THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – STIEG LARSSON
ISBN: 9781847245458
Reviewed by: Kylie Fox
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is the first book in the “Millennium Trilogy” penned by Larsson before his untimely death. It has sold millions of copies worldwide and has become a major motion picture.
I enjoyed the book but not to the point where I can fully understand the hype and hysteria – I can only wonder if the reaction to this book and the others in the trilogy, would have been the same had Stieg Larsson still been alive to see its publication.
So, what’s it about?
Firstly it’s about Henrik Vanger, head of the dynastic Vanger Corporation who has been tormented for decades over the loss of his daughter, Harriet, who Vanger is certain, was murdered by a member of his own family, though no trace of her, dead or alive, has ever been uncovered.
It’s also about Mikael Blomkvist who is battling ruin following a lawsuit for libel. He is hired (for an exorbitant fee and the promise of information to take down the man who caused his demise) to delve into Vanger’s past and unravel the mystery of Harriet’s disappearance.
Finally, it’s about Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo; a computer hacker with a photographic memory, a violent disposition and some pretty serious intimacy issues.
Salander and Blomkvist team up to investigate Harriet’s disappearance which soon shows signs of being connected to a series of serial killings in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. When a dead cat is dumped on Blomkvist’s doorstep it becomes clear that they may not be dealing with a cold case – someone wants the past to remain a secret and will go to any lengths to keep it that way.
I had a hard time getting into this novel in the beginning – wrapping my head around the Swedish towns and names, the products that Larsson insisted on labelling and, the endless cast of characters in Vanger’s family tree. Once I did however, I found it difficult to put down.
Larsson delves into the seedier world of Sweden than we usually envisage; in this world the men (other than Blomkvist) are all misogynistic pigs and casual sex, sadism, murder and suicide are commonplace.
The story rocketed along throughout the middle section, despite some stilted and awkward sentence structures which I hope were simply poor translations, but tapered off at its conclusion to an undramatic and rather pedestrian ending.
Having said that, I enjoyed it enough to buy the second and the third books in the trilogy. Was it worth reading? Absolutely. Was it the book of the century that some of the hype seems to suggest? I think not.
April 18th, 2011 at 2:03 am
I think the hype behind this was caused more by the story of the author then brilliant writing.
April 18th, 2011 at 2:09 am
think you’re right, Sean. Irony and tragedy.
April 18th, 2011 at 6:39 am
I think it’s also the movie and the fact he did die, and I agree; poor translation can affect novels when they aren’t originally written in English.
April 18th, 2011 at 6:41 am
Its good fro Scandinavian writers though ie Lindqvist
April 20th, 2011 at 12:17 am
I wondered about all the fuss, too. I struggled to get into the first book, with its laborious exposition and set up, but by the end of book three was hooked.
For me, it’s the character of Salander. She lights up the page every time she appears, to the point where I had to consciously stop myself skipping ahead to scenes with her, and force myself to wade through the scenes with the cops / journalists / etc (especially in books 2 and 3)
I’m wondering whether she’s so fascinating because she’s a strong, complex female character written by a male author? Could that add a perspective we don’t often see?
Or is it just good marketing? I really, really hope that’s not all it is.