The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
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Is this a good book?
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Irma
(last edited Aug 16, 2014 03:18PM)
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rated it 5 stars
Aug 16, 2014 03:13PM
I loved all the books he wrote and am so sad that Stieg Larsson is gone. I also watched and liked both the English and Swedish versions of the movies. The only downer is to be reminded, yet again, of the kinds of evil that can and likely do exist in the world. Yet, Lisbeth Salander uses her brain and courage to fight back. Thrilling, fast paces…all the things that make for a compelling read. While the books offer no great insights, somehow Lisbeth stays with me as a character who can take care of herself without making a fuss about it.
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I resisted this series for quite a while but it was worthy of the hype
I read this and enjoyed it but it didn't really inspire me to read the others in the trilogy.
I read all three and enjoyed them... however he is HEAVY on details and I often felt like he solved so much of his conflict early in the story that the book could have ended 100 pages sooner. Good reads, though. I did not regret reading them.
I slogged through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for a literature class in college, and I hated every second of it, with the slight exception of the character, Lisbeth, who was actually compelling. The book is densely written, much like literary fiction when you're tempted to skip over whole paragraphs of description or summary because they're boring. It's pretty depressing, as well, and fairly graphic. I'm not sure whether the style is inherently European (in which case my complaints just mark me as an American reader familiar with an American style of writing) or whether the style is inherently Larsson's, but I didn't pick up any of the other books in the trilogy or see any of the movies.
I think the book would make a great movie. It needs a very edgy actress to play her though. It took me a long time to buy into the craze of the series, but I think it turned out great.
Patty wrote: "I think the book would make a great movie. It needs a very edgy actress to play her though. It took me a long time to buy into the craze of the series, but I think it turned out great."It's already been filmed twice...
I really enjoyed this book, I highly recommend it. Is way better than the movie, specially the US version.This became one of my favorite books and opened me to the scandinavian authors.
I actually enjoyed reading the Trilogy much better than the movies.
It is definitely a good book. Fast paced, mysterious and well written. Must read. The girl Lisbeth is an original character and imparts lot of interest to this book.
I don't know what to make of this book. I really expected more out of it in terms of a possible love story between the Dragon girl (I forgot her name) and Blomqvist. I was hoping that he would have been able to tame her dragon lol!
All three books were fantastic. I went to see the movie with some hesitation as I felt it couldn't possibly do a good job of it with so many details. I went with my husband who had not read the book(s) and not only did they provide a lot of the details, they did an excellent job. But reading the books is the better experience
this is a wonderful bookthe main character is so edgy so vital so wonderful
love the setting
some parts too weird....but a real thriller in a cool setting
Atabei wrote: "The movies are acceptable but the book is horrible. I just finished the first one but is so poorly written I won't bother with the other two. Supposedly, the Lisbeth character is a model of empowe..."Spoil it why don't you!
The book is far better than the American movie version.
Good Book!!! This series is far more than that..
very much recommended..
This trilogy sucked me right in. I did see the American/British movie which I was told was far inferior to the Swedish movie but I was intrigued enough to pick up the books. The first and third stand on their own, the second requires reading the first for clarification. The third, in my mind, is the best of the three. However, they are all suspenseful and what I would call good reads. Enjoy!
Betsy wrote: "Coffee was mentioned 10 X and Aquavit 5 X."Only ten mentions of coffee? I find that hard to believe. I swear Blomkvist drank coffee every other page!
Maybe it only felt like that ...
I think you have your answer. If you like to read fast with few rabbit trails to follow in the plot or flow of the book, you might find this book not to your liking. It is not popcorn, it requires too much thought. (nothing wrong with popcorn, most of what I read is popcorn)If you can take the time to enjoy the experience of the book, give it time to develop and accept some messiness in what you read, and you enjoy thinking about what you're reading even when you're not actively reading, this is a very good trilogy. I think the first book can stand alone, but if you read book two, you will have to read book three. And you should not read them out of order. Movies and books are two different things and I won't comment on the movies here other than to say that I enjoyed the original Swedish made movie as a movie.
That's a pretty sweeping statement, isn't it, John?The book certainly isn't popcorn, but then neither is it a book that stands up to much critical scrutiny.
Some people - me included - were spectacularly unimpressed by it. And that's not because we didn't think about it. Quite the opposite. The more you think about the book, the more problems you find.
But the idea that it's a good book if you enjoy thinking about what you are reading? Sorry, no. That may be your opinion, but it's not mine.
Oh Lord....it's a great book..! All three are very well worth reading...and the movies are great also..Lisbeth is one of the great heroine's in recent memory..
I think I thought too much when reading it, especially how unbelievable it all felt like.
Christy wrote: "Is this a good book? Is it anything like the movie? Is it worth reading thanks!!!"It is much, much better than the movie. It's a great book.
Considering I just read it a couple weeks ago, i'll definitely recommend it if you're into crime fiction and having to think a lot. The first quarter of the book is relatively slow but it picks up and the plot is interesting and strangely sadistic. I haven't seen the movie so I have no idea if it's good or not.
I would say that the 'English Language Movie' is relatively true to the original book (if I'm correct, this is the one starring Daniel Craig)...a few liberties are taken from the storyline at the end of the movie, but nonetheless, I think if you've seen the movie and liked it you will definitely get into the book. The style is 'unique' and different from the type of books that I typically like, but its a great and gripping book and a worthwhile read :-)As far as the second/third books, they are somehow slightly less engaging for me than the original, perhaps because Lisbeth is less of a shocking and 'fresh' character in the later books? Thoughts?
yes yes yes and more yes!i dont like this genre in particular but the books were awesome
you should read the trilogy its really intriguing
D-uh! Is this a good book?!!!!!!It's one of the coolest books EVER! First book 'Tattoo' is better than the rest but these books (and the female character - Lisbeth Salander) were trendsetting. Even the male journalist -Blomkvist - shapes out nicely. Infact the 'male' and 'female' characteristics are swapped in this one - Blomkvist is more 'feminine' (or has more maternal like behavior) than Salander (who is more 'masculine' not physically but mentally). Plus they make you believe that you don't need to be a superhero to find the truth - you can be an ordinary burnt-out journalist and scare-crow hacker and do it!
Also do yourself a favor - don't watch the American remake of the Swedish film. Watch the original - it doesn't matter what you do first, read the Larsson novel first or see the Noomi Rapace version first - both the book and Swedish film are great in their own way - infact it's one of the best and faithful adaptations.
Don't miss either.
I loved this book and the next two as well. One person commented that you had to think... that's right, it gets complicated!
go ahead ~ you won't regret reading it ~
This is an excellent book. It is entertaining and the characters are different than other similar books. The suspense is great. I read all 3 books.
actually the swedish movie is way better than the american one.
I didn't like this book. It dragged in many places and was grim and dark. We're talking abuse, rape, tragedy...not my kind of book.
The best book you ever read.
I saw the Swedish movie, then read the books, then saw the American movie. The Swedish movie is much more faithful to the books. I loved both it and the books.It's not an American style mystery; the book, to me, seemed to be more about the development of the Lisbeth character, and how she freed herself from victimization, than about the murderer, the magazine editor / author or the magazine he owned/wrote for.
The murder mystery presented at the beginning of the book is basic, not all that exciting by American standards. The villain is telegraphed in the first pages, and there is only minimal violence involved.
What it does do is bring the two protagonists together and reveal the complex character of Lisbeth and her story of victimization, from which she finally begins to free herself. Along the way, the story evolves into a judicial and political thriller, revealing a real danger to the rule of law and the Swedish constitution.
It's not the best writing ever, but I attribute some of that to the difficulty of translating from the native Swiss to English. Yet, not all classics are the "best" writing of the period. It is the stories they tell that are timeless, and I believe this one will prove to be a classic of the early 21st century.
Highly recommended.
I agree with most of these comments. This book (although the story was disturbing) was well written. It was a page-turner. The best part for me were the two characters. I also loved the setting and since started reading many of the Swedish mysteries.The Swedish version of the movies were wonderful. Very true to the books.
I say don't ever let a movie keep you from wanting to read the book! If you liked it good, they are both probably faithful to the novels (haven't seen Swedish version though I want to!) but if you have seen the movie(s) you probably have a lot spoiled to you already. I read this novel and I found the violence to the victims gratuitous after a while. Just couldn't like it in a way because the maiming, raping, and then destroying of the bodies mentioned in the story was just too much!If you are sensitive to portrayed violence I say don't read it. I don't know how you feel about that in a story so whatever decision you make hope it's for the best(well it's a mystery and that part of it is intriguing at least about a possible murder/ disappearance)!
I'm OK as long as all the fat little jerk did was write about torturing and killing humans.But when he got onto the cat... I'm Outta There (Not that I was very much "In There" to begin with... but...).
Anybody know if Larsson was eating a sandwich when he died?
Christy wrote: "Is this a good book? Is it anything like the movie? Is it worth reading thanks!!!"Much better than the film, at least the American version film which was so noir(dark)that I could not see what was happening. The Swedish version film was better. Great book, the whole 3 book series, regret that the author didn't live to see it's publication.
When will we ever know IF the notes/story line, etc. that Larsson planned for a 4th book will ever be coming to fruition?? Does anyone know IF someone else, another author perhaps, will pick up the gauntlet and put together and move forward w/ Larsson's marvelous books??? OR, is it dead in the water already ???
Yes and no, it's disturbing for sure, very well written with one really mind blowing character. Depends on your tastes and if your mind can open up enough to include Lisbeth.
"Depends on your tastes" - I'll agree with that.Opening your mind to include Lisbeth? I'm struggling with that one. I found her to be two dimensional, unconvincing and yet more icky wish-fulfilment for Larsson.
So can we please stop suggesting that people who like this book are more intelligent or more open-minded or somehow better than the people who didn't?
Some people liked the book, some people didn't. Why can't we accept a difference of opinion without trying to claim that one side is somehow more open-minded than the other?
Will wrote: "So can we please stop suggesting that people who like this book are more intelligent or more open-minded or somehow better than the people who didn't?"Maybe because I think of myself as being pretty open-minded I didn't find Lisbeth to be so special... (I am also used to seeing people who look like her, I went to school with some.) Maybe more interesting than many other characters in many other novels but that doesn't really require much. Her skills are not very believable to me, either.
I found the book hard to get into until halfway through. This is when Lisbeth joins Blomkvist in the investigation. It is then that you truly understand that she is the main character not Mikael. It is definitely worth the read, especially since the sequels are even better. When you read it you will notice the differences between the two movie versions. The Swedish version is slightly more accurate to the story, however I think the U.S. version is better because it captures the flavour and subtleties of the novel that make it a great story. Hope they make the sequels for the U.S. versions, the Swedish ones are all done.
K.S. wrote: "I found the book hard to get into until halfway through. This is when Lisbeth joins Blomkvist in the investigation. It is then that you truly understand that she is the main character not Mikael. I..."I was surprised how accurate the movie was to the book! Fincher's view seemed to be conforming to the book and showed off Lisbeth's genius prowess as well as focus on a middle aged Blomkvist (the director had Daniel Craig develop a gut to be convincing and fade off from his persona as "Bond").
I see what they did to leave plot-lines hanging which did not follow the book and I hope they make the rest of the trilogy as well!
CJ wrote: "K.S. wrote: "I found the book hard to get into until halfway through. This is when Lisbeth joins Blomkvist in the investigation. It is then that you truly understand that she is the main character ..."Daniel Craig's version sucked. Swedish one was brilliant and pitch-perfect in terms of casting, ambiguity of characters, and suspense. Mara is no Lisbeth! And Blomkvist's character is supposed to be that of a lamb - Daniel Craig looks too ferocious in features to pull off Blomkvist convincingly. That's why the film tanked.
Yes, but the first 50 or so pages are rough/ boring. Hang in there it gets so good. I think the 2nd book is the best!
First let me say that I really liked Lisbeth Salander as a character. She had my full attention in every chapter. Blomqvist was an unlikable character prone to being pedantic one minute, and heedless in another. His prolixity was mind numbing when he started preaching about feminist issues. The author overworked that soapbox a bit! The book was clearly written for women. The detective side of the story was pretty lame, and that whole photo clue was on a par with Basil Rathbone's Holmes seeing the poisoned needle on the comfy chair cushion before Watson sat on it in one of the old 40s black & whites. 3 stars for Lisbeth Salander, without her, one star. I have since seen the movies and liked them.
This series was one of the best I have ever read. It started out kind of slow, and I had my doubts, but I kept going and was rewarded. Be warned, they are very dark, and some of the subject matter is disturbing. Although you can read them as stand-alone books, they are really best read in order.
I will read them again.
All three of the series were enyoyable and I´m not a fan of this type of mystery-action-thriller. I would like to recommend the original Swedish version of the movie since the actress was much more charismatic than the American makeover.
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