The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson is a fairly controversial book for numerous reasons. The original book was actually called "Men Who Hate Women" which is an accurate description of the book (but probably wouldn't fly on the bookshelves). The author passed away in 2004 before the three books were published. It is the first of the author's trilogy that was originally written in Swedish and translated into English (as well as numerous other languages). As a result, there is some controversy as to the correct translation since the author was deceased and couldn't clarify translation questions. Although this is not a true story, the author apparently witnessed a gang rape in his earlier years which was a strong influence in the storyline of the book. Combining all these factors, this book as been a hot topic within the literature community.
I loved this book. However, if you do not like disturbing stories then I would steer clear of this one! The book deals with sexual violence in a way that truly chills you to the soul. The storyline brings together a journalist/publisher that is investigating a crime that occurred 30 years ago and an unruly girl in her twenties who is identified as a social outcast on every level. I will be honest that it is not a quick read as I constantly had to revisit previous chapters and the "Vanger" family tree in the front of the book to figure out who was who. However, once I got to the second half of the book, I couldn't put the book down. I recently started the second of the trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire. I am already hooked and will be posting the book review in the next couple weeks!
Excerpt from "Caribousmom" Book Review
April 16, 2010
Source: See website below plot summary.
Mikael Blomkvist is journalist who finds himself convicted in a libel case and facing the potential demise of his magazine along with a jail sentence. So when Henrik Vanger, an aging businessman, offers Mikael a job to uncover the mystery of young Harriet Vanger’s disappearance, he decides to take it. Harriet (Henrik’s niece) disappeared in the 1960s, when she was just 16 years old and now (forty years later) no trace of her has ever been uncovered. Henrik Vanger is convinced someone in the Vanger family murdered the young girl, and he wants to know how and who. In an effort to solve the mystery, Mikael begins to research the dysfunctional Vanger family and eventually seeks the help of a research assistant named Lisbeth Salander – an odd, antisocial 24 year old whose primary skill is hacking into seemingly secure computer systems and unearthing information about just about anyone.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has two story lines. The first is the mystery of Harriet Vanger; the second is that of financial intrigue and fraud involving a huge Swedish corporation. Stieg Larsson melds these two plots through the characters of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.
http://www.caribousmom.com/2010/04/16/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-book-review/
- Miss J
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