The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This was our January's Group Read and I will be honest, I really had no desire to read it. So that MAY be why I wasn't 100 percent into it. Perhaps, a tad biased. But, I thought it was just okay.

This was a complex novel which had many characters to keep straight and multiple plot lines to follow. The main story line involves Mikael Blomkvist, a financial reporter, who has just been convicted of libel. He is contracted by Henrik Vanger to look into the disappearance of Vanger's niece Harriet, 30 odd years ago.

"Salander fitted into this picture as well as a buffalo at a boat show." (pg.
38)

Another story line includes Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant loner who works for a security firm and is introduced to the reader in snippets. The more you know about Lisbeth the more you wonder and I am anticipating that is why there are more books.

I also would have to say that the relationship that Blomkvist had with Erika Berger was quite interesting as well. It's hard to believe a relationship like their's would survive marriages and time without jealousy and with such great friendship.

"Sometimes they were together so often that it felt as though they really
were a couple; sometimes weeks and months would go by before they saw each
other. But even as alcoholics are drawn to the state liquor store after a
stint on the wagon they always came back to each other." (pg. 62)

To say much more, I unfortunately feel as though I would give too much away and part of the point of reading the book is for the storylines to slowing reveal themselves. The slowly revealing themselves part partly is the reason why I was not a huge fan.

The writing was brilliant, I actually learned more about Sweden than I knew before, and it inspired me to research more about Sweden, however I could barely keep going. I honestly think the only reason I kept going was because I wanted to know more about Lisbeth. I figured out most of 'mystery' before it was fully revealed and was as disgusted and over the Vangers as Mikael was by the time THAT wrapped up. And sadly, even Lisbeth was disappointing me towards the end.

Perhaps discussing the book with someone else would help. I will say that I would probably enjoy the book in movie form. Not sure when or if I will pick up The Girl Who Played With Fire.

Anyone agree? Disagree? Want to talk? Leave comments / questions and I will respond.

Teaser Tuesday - The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo

With that, the subject was exhausted, and not another word was exchanged
for almost a minute. The retired policeman leaned back in his kitchen
chair and drew on his pipe. He knew he was no longer expected to come up
with a pithy comment or any sharp question which would shed a new light on the
case. pg - 4

Just picked it up from BN yesterday. I used the rest of my gift card. I feel so torn because I really want to finish Alias Grace, which is slow moving but good and I read the first chapter of this because I felt as though it deserved a post soon since it was our book of the month. Got lots of reading to catch up on. :)

Here is a good review for the book from a blog I read..

So, what are your thoughts so far? How far along are you? Favorite part? Thing you want to share?

If you are interested in guest blogging about this book contact me at pinkflipflops44 at gmail dot com.

After two votes.. the winner for January's Group Read is..

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is written by Stieg Larsson and is the first in a triology. I know my local library has at least one copy in our recent releases section and it should not be hard to come by this either thru amazon or other used and/or new bookstores!

Amazon has Publishers Weekly review which states:

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. 100,000 first printing. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The other two in the series are The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Thank you for all of your votes and patience as we had a lot of new interest this month. And thank you to those who have twittered or spotlighted me on your blog. I appreciate it! If anyone would be interested in guest posting about this month's book, be it insight, questions or a review email me at pinkflipflops44 at gmail dot com !

Later tonight I will post the 10 books I will be reading from my TBR list determined by you the readers and the winner of the Bananagrams game!

Happy Reading!