violent scenes don't leave much to the imagination.

[Fairuz]

I would say both but first, read the book.
Then watch the movie. Recommended the Swedish version.

[Michael]

Neither, the book was highly overrated, no desire to see the movie.

[Cassandra]

Read the book, then watch the movie. The books are not for the faint of heart. I recommended to a few folks that they should wait until the movie appears on Lifetime television, and the extremely unpleasant scenes will be "edited".

[Neal]

The book was great: 10 of 10. The next two books were good, maybe an 8 and a 9 respectively.

The Swedish version of the movie was great, true to the book with minor exceptions. The american movie was mediocre.

Enjoy!

[Patricia]

The book was great. The Swedish version did a good job of staying true to the book. I like the actors chosen for the American movie better, I felt that they fit the description from the book but it sucked. The film left out details that were crucial in the book and they didn't make discovering who "the murderer" was suspenseful the way it was meant to be. They also gave away some of the stuff that happens in the second book in that version of it. So I wouldn't recommend watching that movie unless you've read the book first, you'd be kind of lost.

[Brown Girl Reading]

See the American movie. The atmosphere is perfct and the actors are fantastic! It would be better to read the books first though.

[Brenda]

I saw the movie first and it confused me.
Loved the book, and the next one so far. Still have the 3rd book to read.

[[deleted user]]

Rachel wrote: "I still have not read this book, but have heard mixed reviews about it. I was warned there is a lot of violence against women.

Now there is a movie out, which I also haven't seen. Would you recomm..."

Rachel- this trilogy is truly my all time favorite. READ THEM. The violence is rather minimal. The first book can be difficult to get into because the author develops the many characters very thouroughly. Once you get about 1/3- 1/2 through the first book you won't be able to put it down. The movie is done well considering the time constraints.

[Shannon]

I found the movie to be just as good as the book. I nhave never said that!! The trilogy was exciting and you really fall for the characters. The casting in the movie was spot on. I suggest to read the books then watch the film. I have not seen the Swedish films yet but they are on my to watch list.