The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The plot was nicely paced and the characters were engaging.

It's as good as everyone say it is. Trust me!

I attempted to read this book a few years ago when it was really popular and couldn't get past the first part. The pacing is a bit odd throughout. The first part is fairly boring, the middle is a gripping page-turner, and then somehow the climax follows with another pretty boring section to the end. It was hard to get into the foreign names and corporate shenanigans at the beginning. The Swedish title of this book is "Men Who Hate Women" and that is the more appropriate title. This book is disturbing. There is graphic violence against women here portrayed in a realistic manner. The characters are interesting and well-developed. Basically, between reading this and [b:Smilla's Sense of Snow|124509|Smilla's Sense of Snow|Peter Høeg|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320477208s/124509.jpg|2607049], I am kinda terrified of Scandinavia!

So,

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, what can I say about you? (See that little rhyme I did there?)

Well, first off, this book

really annoyed me. I’m not entirely sure what it was, the book was just annoying. It’s almost like it had this subtle smugness to it. Like it knows that it’s a bestselling novel around the world. (Which I still, in all honesty, can’t understand.) But wouldn’t that annoy you too?

Secondly, I hate how this book is marketed as a mystery. Is there any mystery-solving going on here? Barely. It’s like the friggin’ mystery is a subplot. The main plot? That damned magazine Blomkvist writes for,

Millennium. That’s all they talk/care about in this book! And I wish I were kidding. Now look, I bought a damn mystery, and that’s what I expect to get! I don’t wanna read about some middle-aged man, who I’m pretty sure is ugly, moan and groan about his friggin’ magazine that he co-owns, or however you put it. (And yes, I realize that the series is

called

Millennium, but still, I don't wanna hear about that damn magazine.)

Now, my next point: the sadism. Was the whole bit with Salander and her guardian (I can’t remember his name and I don’t feel like looking it up) really necessary? Did Salander’s getting raped really add to the story? The

mystery? Hell no, of course it didn’t. And I find it kinda creepy that a middle-aged man was writing about young women getting raped anyhow.

I also can’t help but feel that Blomkvist was a sort of author surrogate for Mr. Larsson. Know what I’m saying? I mean, who was the one getting all the action? (And by action I mean sex, consented sex of course, but who knows what really goes through Blomkvist’s mind?) Blomkvist. The one just about all the female characters wanted to be with, even though I’m pretty sure the man’s ugly? And no, they didn’t necessarily want him to “passionately take [them:] into the bedroom and tear off [their:] clothes. No, [they:] really just wanted his company.” Cuz if you were given the chance, wouldn’t you want to spend your free time with an ugly, middle-aged man too? God yes.

The whole time I was reading this book I’d think to myself, “Well, maybe it’ll get better on the next page.” I read 4 and 5 star reviews and people said, “Just wait until page 100 and something.” Well, I got to page 100 and something and it didn’t get

any better. “Just wait until page 200 and something.” I waited until page 200 and something. Did it get any better? No. “Just wait until you get halfway.” I’m already halfway dammit, it hasn’t gotten any better! And that’s when I decided to give up on this book. I got a lot of stuff to do in the day, and I definitely don’t have time to read a book I’m definitely not enjoying.

But in all seriousness, I’ve got nothing against

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I mean, besides that fact that’s boring and as hell, the characters are dreary, and the whole internal smugness thing going on is aggravating beyond belief, its still…a book. A book that I would not recommend to anyone. Ever.

A brilliant, thrilling read which grabs your attention and holds it throughout. Lisbeth Salander, disregards conventional behaviour and takes whatever action she feels necessary to achieve her ends, despite the opinions or laws of conventional society.