The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
Pub. Date: June 2009
Genre: Fiction
608 pp

Synopsis from BN.com:
A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.

It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism, and an unexpected connection between themselves.

Why I Picked It:
It seems I've seen, heard, read about this book everywhere. Everyone has been talking about it, and so it made a perfect book club choice.

My Review:
Part missing person mystery. Part thriller. Part social commentary. This book was so well plotted, developed and intelligently written. The characters had depths that weren't thoroughly explored which leaves me giddily excited for the next book.

Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, is such an interesting, troubled character. We didn't learn enough about her in this book, and I want more. She is living under the custodianship of the government, but we quickly find out she is quite brilliant, though refusing to let it be known just how capable she truly is. Under the appointed guardianship, Salander is taken advantage of and pushed too far, and, finally, instead of being submissive and silent, Salander takes charge in a way that made me figuratively applaud. It's a brutal scene, though, one that I believe pushed a friend of mine too far, and almost kept her from finishing the book. (Sheri, am I right?)

Not surprising, once I finished, to learn that the original title of this book is Men Who Hate Women. And while that is a title that would repel me from purchasing it, that is truly the darker theme of this book. I really want to delve into this topic, but a proper discussion would require me to give away too much. I don't like to put spoilers out there. Instead, I will say that this book is both a triumphant and a tragic exploration of the topic of abuse against women in various ways and for various reasons. There are women who fall victim to a deranged or power intoxicated man, and those who find a way to fight back, and those who find a way out. Larsson handles it accurately, purposefully, carefully, and a way that I found very respectful of women. I was cheering for Lisbeth - initially introduced so submissively, suffering as a victim, but as she took charge of her own situation, she grew to learn that not all men were untrustworthy, and found her own voice, speaking also for others who had had their voices muffled.

It's an incredibly detailed book, and I admit I got lost a few times within the family tree and confused by the Swedish references. It's not distracting enough to make you lose interest because it's a fascinating story, a real page turner. I suspected the outcome, but it didn't happen in the way I expected, so it was very satisfying. Like I said earlier, I am left wanting more from these characters, and thankfully, there are two more books right behind this one. (And I hear tell that there may even be a 4th?)

Just bought The Girl Who Played With Fire.... Can't wait to find some time to read it.