Starred Review. Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European bestseller by muckraking Swedish journalist Larsson. At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman. Larsson died in 2004, shortly after handing in the manuscripts for what will be his legacy. Review from Publishers WeeklyLibrary staff recommendation: The characters are so compelling you just want to keep reading to learn more about them.
Not Your Ordinary Book Group member recommendation: This trilogy is great. Don't let the waiting list keep you from requesting this book. It's worth the wait.
Update from Jan: The waiting list on this book has finally subsided to a normal level, so please request the book if you're interested. You may just find it on the shelf. Also, I truly appreciate all your great comments. In response to an audiobook reminder, (thank you Anonymous, whoever you are) I've added a link to our audio record below.
Request The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from Bangor Public Library
Request The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Sound Recording) from the Bangor Public Library
I really liked this book and found it hard to put down. Although, I found myself a love/hate relationship with the main character.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie for this first because I couldn't get a copy from BPL for awhile. But after seeing the film I was dying to read it and it was well worth it. It's definitely more in your face as far as violence and crimes against women than your average American novel but I enjoyed the whodunnit of the decades old case of a missing person. I fell in love with the two main characters and their need to learn the truth and seek out justice. I'm excited to read The Girl Who Played With Fire (book #2) in the trilogy, see that movie and continue on with the Lisbeth and Mikael's journey in the search for justice against those who's gross crimes have gone unpunished for far too long. This isn't a superhero trilogy by any means, but more of a political, cat and mouse thriller.
ReplyDeleteThese books are great on audio, too.
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