Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Yay! Another book review from yours truly. :)After much hype I finally decided to read the first of the late Stieg Larsson's trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Originally written in Swedish, the English version has been translated marvelously and I immediately fell in love with Larsson's style of writing after reading the first chapter.

His writing is very descriptive and intelligent, with just enough to keep you interested, if you find yourself straying.  However I do know that some people might not agree with this. My mom, for instance, didn't like the book very much, whereas I loved it!

The plot follows two main characters that are separate, but later become linked.  There's the book's main female protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, an edgy, independent, reserved yet extremely intelligent computer hacker/researcher.  Second is Mikael Blomkvist, a middle aged newspaper journalist who has recently had some bad luck with a recent story of his that has landed him with some time in prison.  He is hired by a member of the Vanger family to investigate an unsolved disappearance of a young girl that happened years ago. Blomkvist's research inevitably meets Salander's and the two create an awkward, protective relationship with each other.

In addition, there are many other characters that can at times be sort of confusing. For example, the entire Vanger family is very extensive and several times I had to refer back to the family tree depicted in the beginning of the novel. So some attention is definitely needed when it comes to the supporting characters, especially for us Americans who might not be familiar with some of the names. Don't get discouraged by the slow start that the book has (According to my mom, that is. I thought it was great) or the amount of people involved.

There are four parts of the book, and if you pay attention to the stats in each opening page, you'll find that their seriousness kind of corresponds with the content for that part (well, at least I thought so!).  I finished it even while taking 6 classes in college and having to deal with the readings for those. I was so eager to finish the book that it motivated me to get all my studying/homework done so I could have time for it! :P I know, I'm such a nerd.

Anyway, now I've moved on to the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, which so far, has proved to be just as fast paced and interesting as the first.  I am highly anticipating the American version of the movie that will come out sometime this winter (around Christmas I think, right?). I haven't seen the Swedish movies yet, but I will rent the first one as soon as a find a copy. So look for that movie review to come! My aunt assures me the movies are awesome, but she hasn't read the books.

Here's the official U.S. trailer!!

Maybe I am just really interested in the stories because they revolve around crime. Being a criminal justice major allows me to simultaneously connect the material back to my studies, so that's what I find intriguing.

So how about it? Have you read the book(s) yet and if so, what did you think? Did you agree with me?
I give this book 10 stars, honestly. It's one of my favorites.

Stephanie, WWT