| Title : The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Author : Stieg Larsson Reading Dates : 6 Jan - 11 Jan 2011 |   |
| Millennium | |
The books in the series :
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| From goodreads : | |
Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch - and there's always a catch - is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. | |
Book Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
While I liked the overall story, there are parts of the book that I didn’t like. These are mostly confined to the beginning of the story which at times were unnecessarily wordy and filled with inconsequential details. More than once I was left feeling frustrated and impatient, wishing that the author would get on with the story already. But once the main characters start to actually work on their respective investigations, I simply got too caught up to be thinking of anything else.
There’s also elements of the book which puzzles me greatly. We all have our own likes and dislikes and I usually detest characters who are unfaithful. Yet, I still liked Blomkvist’s character despite what I consider reprehensible behaviour. Salander too is another enigma. Here’s another character I found fascinating and actually likable although she shouldn’t be. And I’ve yet to figure out why.
As for the best part of the book, it’s of course the investigation into Harriet Vanger’s murder. From the time that Blomkvist uncovers his first clue unexpectedly, I could barely stop reading although I did wonder how so many professional crime investigators could have missed it. There does seem to be an inordinate amount of patience and luck needed. I have to say though that I’d already guess what they’d discover in the end right at the start of the investigation and was only wondering how they’d figure it out. The twists and turns of their investigation certainly kept me guessing until the end.
While I liked the overall story, there are parts of the book that I didn’t like. These are mostly confined to the beginning of the story which at times were unnecessarily wordy and filled with inconsequential details. More than once I was left feeling frustrated and impatient, wishing that the author would get on with the story already. But once the main characters start to actually work on their respective investigations, I simply got too caught up to be thinking of anything else.
There’s also elements of the book which puzzles me greatly. We all have our own likes and dislikes and I usually detest characters who are unfaithful. Yet, I still liked Blomkvist’s character despite what I consider reprehensible behaviour. Salander too is another enigma. Here’s another character I found fascinating and actually likable although she shouldn’t be. And I’ve yet to figure out why.
As for the best part of the book, it’s of course the investigation into Harriet Vanger’s murder. From the time that Blomkvist uncovers his first clue unexpectedly, I could barely stop reading although I did wonder how so many professional crime investigators could have missed it. There does seem to be an inordinate amount of patience and luck needed. I have to say though that I’d already guess what they’d discover in the end right at the start of the investigation and was only wondering how they’d figure it out. The twists and turns of their investigation certainly kept me guessing until the end.
My conclusions :
- Would I re-read the book ? Yes, definitely.
- Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
- Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Maybe, it will depend on the next 2 books in the series.
- Who would I recommend this too? Crime fiction buffs.
- For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? I'm reserving judgement until I finish the last book.
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Quite the book huh? I still need to read the follow up books.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I agree with you, it took me time to get into it, maybe after 150-200 pages becomes better ;) Still haven't read the other 2 books, but I will. I was really surprised how much I liked Lisbeth when I finished the book ;)
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