Title: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson
Number of pages: 644
Published: Vintage, 2009
Rating: 2 out of 5
I’m so disappointed.
It wasn’t until page 642 that I really enjoyed this book. Not until I got to some of the unlocking of the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s heart, and there was a lot to suffer before I got there:
- a long, boring, tedious beginning hinting at some case for libel that journalist Blomqvist made pertaining to some businessman that we neither know, or care, about.
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a somewhat magically solved chain of events, that were long drawn out, pertaining to the Venger family’s huge dysfunctionality.
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the way that Blomqvist, our alleged hero, can commit himself to neither female: his long time lover and co-worker, who’s already married, or Salander with her tattoo and broken life.
I love mysteries. I love thrillers. I love the race through a compelling novel of crime and intrigue such as I found in The Bourne Identity. Or, The Death of A Red Heroine. I had greatly anticipated such a read with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, especially after reading accolades not only from the blog-o-sphere, but from The Washington Post and The New York Times. The later two are especially trustworthy sources, no? No. My summary:
“It was a brick of a book, 608 pages in paperback.” (p. 626)
Alas, I couldn’t have said it better myself, Stieg.
Dolce Bellezza 