Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Today I finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. OMG. This book is AMAZING! I loved it. I sat outside for 2 hours this morning & I finished it & I've been thinking about it all day. If I hadn't had to spend the rest of the day studying for a final tonight, I would have immediately started the second book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

I'm horrible at summarizing plots, so here's the Amazon review:

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

I loved the two main characters, Mikael Blomkvist & Lisbeth Salander, & the relationship that develops between them. I'm so intrigued by Lisbeth's character & her past. I can't wait to find out what's revealed in the next two books. I can't remember the last time I was this fascinated with a character in a book. I want to know her.

Know This Going In:

I saw the movie before I read the book & I swear that helped. I liked having a visual of what the characters looked like, especially Lisbeth. Even though I knew the outcome, the book was still enthralling. Plus, there was A LOT in the book that was left out of the movie. The book is definitely better, but see the movie if you can.

I had a little trouble getting into the book. There's a lot of background in the beginning that wasn't in the movie & didn't seem relevant. But it is fast moving & I was pulled in easily within the first 100 pages.

This book is long, like 600-700 pages long, but it reads fast because you absolutely can't put it down. Also, it was originally written in Swedish & then translated into English so there are some minor lost in translation things, but not enough to be distracting.

This book is possibly my new favorite book. It's definitely in my all-time Top Ten. Highly, highly recommend this book (& hopefully the subsequent two follow-ups).

Viva la Sweden!