The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Steig Larsson
Pages: 600+
Description:
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
My thoughts:
Bits and pieces...I liked bits and pieces of this book: the delving into photo archives, passages from Leviticus and the near death experiences of Blomkvist. The plot reveals family tensions, secrets and perversions -- but as a whole, I was bored.
I didn't care for the girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander; investigative genius and hacker who helps Blomkvist solve the mystery behind the serial rapes and murders of women in Sweden (which are somewhat religiously motivated, but not really). I guess what I really mean to say is that I didn't get Lisbeth Salander. I didn't believe her. Her actions didn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm not talking about her tendency to be distant. I'm mostly referring to her encounters with her creepy guardian, which I think could have easily been avoided. I get that she was playing victim to the system, but sexual exploitation is never the way to go. I didn't understand her relationship with Blomkvist either, but whatever, some things just are the way they are. And can someone please explain to me why Salander didn't want the police involved after they discovered the identity and torture chamber of a rapist/murderer?
It was interesting that Blomkvist couldn't solve the mystery without Salander. I thought their collaboration on the case was rushed, vague and therefore slightly unbelievable. I also thought the dialogue was poor and a little boring (do we blame the translator?) and it took a while for even an ounce of 'thrill' to find its way into the pages. A charred cat comes to mind.
There was an unusually frequent mention of coffee...
I don't know -- the word 'overhyped' comes to mind. I expected a little more. Not sure when I'll be reading the next book, but I have a few general predictions on what it will be about. (1) We'll learn more about a heart-broken Salander (2) Salander will get into more sexually exploitative dilemmas (3) I suppose Blomkvist will make another cameo.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Three stars.
