The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Well, I just finished reading this book a couple of minutes ago and let me tell you, what a ride! First let me introduce you all to my reading schedule. I rarely have time to devote myself solely to reading a book, therefore I am left with carrying my kindle around and reading as I travel from one boring place to another. This time however, was unlike the rest.
For those who know me this will not come as much of a surprise. I picked this book up on a whim. I usually dislike going with the hive mind and reading whatever is the “hot” thing out there - I swear, the next person who tries to shove the Twilight series down my throat will get smacked - but I digress. Let’s talk about the novel shall we?
The novel starts out a little slow, which is not very common for criminal novels, but proves to be extremely engaging. Our protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is as promiscuous as they come with at least a couple of pages describing his unusual relationship with his mistress. I just wish that was as far as it went though. If you, like me, is sensitive to grotesque, abusive, cringing and overly vivid depictions of abuse this book is not for you. Apparently the author bore witness to a brutal rape at a younger age which scarred him, these undertones are VERY present in this novel.
When writing about books I’ve read I tend to dissuade from posting the actual story. I think it’s unfair for me to detract you from an unadulterated reading experience, but, there were moments which I sincerely thought of erasing this book from my kindle and just repressing the brutal scenery it imprinted on my mind. After finishing it however I am now certain that this was exactly what the author wanted to happen.
THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
The one thing that I think reviews are leaving out is how well constructed the supporting character is. Stieg Larson has accomplished something very few writers were able to, he characterized emotions in the form of Lisbeth Salander in a form only a few geniuses have been able to (Leo Tolstoy for instance). Lisbeth Salander brings an emotional baggage out of me that I cannot begin to explain. Even though our journeys have been (drastically) different I can feel her pain and understand her reactions throughout the entire book with the exception of some very specific situations which I have been blessed not to be a part of my life.
It is difficult for me to talk about Lisbeth without spoiling the novel. Even though I had the plot twist figured out as soon as it was presented there was no possible way for me to prove my idea. Stieg then leads the reader into so many weaves and connections that you cannot help but to be completely immersed in this mystery. The problem is, the mystery is just a glaring wall in which Larson uses to keep his most disturbing revelations protected behind its shadows and that bothered me. I am sure that the second book will dive deeper into the history of Lisbeth and how she came to be the way she is, but I could not help but be completely helpless while reading through the situations she put herself in. I know because I’ve been there - You will have to read the novel to know what I am talking about - the shell has been broken and you have been disappointed, what now? I’ll be honest and say that I’ll be reading the second book just because I want to know how she’ll deal with the situation. Will the novel evolve from a mystery-thriller into a romantic-thriller? Well, my purchase of the second ebook just went through with Amazon, I just hope that this time around Stieg will go easy on me.
p.s. I am not a wimp. Seriously. If you read through the first section of the book and was not disgusted by the actions of Advokat Bjurman then by all means e-mail me. I will arrange to have you institutionalized a.s.a.p.
