The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008) Stieg Larsson translated by Reg Keeland

Yes, yes, yes. I know I’m late to the game. But I had a large backlog of books to read through first.

I started reading this soon after I broke my ankle. Since it was very difficult for me to carry things while I was on crutches, this sat on the dining room table and was my book to read while eating lunch. Then, since it was in the kitchen, I ended up plowing through lots of other books while only reading a few pages at a time of this one.

Of course, once I picked up the book and really started reading, I was quickly drawn into the story.

Mikael Blomkvist has just lost a libel court case, and in addition of having to pay a heavy fine, he is also sentenced to three months in prison. He also believes he needs to resign from the magazine he helped found, because he fears his continued presence may well drive the magazine under. It is in the midst of this confusion that Blomkvist receives an offer to help an old man discover what happened to his niece, under the guise of writing the man’s biography.

But there is an additional character in the drama, Lisbeth Salander, who works for a private security firm and has her own ugly history.

A couple notes for the handful of people who have not ready this story–some really awful things happen to Lisbeth. She comes through it, but it’s very disturbing to read. Some of the reviews that disliked the book, did so on the grounds that it was too violent. Unfortunately, this simply reflects reality–the world can be a harsh and unpleasant place if you are a woman, and terrible things sometimes happen to women, for a variety of reasons. In my opinion, it seems ridiculous to read a crime novel and then complain that it contains, you know, crime and violence.

All in all, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Vintage Crime

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