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|  | Author: Stieg Larsson
Creator: Reg Keeland
Publisher: Vintage
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $5.39
as of 3/20/2010 03:57 CDT details
You Save: $9.56 (64%)
New (98) Used (64) Collectible (1) from $4.74
Seller: BooksofElizabeth
Rating:  894 reviews
Sales Rank: 3
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: Trade Paperback Edition
Pages: 608
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0307454541
Dewey Decimal Number: 839.738
EAN: 9780307454546
ASIN: 0307454541
Publication Date: June 23, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 894
Surprisingly Good March 13, 2010
A Reader (Zembla)
Everyone I knew was reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". None of them could put it down. They devoured it. I was intrigued by the spell this author cast on these readers. What's his secret? I had to know.
So I read it myself. Surprisingly, I couldn't seem to get into it until about the 200-page mark. And, no, not because he spends a lavish amount of time on the legal troubles of the magazine and the perils of financial journalism. (I rather enjoyed that part.) I just found all the principal characters . . . well, unlikeable. Lisabeth Salander is anti-social at face-value. The writer presents her as hard-to-like. (So I don't count that against the novel.) But Mikael Blomkvist, the main character--the man through whose eyes we experience the story--is an unscrupulous scoundrel. He sleeps with another man's wife, immediately cheats on her with an older woman, and then--for no reason whatsoever--sleeps with Salander (a rape victim, young enough to be his daughter). He's an exceptionally sleazy guy with absolutely no conscience--so it's particularly grating when he hypocritically rants on about morality when it comes to the financier Wennerstrom. Likewise with his soapbox (and paternalistic) preaching about violence-against-women.
The guy is as amoral as they come, yet he demands morality from others, without the slightest moment of cognitive dissonance (or self-awareness) on his part.
Additionally, Larsson makes rookie mistakes as a writer when he takes things too far. Like when he cheesily makes Salander have a "photographic memory". Anyone conversant with the subject knows that only about 3 people in all history have had a documented "photographic memory". It's extraordinarily rare. So when he gives the attribute to Salander, it just comes off as silly. (We already liked her at that point. So he should have left well-enough alone. But he threw in that cheese, and added a blemish to an otherwise wonderful character.) Likewise when he has her mention her habit of finishing equations in astrophysics (after dozens of references throughout the book where people assume she's mentally disabled). We get that she has a mind. You don't have to throw in embarrassing stuff like "astrophysics". Reminded me of an axiom from film-making. When a famous director saw a ham over-acting, he'd simply say "Less!"
At those moments when Larsson did that, I felt like saying, "Less!"
But this is all mere quibbling. The story itself is wonderful, gripping and fresh. (I just wish I liked Blomkvist more and didn't find him to be such an obnoxious moral hypocrite and self-righteous prig.)
 Very exciting Swedish thriller March 12, 2010
Medb M. Sichko (Boston, MA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was a bit slow starting up but then I couldn't put it down. My book group read it and everybody commented that the book was addictive. People found themselves sneaking off to read it at 2 in the morning. I found Steig Larrson a very appealing writer. In fact, I got a crush on him as I was reading. The book is more than just a thriller; the characters have some real depth. And I love all the Swedish places and names. The book makes you want to take a vacation in Sweden. I'm now in the middle of the second book, "The Girl who Played with Fire," also terrific.
Tremendous Mystery! Salander Is a Transcendent Female Character March 12, 2010
Claudine Wolk (www.help4newmoms.com)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Salander, the transcendent female character created by Steig Larson, is a breakthrough for female literary protagonists. What's more - she's really fun to read about. Larson tells an compelling story in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The story is set in Sweden amidst the financial & magazine publishing world. Blomkvist, a most likable reporter, has been recently busted for a journalist no-no. Apparently, he wrote an article full of charges against a formidable company that he simply can not prove. In his despair, he takes an unlikely job, working for the head of a major corporation who wants Blomkvist to write his family's memoirs as a ruse to uncovering some family secrets long since buried.
As Blomkvist starts to make progress on the mystery, upsetting the extended family in the process, and finds himself in need of the very specific skills of Salander. They meet, they work together and they tussle a bit. Read the book to see how this unlikely pair attempt to solve the mystery and turn their own personal and professional lives around in the process.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is perfectly paced and painstakingly developed mystery complete with suspense and romance. You are going to love it. Luckily the Salander character makes a reappearance in Larson next two books. Lucky us!
Loved the Book! March 12, 2010
Show Me State Book Lover (Jefferson City, MO)
This book was chosen for a book club choice so that is why I started reading it. We realized it was part of a trilogy but were only going to read the first book. It took me a bit to get into the book but once I got past about 40 pages I was hooked. We have now decided to read the second book for another month's book club choice. I would recommend this book highly!
Fast paced thriller with real characters March 12, 2010
Playful Red
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Rarely do I stay up late reading. In this case, I did. The case is an intriguing who-done-it, wrapped up in some historical information (Sweden, nazis, etc) and an interesting, entertaining, beguiling view of the high tech world. Good character development, rarely seen in who-done-its. I look forward to reading the next book.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 894
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