The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stieg LarssonTranslator: Reg Keeland
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2008-09-16
ISBN: 0307269752
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Book Review: "Now I know what my price is."
Summary: 5 Stars
When Mikael Blomqvist arrives on remote Hedeby Island to do research for the biography of Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger and his large family, he is looking for a place where he can avoid attention. Blomqvist, a financial journalist for Millenium magazine, is due to serve a three-month prison sentence soon for libeling a man he accused of criminal activity. For his own reasons, he did not challenge the charge and offered no defense, preferring to get the sentence over with in the face of enormous publicity. The temporary job he accepts on this remote island involves the search for Harriet Vanger, Henrik's niece who disappeared from the island when she was sixteen--thirty-seven years ago.
Sometimes helping Blomqvist in his research is Lisbeth Salander, a young woman thought to have Asperger's syndrome, who is under the guardianship of the state. Salander has suffered enormous sexual and emotional abuse and has withdrawn to the point that she trusts no one. Marking events in her life through tattoos and body piercings, she lives as solitary a life as possible, connecting primarily through the internet where she has "met" several fellow computer hackers. Gradually, Salander begins to respond to Blomqvist's honesty and respect for her talents as she discovers important new information about the Vanger family.
Though the novel starts rather slowly as the characters are introduced and the genealogy of the Vanger family is explored, author Stieg Larsson succeeds in creating a sense of Sweden's social culture and atmosphere as he sets up this "closed room" mystery and creates vibrant characters to carry the action. The reader cares about Blomqvist and Salander from the beginning, as both are vulnerable and have suffered unjustly, and as the novel develops, the author also creates sympathy for the elderly Henrik Vanger. Larsson was the editor of an anti-racist magazine, and his unforgettable depiction of some of the other Vanger relatives, who were ardent adherents of fascist and Nazi movements, carries the ring of authenticity.
As the novel develops, the skeletons in the Vanger family closet emerge, and a host of repulsive crimes, including murder, rape, torture, and the wanton abuse of women over many years are laid bare. The novel becomes an utterly compelling can't-put-it-downer, as the reader "travels" with Blomqvist and Salander, sharing their frustrations and their physical danger as they investigate this decades-old disappearance. Developed in minute detail, this rich novel is especially satisfying because it leaves no loose threads, connecting every detail to produce a blockbuster conclusion which satisfies in every way. The first novel of a trilogy which Larsson completed just before his premature death in 2004, at age fifty, this thrilling novel will leave its fans panting for the next installment. n Mary Whipple
The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second novel in this trilogy, due in January
The third novel, tentatively titled The Air Castle That Blew Up, has no US publication date yet.
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