I just finished “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. I’m arriving late to the Larsson party; it seems this book published in Sweden under the title, “Men Who Hate Women”, has sold 8 Million since its release in 2005. It is now an International Best Seller. The release of its English translation in the US in 2008 has been causing quite a stir but I was unaware of this commotion until the movie caught my eye at Blockbuster. After watching the movie… twice… it was time to read the book. I felt compelled to know the back story as I was so intrigued by a movie plotline that could take me from anger to compassion to revulsion to tears. That was the movie. And since doing the movie/book switch has its pros and cons…sometimes you like the movie better sometimes you like the book… I was uncertain. The last time I’ve been this excited to read a book after a movie came in 1991 when the lambs were screaming. I came home from the movie and read the Thomas Harris thriller in one sitting. And again this time with a visual of the faces and places in my head I found the book thoroughly entertaining. The movie by my estimation was true enough to the book…there are some deviations but nothing sufficient to cry foul. I liked that.
So it’s not clear if I can give this book 5 stars (as so many have) for its literary prowess and entertainment value since, for me, the movie provided so much help with regard to the character and scene development. But I will tell you that although I didn’t read it in one sitting I was very close. I turned the pages even though I knew the outcome in advance. Larsson was onto a winning formula and touched just the right balance of history, violence, mystery, technology, sex, and yes…coffee drinking, to etch a new character into my brain…the girl with the dragon tattoo. So Clarice Starling, please make room for Lisbeth Salander, your Swedish crime solving alter-ego. I will definitely pick up the next books in this series soon.
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