The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By: Stieg Larsson
I picked this book up because I had literally seen about a dozen people reading it on the subway or elsewhere in NYC. I figured there had to be something to it. And there was. I started reading this book on a Tuesday and finished it the following Monday. This book is 500+ pages, so that is superfast for me. It was a total page-turning thriller.
So what’s it all about? A Swedish financial journalist, named Mikael Blomkvist, is convicted of libel because of a story he wrote about a successful (but shady) businessman. But that’s just the intro to the story. After his conviction, he is offered a freelance job by on old industry titan. The first part of the job is to write a family history, but the real objective is for him to research the mysterious disappearance of the titan’s niece over four decades ago, and try to figure out what happened to her. The “girl with the dragon tattoo” ends up being investigator Lisbeth Salander, who Blomkvist brings on as his assistant.
There were definitely some disturbing scenes and themes in this book, but in understanding it’s a thriller, you’ve got to accept that there will be some drama and disconcerting episodes. The plot of the book and investigation completely drew me in and kept me intrigued and curious. I could not wait to find out what happened next and who was behind it all.
Throughout the novel, there are a few storylines going on—which means just when one mystery is solved, you remember that there are others that are still floating around. Beyond that, the characters are unique and interesting in their own right. I ended up wanting to find out more about them and what would happen—especially to Lisbeth.
I was satisfied with how Larsson tied it all together and wrapped up the different stories and mysteries. I was not entirely thrilled with how Lisbeth’s story ended, but then realized that she appears in his second book, which made her conclusion understandable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers or mysteries – or to anyone who is simply looking for an entertaining read. Just remember that it’s not all flowers and butterflies. It contains explicit material which might make some people cringe. I will definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy as well: The Girl Who Play with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.
Eat, Read, Run 