The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
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Is this a good book?
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by
Taylor
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rated it 4 stars
Jun 25, 2012 03:16PM
I think so. The first half of it is very slow moving, and focuses mainly around Mikael Blomkvist, unlike the movie. In the second book, however, it's more focused on Lisbeth Salander and things pick up a lot faster. Less twiddling their thumbs and eating sandwiches with coffee. I'd recommend it to anyone with patience who cares more about individual characters rather than love interests.
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I put off reading this book until our book club selected it. Once I read it, I immediately went on to read the second and third books in the series. Couldn't stop.
This was a different read for me and once I got into the book, couldn't put it down. I will admit the first 40 or pages had me wondering if I would like it. I loved it and the two which followed! Our loss the author died shortly after the completion of third book (series).
Hope you read the book and the two which followed in series. So sad the author died shortly after completion of third book.
Its okay. If you can get past repetition, advertising, boredom in the first 200 and the last 50, its worth reading. From around page 200 to until the mystery is solved, its a great book. But I had solved the mystery earlier, the family chart gave it all away.
Arjun wrote: "Its okay. If you can get past repetition, advertising, boredom in the first 200 and the last 50, its worth reading. From around page 200 to until the mystery is solved, its a great book. But I had ..."How did the family chart give it away?
Loved all three books! Will miss a 4th book!
Give yourself time when first starting to read this AMAZING novel. I have only seen the American version of the movie, but the book is much better. In the movie, I was confused and the details within the writing weren't portrayed as accurately in the movie. Read the book- it's long but you won't regret it!
the authors bio is really interesting, he was a political activist and worked for a expose magazine. His life was constantly at risk.
It is a good book. Quite exciting read. However, I wasnt too keen on the ending. I would recommend it. I have got the movie but not watched it yet.
I really enjoyed this book, it was gripping and it was well written. A must, really. Very pleasing to read something as thought out as this trilogy. :)
It depends on what you personally like to read?For starters - the original title of the book was "Men who Hate Women" - and it was in a way the author's exploration and denouncement of misogyny.
The books are dark and gritty, written in a journalistic style. The author was a journalist and Swedish, so they've been translated into English.
The first 100 pages focuses on the libel case and feels a bit like reading an IKEA catalogue, then you meet Lisbeth and the book starts to take off.
Lisbeth is a young 20 something hacker, who has been and continues to be horribly abused by the system and the men in her life, starting with her father. Also whip-smart. She is in some respects the true protagonist, even though most of the story is told through the journalist, Blomkvist pov.
It's better written than most of the books in the genre, in that it is far more detailed and has far better character development. Nor is it as formulaic as the latest James Patterson, David Baldacci, Dan Brown, etc.
But it is also grim, violent, and depicts a graphic anal rape scene, as well as describing various murders. There's a serial killer they are tracking down that is murdering women. If this subject matter is a trigger for you in any way? Or bothers you, I wouldn't recommend.
In short, if you liked Silence of the Lambs, or various serial killer novels, you may like this. If you hate those types of books, probably best to skip.
I liked the first book well enough, couldn't make it through the second.
The entire trilogy is brilliant. Lots of characters to get your head around though, so you have to concentrate. Girls will love the feisty Lisbeth (the Scandinavians really know how to create gritty, un-stereotypical female characters!). I'm glad I read the books before I saw any movie version.
If you love characters that are deviant, you'll get obsessed over this trilogy.
come join 'best sellers' group
I loved it, my dad hated it. Yes its a bit of a grower but I don't believe the translation takes away how great the book is.
Keith wrote: "If you read a lot of crime fiction, don't bother with it. The bad guy is obvious and the 'detection' and thriller elements are laughable. If you don't read crime fiction then you might have a good ..
Keith wrote: "If you read a lot of crime fiction, don't bother with it. The bad guy is obvious and the 'detection' and thriller elements are laughable. If you don't read crime fiction then you might have a good ..."I havent read much crime fiction, this was one of the first of this genre I have read. I enjoyed the whole series, but am wondering what you would suggest I might try next.
Donald wrote: "the authors bio is really interesting, he was a political activist and worked for a expose magazine. His life was constantly at risk."Ive wondered if there was ever any question about the author's death?
This is a good book - I should know because I finished it!On a more serious note I would like to add that I thought that the book was very interesting and I really could not put it down.
Christy wrote: "Is this a good book? Is it anything like the movie? Is it worth reading thanks!!!"You have to stick with it. It goes into too much detail and that could put you off, but once the mystery starts and unveils, its quite gripping. worth it at the end!
I can tell you this, the book is a helluva lot better than the movie remake. However, if it wasn't for Lisbet's character, the book and the movie would have been real yawners.
Patrick did you see the original Swedish movie? I won't even watch the remake, the original Lisbet just can't be beat!
Stephanie wrote: "Patrick did you see the original Swedish movie? I won't even watch the remake, the original Lisbet just can't be beat!"I am planning to this weekend. I was really disappointed in Fincher's remake overall, but I think Rooney did a pretty good job. You are about the 10th person to recommend the original, I AM looking forward to that. Thanks for the reply and have a great weekend!
Read entire trilogy! Great reads!
Yes, all three were great and added a lot to the enjoyment of the movies. And, I saw both the foreign and the American versions of the films. And I read a lot of mystery novels.
I agree that this book had a slow, tedious start, but the author had a lot of background information to set up for the reader before the real action could get started. I loved the book, loved the trilogy, and LOVED Lisbeth Salander = WHAT a character !! No one quite like her in contemporary fiction. For me, it was she who "made" the books what they were.... THE GIRL WHO.... outstanding depth of characterization!
Fantastic book, couldn't put it down, a little slow in the beginning but it gets better and better. Also, the second and third book are great, been that the third one is very slow.
No, it wasn't a good book, quite boring. Movies were a bit better, though, at least they were shorter... But nothing in them was very believable.
<<<< yaaaAAAAAAaaaawwwwwnnnnn... >>>> It's so formulaic, it might as well have been injection-molded plastic.
(author rummages around in his bag of tricks) Let's see... What sort of ingredients have we got here that we can use - Hmmm, here's some Sadomasochism, some Autism, computer hacking, punk rock, feminism, some child abuse... what else? Oh yeah, Right Wing Extremism with a Nazi tinge, ummm... (rummages some more) Misogyny, animal abuse... What else? OH - here's some Lesbianism! and an Evil Oppressive Corporation... That oughta do it - No, I need a chase scene with a flaming wreck at the end, THERE. That'll sell! now what can I spend my advance on...
(should have spent it on a gym membership, fat boy)
This is a brilliant book. I thought the suspense in the book was great. I wanted to know how the girl went missing and what Lisbeth story was.
I thought this book had a good plot; however, I found it hard to read and kept losing motivation to stick with reading it. Because of that, it took me around 3-4 months to read the entire book. I thought the movie was actually better than the book and that's rare for me to say.
I really enjoyed the series, though book two was a bit too "technical", computer oriented, if you will. The first book was e x t r e m e l y slow to get into, perhaps due to translation, but once you got over that hill, boy oh boy, did it pick up. Yes, it is offensive against women, but the main character (a woman) doesn't take any crap. As is almost always the case, much better than the movie, though I only saw the Swedish version.
I loved everything about this book, the other books, the movies... Yeah.. you won't hear me say anything bad about this one :)
Why do you keep blaming the translation? The translator translates what's in the book, s/he doesn't add boring stuff in it. This one was also relatively easy to translate, and anyway, Swedish is an easy language to translate into English.
It's a great book. The character development of Lisbeth Salander is excellent writing.
It was not a good book for me. I had to force myself to finish. Would not have finished if not needed for my job. It just never flowed and caught my interest. I will not read the rest of the series.
As you can see from the previous 96 comments it is very polarizing book (and series).No matter what flaws the book(s) may have, anytime you can invent a character like Lisbeth you have really accomplished something. I think that's why the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is so important a work.
I for one, can never look at someone (goth/biker/ pierced) like Lisbeth on the street without thinking that person may have some redeeming qualities. The book made me look differently at people I would once have rejected out of hand.
Ed, You are a man after my own heart and you took the words right out of my mouth = thank you! As I previously mentioned, I think that Larson's characterization of Lisbeth is exceptional, the hard and the soft sides, which makes the final scene between her and Blomkvist even more heartbreaking. I, too, look at people a little differently after my experience w/ Lisbeth, a good thing!
I loved it. Loved the other two. The young female character was one of a kind.
Duane wrote: "Karl wrote: "You forgot the part where a brilliant computer hacker can't manage to gain control of her own money or get herself away from the legal system that requires her to be supervised despit..."
But then she does, doesn't she? So your argument is self defeating.
This is the first time that I can say that the books are better than the films and the films are fantastic. I was absorbed when watching the trilogy on DVD but I couldn't put the books down once I started reading, sometimes into the ridiculous early hours of the morning. Its a shame Stig died as I felt that the Blomqvist/Salander franchise had some way to go in the future.
Karl wrote: "In The Girl with the dragon tattoo her laptop gets damaged and she has to go to that creepy councillor guy for permission to spend her own money. He uses that power over her to force her to suck hi..."Karl, you seem to have missed the first part of Lisbeth's life. Her previous guardian was a kindly old man who she liked and had no reason to try to get away from. Later she had the guardian who abused her. Likewise she only had the laptop because she started working for the security company. That laptop was stolen from her and she needed a new one and got raped for it.
Besides, people change, they evolve. She had no reason to do any of things you mention until her situation changed and she was forced to do so. And there are plenty of people (wives) who are abused every day and can't get themselves out of the situation, though all they have to do is walk away....
Lisbeth had a bad attitude, she refused all offers of help from everybody. She was emotionally cut off from the world. She evolved, feel in love with Blomqvist and then got hurt again when she saw him with another woman.
I am enjoying the healthy debate between Ed and Karl re. Lisbeth's ability, taken or not, to affect a change in her life, and I think that both points are valid , although I tend to side more w/ Ed's point of view. As for how her situation was written by Larson, his reasoning may not have been "perfect", but because she did suffer the brutalities she did and her subsequent actions of revenge, it made for one great read, eh?How I wish that there could have been more GIRL WHO.... books !! Does anyone know IF Larson's partner has done anything with his notes for future Salander novels?
BTW, Karl, I just noticed that you are a published author. May I suggest that you look at/participate in the Goodreads Psychological Thrillers thread , and perhaps recommend one of your books for our August BOTM; we will be voting soon.
Ah, Ed, and you too a published author. May I make the same suggestion to you that I did w/ Karl?
Karl wrote: I'm currently trying to use his technique to generate word of mouth - leaving copies of my book on public transportation - to help sell my books...."Ha, ha, - you do that too! I've left my books at conventions, bookstores, and public libraries!
Betsy wrote: "Ah, Ed, and you too a published author. May I make the same suggestion to you that I did w/ Karl?"Thanks Betsy - will do!
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