The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: A Lisbeth Salander Novel (Millennium Trilogy, #1)

by Stieg Larsson

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The thrilling first book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series featuring Lisbeth Salander: “Combine the chilly Swedish backdrop and moody psychodrama of a Bergman movie with the grisly pyrotechnics of a serial-killer thriller, then add an angry punk heroine and a down-on-his-luck investigative journalist, and you have the ingredients of Stieg Larsson’s first novel” (The New York Times). • Also known as the Millennium series
 
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
 
Look for the latest book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl in the Eagle's Talons!

• ISBN10: 0307454541
• ISBN13: 9780307454546
• Publish Date: 23 June 2009 (first published 1 January 2008)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 13 November 2009
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Three Rivers Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 608
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780307454546

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

In my personal opinion, Lisbeth Salander is one of the best FMC in literature. As a character, she’s been through hell, through more trauma than any one person should ever experience. It’s left her damaged but absolutely brilliant and with a moral code that is the foundation of everything she is. She is far from the typical FMC, in many ways more villainess than heroine, but the reader can’t help but be fully invested in her story, rooting for her every step of the way.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is deeply disturbing at times, very dark, and extremely intense. It does not shy away from the darkers parts of the world, nor should it. But it is highly intelligent, emotional, and incredibly engrossing.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4★⎮I bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tattoo in paperback about a decade ago, but I can't ever remember starting it. It was one of those titles that was so hyped when it first came out and then again surrounding the movie adaptation. The hype is what originally compelled me to purchase the paperback, but it's probably also what kept me from reading it. With hype comes pressure and I'm always at least a little hesitant to start a super popular book for fear of not enjoying it the way I think I "should".

Yesterday, I finally decided to tackle this literary "boogie man" that has been sitting on my shelf for the past decade, albeit in a new form. I've somehow been able to avoid major spoilers for the last 10 years and have never seen the movie, so I went into this with a pretty fresh perspective. I've been wanting to hear something intense and edgy lately. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo seemed to be just that. I was also intrigued to hear something set in Sweden. I don't think I've ever heard anything set in Scandinavia. I'm not overly familiar with that area, but I know enough to know that I wanted to know more!

On second thought, it seems like I did briefly begin listening to this maybe two years ago. I remember stopping a short way into it and being confused when no girl (who could presumably be the girl) appeared. I was looking for a kick ass female assassin lead and when she didn't quickly appear, I gave up. Not my best moment, but the point is that I did eventually return to it. I know now that Lisbeth Salander (the kick ass female lead) is not an assassin, nor is she the primary character. I probably would have enjoyed this more if she was either of those things, especially if she had been the main character. I found Salander to be a sympathetic character, if not entirely relatable. She's the kind of character you want to protect, even though she would never allow anyone to protect her. She's tough, flawed, prickly, and resourceful. Mikael Blomqvist made less of an impression, but I didn't dislike him. Salander was the star for me. She and Mikael made an odd team, but it still worked.

There was only one aspect of their relationship that made me uncomfortable, but I won't delve too deeply into that for fear of spoilers. The most noticeable flaw in the duo's relationship was that it seemed underdeveloped, as did other parts of the story. The book seemed to lack any smooth transitions which meant I had to listen very closely and even then, I still had trouble following from one scene to the next. I later realized this was because I was inadvertently listening to the abridged version of the story. The unabridged version clocks in at over 16 hours long, while the run time for the abridged version was around 7.5.

Get ready for a rant: The reason I accidentally began listening to the abridged version was because both versions use the same audiobook cover. This cover clearly says "An unabridged production" and it also says "Read by Simon Vance" on the cover even though Martin Brenner narrated the abridged version I was hearing. And no, this wasn't a case of switched covers. There is no cover for the abridged version of the book. This was clearly a ploy to save money by not having to create two covers, but it's the worst money saving, corner-cutting scheme I've seen in a while (in the audiobook world, at least), especially for a best-selling novel from a major publishing house. If I were Martin Brenner, I would be seriously pissed about not having cover credit. Not only does he not have cover credit, but another narrator is credited on the cover of an audiobook read by Brenner, from a major publishing house. That's inexcusable, in my opinion. I don't know if this is something that's common with abridged audiobooks, since I usually try to avoid them like the plague.

The realization that I was hearing the abridged version both infuriated me (for the reasons above) and relieved some of my worries regarding the smoothness of transitions in the book, since abridged versions are notoriously and haphazardly hacked to pieces and then glued together again. I have no doubt that I would have enjoyed this book exponentially more if I had heard the unabridged version. It very well could have been a 4.75 or 5 star book for me. It's definitely something I would want to hear more of. Just thinking about all of the details and background information I've missed out on pisses me off even more. Before this realization, I was debating whether or not to continue with the series, based on my enjoyment level at the time. However, now that I know how much of this audiobook I have missed out on, I feel compelled to at least hear the next installment. Unabridged, of course. I may also be starting a petition to ban, or at least clearly mark, all abridged audiobooks.

Narration review: To be completely honest, I was somewhat disappointed when I realized I wouldn't be hearing Simon Vance narrate. After finishing Fire & Blood, which was also narrated by Vance, I was eager to hear more from him. However, Martin Brenner did an admirable job narrating this version of the audiobook. I've never heard of him before, but I was very impressed with his narration, particularly his pronunciation of Swedish names and locations. It's clear why he was chosen for the job. On that note, I would recommend having a copy of the actual book on hand while listening, or at least familiar rising yourself with the character and location names before listening. The Swedish language is so foreign to me and Brenner's pronunciation was so authentic that I had a difficult time discerning what was being said until actively studying a list of character names. The only other thing I didn't care for was his voicing of Salander. She didn't sound even remotely female, which was especially a problem in her conversations with Mikael, because I couldn't tell who was talking. Other than that, Brenner did a wonderful job and he definitely has Vance beat when it comes to pronouncing Swedish names and phrases. ♣︎

[maggiefan]

This book is such a mess, I can not... I really don't understand why I should care about the characters and the story...

[wyvernfriend]

Left feeling distinctly meh about it. Man investigates an old disappearance and finds that he might have bitten off more than he can chew.

[goodnghtmoonx]

This is a book that I'm boy too sure how to feel about. Both the beginning and the ending seemed to drag on, while the middle kept your interest for the most part. There was a lot of unnecessary details in this book that I found myself skimming over most the time. This lead to to having to reread a few things at times because I missed out on something. The characters were fun for the most part. I had a few issues with the scenarios that happened the way they did, but to remain spoiler free, I'll keep those out. The conclusion to the mystery was less than thrilling for me. But that might have been because of the spacing of it all. For the most part, I enjoyed this book, though.

[bryannaleigh]

This is a book that I'm boy too sure how to feel about. Both the beginning and the ending seemed to drag on, while the middle kept your interest for the most part. There was a lot of unnecessary details in this book that I found myself skimming over most the time. This lead to to having to reread a few things at times because I missed out on something. The characters were fun for the most part. I had a few issues with the scenarios that happened the way they did, but to remain spoiler free, I'll keep those out. The conclusion to the mystery was less than thrilling for me. But that might have been because of the spacing of it all. For the most part, I enjoyed this book, though.

[Risa Nichols]

The recurring rape theme in this novel is absolutely horrendous to me. HOWEVER--I loved this trilogy, despite the language and sexual aspects of the novels. I wanted to read this book before the Americanized version of this film came out and I truthfully had a hard time finishing it. The second one, however, I couldn't put down, as well as the third. This trilogy is definitely not for everyone and the writing is oftentimes very stoic with unfortunate errors that sometimes distract from the novels themselves, but all in all, I truly enjoyed this story and look forward to the rest of the films.

[clairelm]

I'm torn between giving this book 3 or 4 stars. I've settled on four because 3 seems a little too harsh for me as the book is well written and I think 3 1/2 would be a better show of how much I enjoyed it.

The beginnning of the book was slow and it took a long while to get going. I really, really enjoyed the middle although it was a bit more gruesome than I expected. Had the book finished at the point where the truth was discovered about Harriet then it would have deserved 4 1/2 stars. Unfortunately, it carried on and went downhill. Once again it became slow and uninteresting.

Part of my dissapointment is due to the hype that's surrounded the book with the film and I just feel it didn't live up to my expectations.

[clementine]

I've had this book on my Kobo for months now, and, trapped in a hotel room with no Wifi and very few books left on my Kobo to read, I started it. I didn't have much interest in it before and had only loaded it on at someone's urging. So, I was definitely pleasantly surprised by it!

I thought the story was fantastic. It was so well paced, with Lisbeth and Mikael's stories starting separately and then eventually colliding. The entire mystery and investigation was very interesting and exciting, despite the fact that it wasn't actually very action packed until the last third or so.

All the different characters, relationships, and subplots were handled really well, and at no point was it ever confusing. Even with all the Swedish names, some of which were pretty similar to an untrained foreign eye, I was able to keep everything separated. The whole mystery was a bit twisted and convoluted, but it was surprisingly clear and easy to follow. I also liked how the characters' relationships with others were woven into the story. At no point did it feel forced or irrelevant to the story, or like any of those scenes were drawing me away from the main plot.

There are definitely some issues of plausibility here - I mean, how likely is it really that nobody else would have noticed Harriet's expression in the photo in 37 years, especially when they've been investigating obsessively? How likely is it that nobody else would have ever noticed that the murders happened near Vanger factories? There were also questions left unanswered, like what exactly happened to Eva after Martin was exposed? Nothing huge, but I wasn't totally satisfied by the end.

The writing style was okay. Nothing great or impressive, but not terrible. I don't know how much of its mediocrity can be attributed to the translation, but it wasn't great. Overall, that's how I feel about the book - enjoyable, well-crafted, exciting, but not amazing.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo begins on the steps of a courthouse in Sweden after Mikael Blomkvist has been found guilty and sentenced to three months of prison for defaming the Wennestrom Corporation, Wennestrom is also his rival and competition for his magazine Millennium. After his conviction and his career as a serious journalist in the hole he is approached by Henrik Vanger the CEO of Vanger Enterprises asking Mikael to help him solve his forty year obsession, the unsolved murder of his niece Harriett. Against his better judgment, Blomkvist accepts the job.

Lisbeth Salander, a goth and introvert rarely, if ever talks about her past. She is a exceptional hacker and after preforming a background check on Mikael Blomkvist enlists herself to help in unraveling the families secrets.

Lisbeth Salander is the Nancy Drew for adults, she's quick on her feet using her intellect to solve crime and revenge those who have wronged her. She may not be as attractive as Nan is described with her piercings and tattoos but is beautiful in her own way. I see Lisbeth Salander as a hip heroine who like Nancy Drew will not easily be forgotten.

Believe the hype, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is riveting! This thriller had me reading late into the night, holding my eyes open with toothpicks when necessary. There are so many twists and turns that I never saw coming with each member of the Vanger enterprise having more secrets than the last. Harriett, Mikael and Lisbeth's stories cleverly interweaves bringing what can sometimes be a confusing plot to a remarkable semi happy ending. The first in the Millennium Trilogy is a novel that will stay with you long after the cover has been closed.