The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The characters and themes feel inexplicably real, which makes you want to rally behind the characters. Along with these themes we get a sense of what the social structure in Sweden is (or was) like. The book deals with some heavy subject matter such as rape, child abuse and corruption. The title of the book is based on Lisbeth, who is described as a reserved young lady who has been subject to sexual abuse. Lisbeth presented in-depth research on Blomkvist himself at the request of Henrik Vanger. Along the way, Blomkvist enlists the help of introvert hacker Lisbeth Salander.

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Venger – the uncle of the missing person – to write a history of the Vanger family while also trying to solve the cold case in secret. Somehow, Stieg Larsson was able to create characters that are all unique and filled a specific purpose.Īt the heart of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery, revolving around the disappearance (and assumed murder) of Harriet Vanger that occurred 30 years prior to the story. This problem solves itself as you get around a quarter of the way through the book however. With it being a foreign book, it was particularly tough for me to keep track of the characters seeing as so many with them began with the same letter. The start of this book presented me with so many characters that I had to make note of them to remember who was who.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a book I would describe as having a slow start, but a satisfying build and conclusion.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson