Sunday, November 20, 2011

Book Review- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson



The lead character as the title indicates, is a woman of strong character - Lisabeth Salander. She is a security analyst by profession who is given the assignment of assisting Mikael Blomkvist. Mikael Blomkvist is the co-publisher of the magazine Millennium. He is accused of committing libel, though innocent. He decides to take time out of his postion from the magazine, during which he is contacted by Henrik Vanger, the industrialist and power magnet behind the Vanger Corporation. Henrik Vanger, now 83, is mystified by the disappearence of a girl in his family 40 years back. He believes that she was murdered by one of his own family members. Blomkvist is appointed to solve the mystery behind her disappearence. Though not a professional investigator, he accepts the assignment with great skepticism. A journalist by profession, Blomkvist investigates into the case along wid Salander and makes shocking revelations about the day Harrriet Vanger went missing. Lisabeth Salander is appointed to assist Blomkvist further along the investigation.

As the book progresses, we are pulled deeper and deeper into a dark secret that threatens the very existence of the Vanger Corporation itself. The hacking of Lisabeth Salander into the most complicated of computer networks would be admired by the readers. The entire plot can be compared to a jigsaw puzzle with pieces scattered here and there that falls together to form the bigger picture. The climax would leave the readers guessing and astounded when the truth is finally revealed. Lisabeth Salander comes across as one of the strongest female characters that we may have across in fictional history. Though portayed as a hostile character in the beginning, she quickly earns a warm place in the hearts of readers.

One of the only drawbacks I felt while reading this book was keeping up with the members of the vast Vanger family. A large family with a lot of Vangers dead or living across the country is a bit difficult to keep track of, but even that is simplified through graphic representations of a family tree.

A definite must read if you are one who loves suspense and crime thrillers. It would keep you engrossed right from the beginning to the very end. The fact that the author, Stieg Larsson, did not live upto see the success that his work had become strikes a chord throughout our minds.

2 comments:

  1. Nice work, Ammu. I haven't read the book, only seen the Dutch movie. And therefore couldn't judge the book. You could have made it better by adding the misogynism theme followed in the book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ Akoz Thanks a lot for the feedback :) I will keep that in mind when writing reviews for the sequels of the book. And you should try the book, its much better than the movie.

    ReplyDelete

Your feedback is always appreciated! Thank you!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...