Dude.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is most likely the best thing to come out of Sweden. I loved it.
The book had an excellent hook which sucked me in right away, and the rest of the plot had more twists than a mountain range road. The characters were unique, in particular, the heroine, Lisbeth Salander.
I expected Salander to be the main protagonist, but she was more of a side kick. She was a really different character to any other I’ve read about: an outcast in society, anorexic, doesn’t give a damn about rules. She’s a total badass.
After the hook/prologue, I thought the beginning was a bit slow, and I initially had doubts as to the quality of the books. But I read through the beginning and it quickly began to pick up the pace. It was such a good read, I probably read the last half of the book in two or three days, reading for hours on end. I simply couldn’t put it down.
It was a really gritty book, with murder, rape, and torture, and at times, it probably wasn’t the best thing to read at night. It had a strong theme of sexual violence, and interestingly, the original title in Swedish was Men Who Hate Women.
I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good murder book. It’s a disappointment that author Stieg Larsson isn’t alive today to enjoy his international success and continue to write. Great work, Stieg!
I’m interested in reading this book, so thanks for the review!
Merrilee: I think you’d definitely enjoy it.
Haven’t read this book – and probably won’t, since thrillers aren’t my thing – but I admit I’m intrigued by the main character. She seems like an off-the-wall, original personality. Probably lots of fun to write.