A review by yoteach
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
5.0
I would have never guessed what "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" would be about based on either the cover, the title, or trying to recall the trailers of the American version of the film. Any inkling of an idea immediately dissolved by the first chapter which told of a rather different complex story than I can ever say I've read. Over the course of 645 pages, three stories unfold, until intersecting towards the 60% mark. One dealing with the libel case of an esteemed financial journalist, the mysterious death of a young industrial heir, and the daily struggles of the eponymous girl with the dragon tattoo: Lissbeth Salandar, a social inept twenty-something who might just be one of the most memorable characters I've read.
At nearly 700 pages, TGWTDT is also the longest book I've read in a few months but the end result of reading a longer book is having a deeper connection with the story and its characters. Larsson's style reminds me of Stephen King in terms of characterization and depth. Rather than a hero and a sidekick and a bunch of one-dimensional background characters, immense effort is put into fleshing out nearly every person mentioned. It is a book that does not exist within a single genre: it is part history, part crime, part thriller, part drama, and part romance. All parts combined it is a five star story only just the beginning of the five-part Millennium series. I'm looking forward to the rest.
At nearly 700 pages, TGWTDT is also the longest book I've read in a few months but the end result of reading a longer book is having a deeper connection with the story and its characters. Larsson's style reminds me of Stephen King in terms of characterization and depth. Rather than a hero and a sidekick and a bunch of one-dimensional background characters, immense effort is put into fleshing out nearly every person mentioned. It is a book that does not exist within a single genre: it is part history, part crime, part thriller, part drama, and part romance. All parts combined it is a five star story only just the beginning of the five-part Millennium series. I'm looking forward to the rest.