Sunday, February 06, 2011

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Well, there's too much sexual content, profanity and violence in this book, but I still liked it.  There are two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikhail Blomkvist, who don't even meet until halfway through the book.  Mikhail is a journalist who has just lost a libel case and will be spending three months in jail.  He is offered a job by a billionaire to solve the murder of his niece thirty years ago.  Along the way, he realizes he needs help and also learns that he was investigated before getting the new job by a crack investigator, Lisbeth.  Now here is a hard-to-define character.  She has been declared incompetent with violent tendencies by that state and has to report to a guardian.  She is anti-social and has a weird sense of morality.  And she can hack into any computer.  Together the two develop a relationship while solving the case and uncovering some really rotten family secrets.  Mikhail is a likable, interesting character right from the start, but Lisbeth grows on you.  And the mystery is pretty compelling.  The book lives up to all the hype it has been receiving.  I'm now reading the second in the series; and it's pretty gripping.  More to follow . . . Rating:  4

5 comments:

  1. These books really pull you in don't they? I agree that the sexual content is disturbing, but I think I was disturbed by the violence against women so much more. Books 2 and 3 are really gripping, in my opinion.

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  2. I agree on both counts. Too much sex and violence, but still a very good read. I decided not read the last two books, but I have watched all 3 films. They are Swedish with English subtitles but still really good. I like foreign films anyway so that wasn't a problem for me.

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  3. One of these days I have to read this book! I even own it, so really no excuse!

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  4. I've been hearing that hype ... thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  5. You read this on the heels of Thomas Monson's biography?! Alyson gave me the 2nd in the series which I read to page 100 and decided I really need to read the 1st in the series to understand what is going on.

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