The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Ratings1,079
Average rating4.1
Contains spoilers
This book was graphic, disturbing, and raunchy. I'm sort of interested to see what the other books are like. But I was uncomfortable and had to skip whole areas because there were rape scenes that I just can't handle. It was an interesting mystery however.
I resisted picking this book up for a long time. However, I eventually decided that I was just being stubborn and that I would give it a whirl to see what everybody was talking about. Boy, am I glad I did. Larsson has written two of my favorite characters of recent years in this book in Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. I love them not because they are flawless but because they are so brutally flawed that you have to love them in spite of that. A fantastic book that I would recommend to most folks, though the violence can be both triggering and off putting to some.
I'm conflicted on my review on this. It's a good mystery at the heart of the story with well thought out characters and plot lines. The sexual aspect of it with Lisbeth echoed of male fantasy. She was capable of incredible daring and feats of intellect, yet her character boiled down to her sexual attractiveness and vulnerability, especially for the main character who has a romance with her at the end. Even her anti-social flaws added to her allure.
In the end I do recommend it because it does a good job of setting a place and people into a story.
It took me a while to get into this story, but it was worth it. TGwtDT is a big, rambling, and ultimately very good and satisfying book. The Swedish name, Men Who Hate Women, is a better match as there are some very evil woman-hating men in the story. The English book takes its name from the dragon tattoo on the back of Lisbeth Salander, one of the two main protagonists. Lisbeth is young, truculent, hyper-intelligent, asocial, relentless – I like her. The other main protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is a recently disgraced investigative reporter who is driven to clear his name. They start off with separate stories that merge partway through the book as Lisbeth and Mikael work to solve an old mystery. This book provides memorable characters, danger, mystery, action, and vengeance. What's not to like?
And finally I finish! It took me a while and a lot of determination but it was worth the effort. If a little slow at times, it's very gripping. It makes you want to read it at all hours to see what's going to happen next, what part of the story are you going to find, who's really who in the story... I enjoyed this book immensely. Very smart and real. And I can't hardly wait to read the sequel to this. The only thing that ticked me was the excessive descriptions of everything and everyone. It could have done without a good 100 pages. Although necessary at times, some things should have been left without saying, after all, they didn't add anything to the story.
All the same, a great book I would recommend to everyone that isn't squeamish or sore on delicate subjects, because this has a lot of them. But most definitely read this book.
this was gifted to me for my birthday so many years ago and i finished it in three days. I originally gave it 5 stars, but after some realizations about the plot, the actions of some characters and how long the story goes on, I think it should reduced to 3 stars.
This was my very first mystery
Somehow one of the most cinematic books I've read. Loved every page, even having seen the Craig movie (which I also really like honestly) before. Wasn't expecting to be this bowled over if I'm honest.
What an absolutely enthralling and intriguing read. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery to end all mysteries. Weaving just enough suspense and romance to round a very strong plot. Once you get into the book it's very difficult to put it down. But it is a difficult ready because of the amount of tangled webs and people to keep track of.
Since my evenings and weekends are filled with homework, I have been trying to read this on my lunch breaks at work for a couple of months now. Unfortunately since I have chatty coworkers that seem to completely disregard the fact that I'm reading when they sit down at my table and start talking to me, that wasn't getting me anywhere. I finally made the commitment to finish this book this weekend while I'm on a small break from my classes.
I must admit was mildly let down by this book as I kept hearing all this buzz about it. I had expected more twists, but they never materialized. A friend of mine recently commented about how he doubted that anyone could figure out the twist and turns beforehand, but my hand to God, I did. I guess I just have a knack for this sort of stuff. Daryl complains that I often ruin movies for him because I figure them out so darn early in the film. The same was true of this book. I guessed at the central mystery regarding Harriet almost immediately upon being introduced to it, and there were plenty of clues along the way that confirmed my suspicions. I thought that my suspicions were too obvious, so I expected to be wrong. I was disappointed when I wasn't.
My biggest complaint with the book is that it seemed to reach its peak about two-thirds the way into it. After that point, everything else seemed like resolution. I also wasn't very engrossed by the secondary plot involving the Wennerström affair. There were no clues to solve regarding it; it was just a bunch of stuff that happened.
Now lest I sound too critical, I did find it an enjoyable read. I just found myself waiting for a twist I didn't see coming that would really knock my socks off. I still plan on reading the next book in the series and hope it offers a few more surprises than this one.
I had a hard time getting into this book in the beginning. The details about the foreign government operations and the fraud made my head spin and I actually quit reading the book. It doesn't help that I wasn't feel well at the time. I finally picked it up again and started over. This time I got through those details to the meatier parts of the book that hooked me in. I'm glad I stuck it through because I did enjoy this book. I will definitely look up and read the other books.
I do have to say though, that even though the book doesn't really give a very clear picture of what Mikael Blomkvist looked like, he must have been a stud. He was having sex with several different women throughout the entire story. He was “all that and a bag of chips,” which all the women freely passed around. No claws came out and only towards the end does one woman seem to show any real feelings about him.
hmmm...I need a half star...While I liked the book for the most part, it was really slow to start. That plus the fact that for a mystery/thriller, it never really left me on the edge of my seat makes me want to give the book 3 and 1/2 stars.
This book was a slow starter, but then it picked up. And whoa–very disturbing and violent! Not exactly a light-hearted read.
I wasn't expecting this book to be .. like it was, since it was something that seemed to flare in popularity in terms of the public's eye :D But I did like it. I'd be reading this on my nook for hours. :D Time for the next one!
WARNING FOR ANIMAL ABUSE
Also, sexual abuse, incest, rape, murder, torture, and other such things, but I suppose that is to be expected. The animal abuse was a biggie to me. I wasn't prepared for that. Luckily it wasn't especially graphic.
So - I liked it. I love Lisbeth Salander. I don't like Mikael, though. It's not that he's a bad character, he just isn't my kind of person. I like that he is kind and smart and has decent boundaries, doesn't push, etc. but he just doesn't work for me.
The mystery was interesting.
Outstanding multi-layered mystery thriller with excellent character development. There are some dark, one very disturbing patch along the way... The conclusion is a little bittersweet, but practical and not much of a surprise. Very fast read. I want to go out right away to pick up the next book in the series.
A compelling and thrilling read, which I enjoyed immensely. My only complaint with it would be that there were times when this book felt very slow as it includes a lot of mundane details that are quite dry to read. Sometimes this was purposeful, where as others it felt like it could have been left out with no real loss. None the less I look forward to continuing on with the characters as they solve their next mystery in book 2.
Definitely mind the trigger warning though if it's something you're considering reading.
This book is such a mess, I can not... I really don't understand why I should care about the characters and the story...
Interesting thriller with a different twist than anything I've read before. Some of the characters are hard to like due to their personal lifestyle choices & there is a lot of sexual violence. However, it is realistically portrayed & I don't think it is actually gratuitous. One of the best thrillers I've read.
Solid. Second half much more interesting than the first half. A lot of tangential information seemed to slow the book down at times. And I hate, hate, hate, reading, seeing, thinking about crimes of the sort that were committed in this book. So... I'm glad I'm done with it.
That said, I'm going to have to see the movie. I can probably get through the awful parts. And if so, I bet the rest will be a hell of a lot of fun. The book at least lays the groundwork for that.
Short Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I know that most of the world has already read it. I finally broke down after so many people recommended it to me. I am mixed. I liked several of the characters and the basic plot. But it went on long past the past plot line and really dragged at other parts. But I can see why so many liked it. About half way through the second now and I like it better so far.
My longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/dragon-tattoo/
I realize I'm way behind on loving this book....but it's been a long time since I've wanted to stay up late to finish a book!