Book Thoughts: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

So I finally got caught up in Steig-mania after dodging these books for a few years now. I'd occasionally walked in the room to see someone watching one of the Swedish films or have one of the books tucked in their bag or on their shelves but it wasn't until the recent release of the Finicher version and the corresponding Trent Reznor soundtrack that my curiosity was finally piqued enough to consider trying it out.

All I really knew about the book was that it was a murder mystery about a journalist investigating a cold case with the help of a bizarre autistic biker chick. I had also heard that the content was ultra-violent to the point of excess and that it had affected the quality of the novel.

So before watching either version of the movie I obtained a copy of the book and tore through it over the course of a few days and while it is fairly violent, I still found the book to be enjoyable.

The book isn't exactly high fiction, it reads quite quickly and indulges itself a bit in its love for how brilliant Lisbeth Salander is, the actual solving of the mystery is what managed to keep my attention. As hero Mikel Blomkvist is a writer and not a detective, I found his approach to be quite similar to what I imagine mine would be. With little bits of interrogation, Blomkvist relies heavily on examining archival materials, particularly photographs and tracing these materials backwards to find additional information. Intuition is replaced by hours of examination and a little bit of luck before with the help of Salander, he manages to crack the case and save the day.

I haven't viewed the movies yet, but I'd be curious to wonder how reactions to the book are tied to what portions of the story they were most interested in. I found the actual mysteries and political intrigue aspects to be entertaining and resolved quite thoroughly, Blomkvist's life also seems to find its happy ending, but I can see why those who were enamored with and cheering for Salander might be disappointed. Although from what I understand, she is the lead in the next two books, which means her story is only beginning.

I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said, so if you're curious about the book, I'd definitely give it a shot, but if you've already passed on it, I don't think anything will change your mind at this point.