The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

paperback (mm), 841 pages

English language

Published June 27, 2009 by Penquin Group (Canada), Alfred A. Knopf (USA).

ISBN:: 978-0-14-317009-9
OCLC Number:: 755010818

(2 reviews)

The first in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family.

The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, recently at the wrong end of a libel case, to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance.

Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age--and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness--assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team …

The first in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family.

The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, recently at the wrong end of a libel case, to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance.

Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age--and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness--assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, an astonishing corruption at the highest echelon of Swedish industrialism--and a surprising connection between themselves.---From publisher description.

''Wildly Suspenseful...an intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing thriller.''---The Washington Post

29 editions

J. J. Zepfanman @...readers reviewed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Millennium, #1)

Review of 'The girl with the dragon tattoo' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I enjoyed this not because of the violence, but because I was constantly reminded how well Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander in the films. I had seen all three Swedish movies from the series (American versions are currently in the works) before picking up the book and so far they seem to be as good or better than their print versions.

As far as the storyline goes, there were several moments when I had to let out a vocal cheer for Salander - I'm a sucker for badassery. I typically get bored with books after 200 pages, but Larsson kept my attention on almost every page.

I won't say too much more as there are plenty of other reviews that outline the good and the bad parts of the book. Other than piquing my interest a little bit about Swedish culture, I didn't walk away from the story feeling like …

I enjoyed this not because of the violence, but because I was constantly reminded how well Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander in the films. I had seen all three Swedish movies from the series (American versions are currently in the works) before picking up the book and so far they seem to be as good or better than their print versions.

As far as the storyline goes, there were several moments when I had to let out a vocal cheer for Salander - I'm a sucker for badassery. I typically get bored with books after 200 pages, but Larsson kept my attention on almost every page.

I won't say too much more as there are plenty of other reviews that outline the good and the bad parts of the book. Other than piquing my interest a little bit about Swedish culture, I didn't walk away from the story feeling like it touched the depths of my soul - I reserve 5 stars for books that can do that.

Check out Molly's review for an excellent Goodreads discussion about the book. Thanks also to her for mentioning the Joan Acocella piece in The New Yorker.

CTD reviewed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Review of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I am stalled on this roughly a third of the way through. Some characters have been introduced and a vast dysfunctional family outlined in bewildering detail. I don't stand a chance of remembering any of the people involved, so when stuff eventually starts to happen it is not going to mean anything. I doubt that I can be bothered finishing it when I have lots of other books to read