NAQUOYA'S BOOK REVIEWS - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larrson
This is post 9 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larrson
This is one of those times when the film lead me to the book. I had first watched the Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo shortly after it was released. I remember picking it up from the local DVD store (has it really been that long?), and as it started to play my wife and I looked at each other in disappointment as the subtitles came on and we realised this was not an English language film. It took only a minute or two for our disappointment to subside completely and before too long we were so enthralled in the movie and it's complex and interweaving plot lines that the subtitles and need to follow along with them became irrelevant.
We followed up shortly by watching all three of the films in this series. And didn't bother with the Hollywood versions when they came out a few years later. There was no point as these couldn't be bettered, in my opinion.
However, it wasn't until last month that I finally decided to read the book. As my interest in thrillers and mystery novels has increased, so too has my desire to go back and start with this story where it truly began. In the written form. If the movie was good then I was convinced that the novels would be too. And I wasn't disappointed.
Stieg Larsson has created a masterpiece of the genre. A complex and intertwined plot line develops that introduces us to the key characters as the story develops. Minor characters in the dozens enter, as a richly developed masterpiece unfolds.
Mikeal Blomkvist is the journalist who faces a stint in jail after having been sued for libelling a wealthy financier. Lisbeth Salander is the troubled and silent computer hacker who has been paid to delve in his life. And Henrik Vanger is the powerful industrialist who inadventantly bring them together.
Henrik Vanger is the head of the once mighty Vanger Corporation. He has been tormented by the disappearance of a young family member decades earlier. Convinced she was murdered, and unsatisfied with the now finished police investigations, he hires Mikael to investigate the matter.
Despite the job he is far from convinced that there is really anything to investigate. Until clues start showing up that say otherwise. Not only has a Vanger family member disappeared, presumably murdered, but potentially something much more sinister has been going on.
Lisbeth, having been paid to investiage the journalist, realises what Mikael has stumbled upon. And the tentacles of this decades old mystery stretch far and wide, having gone unnoticed for so long. Lisbeth is going to need all her computer prowess to help Mikael solve this mystery. Even just to stay alive.
The story deals with strong themes in the forms of violence against women, right-wing extremism, religion and religious symbology, and the failures of capitalism. It is a thriller with a very strong social conscience.
This is a enthralling novel of such depth and magnitude. A true lesson on how to write a thriller. The characters are complex, real human beings, we are drawn into their lives, their difficulties and intrigues, and left turning page after page as we seek to discover their fate. It holds the reader's attention from the beginning until the very end. Which works nicely, given there are two more in the series. An intelligent and complex thriller. Very highly recommended.
Image 1 source. Image 2 source.
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I thought the series was phenomenal, and it was one of the few cases where the movies didn't disappoint either. (Like you, I passed on the American versions.) I liked the way Salander's computer skills seemed better rooted in reality than the way they're usually portrayed on film as well. I never felt like they were just applying "hacker magic" to the plot.
Larsson's personal story was really interesting too - his early death, the dispute over his estate, all the unwritten books he'd left outlines for, the strange choice of another author to write the sequels.
It looks like they've tacked two books on to the end by that other author. If you keep reading and wind up picking them up you'll have to let me know if they're worth reading.
I agree with your view of how her computer skills were represented. Normally hackers are shown to have almost superhuman abilities that defy logic. Not the case here. And written in a way that the writer didn't brush over it, but explained it in enough detail to be passable.
I read briefly into Larrson's story. It was fascinating, particularly how he died after writing and submitting, but before they were published. Perhaps burned himself out? Well, he wrote some masterpieces none-the-less. Pity he couldn't live to enjoy their success.
There are more after the three by another writer. I haven't read them, and not sure that I will.
I agree his personal story is very interesting too! I haven't watched the movies but have a copy of the first one so I may take it out on a rainy day.
US or Swedish version. I haven't seen the US one, but highly recommended the Swedish version, if you can handle sub titles. It holds up well to the book.
The US version. I watch movies with subtitles a lot so I don't mind. May try to track down the Swedish one.
That's the version that I can recommend. I watched the series twice and neither time disappointed.
Really? I should really watch the Millenium trilogy then. It's been in my backlog for years now. I mean, I didn't love the Hollywood version, but it was okay. I watched it with officemates when it came out in the cinema, and had the opportunity to watch it on TV just yesterday.
It's a shame that Stieg Larrson passed away when he did. He was good and his work showed a lot of promise. It's great that he was able to leave a lasting legacy before his demise though.
There have been some wonderful Swedish TV shows of late, so I think they make good quality, gritty crime type dramas. And here with these books they had an incredible script to work with. I find US remakes tend to disappoint, so I never bothered to watch them.
I agree that it is a shame that Larrson died before he had a chance to experience his success. Cruel sense of fate at work there.
Too bad we would always need subtitles for that. Is Sweden known for crime? I thought it was relatively peaceful there. But The Killing and other Swedish crime dramas have popped up over the years.
I guess behind the facade lies a real place. There has certainly been a lot of riots there of late, and clashes based on the immigration issue. Probably like most places, the big cities have their ghetto areas, and the more rural settings are probably peaceful and quiet.
Given that it is a part of greater Europe these day then cross border migration is a reality there as well as in other countries. That has positive, as well negative effects. Mostly I don't think its a problem. But has produced a wave of great shows and literature.
Oh yeah definitely. The facade must've heightened the curiosity.
Thanks for sharing. I'll get a copy for myself this weekend.
Awesome
Thanks for the comment. Yes, its a captivating read. Certainly hope you enjoy it.
Excellent review, one thing to add...the descriptions of icy setting added so much atmosphere, and to me it was the skillful capture of the atmosphere that sets the book apart from many other thrillers.
Thanks for chiming in. Yes, he sets the scene well. I do remember 'feeling' the cold as the scenes were playing out in the Swedish winter.
Always heard good things about the movies... now I know about the book, too. Thank you for the post. Good luck with the challenge.
Yes, one of those times where the movies do the book justice (although i can't speak for the US versions as I haven't seen those).
Maybe I should check them out and we could convene over our thoughts, lol.
Yes, certainly love to hear what you think of the films if you get the chance to see them.
10/4
I have heard about this book but never read it, perhaps I should give it a try. I have used tattoos however as descriptive details in some of my poems.
Just about to finish the third in the trilogy. The quality of story telling lasts throughout the series. Well recommended.
Great review! I loved the Swedish version of the movie but must confess haven't read the book, even though the thought has occurred to me to do so on several occasions. This review has convinced me that I need to!
I'm with you - I loved the Swedish versions. I never thought to read the books until recently. I wanting to learn more about creative writing, and one way to do that is to read a lot. And the movies were top notch, so I was hoping the books would be a good representation of the genre. And they were.
Time well spent, if thrillers are your thing.
The first time I had experience with this story was in the movie theatre. Wish I could have read a book on it first. It was a first date! There were some very violent and uncomfortable parts of the movie as we all know. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable first date.
No, not really a first date film. I can imagine the discomfort. Still, you got through it. The movies were good, but best to be viewed in the appropriate setting. The books at least allow for discretion. I hope your experience didn't scar you too much.
I intend to read soon!
Please do, it's awesome.
Can I get a link to the book or something?
https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Dragon-Tattoo-Millennium/dp/0307949486
Thanks a lot