Sex, Murder and "That's a really nice tattoo. No, I'm serious"

Title: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor)
Country: Sweden

Author: Stieg Larsson (1954-2004)

I saw this book on my friend's (Katy) virtual shelf and I was curious about it because (1) she gave it a very good review and (2) I wonder why is there a dragon tattoo on a woman's back. Anyway, I asked Katy if it was really a worth read and she said it was, though she warned me about the physical and sexual violence. I'm not really a sissy when it comes to physical violence, except if it's really gross (like the one in horror/gore movies) but I'm pretty much disgusted when it comes to sexual violence, well sometimes. This is to say that I have a potential to become a serial killer but not a serial rapist. LOL! Though if I'll be given a chance to become invisible for 24 hours but have to do either Kill or Rape, I think I'll rape like a madman than resort to a killing spree. Naah, I'm just kidding. But seriously, if I'll be given a chance, I'll weigh my options. LOL!
I think everyone who have read this book will agree on one thing: Stieg's gone a little too far on the details. At first I thought it's kinda annoying and unnecessary. Annoying in a sense that some of the details were not really crucial to the story, hence they were quite unnecessary. But at some point, I enjoyed reading those extra details. I even copied the Vanger Family Tree, took down notes and add some of my personal thoughts because it can get really confusing so it's helpful to jot down notes but it was really enjoying to keep track of the details.

The plot consists of two major mysteries, the first was the case of Harriet Vanger and second was the mystery about the Wennerström affair.The hero, Mikael Blomkvist, is a journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium. Portrayed as a ladies man, Blomkvist was convicted of libel because of his accusations to Hans-Erik Wennerström. However, Blomkvist's real mission is to solve a murder case that took place some forty years ago. The niece of Henrik Vanger, Harriet Vanger, was, according to Henrik's theory, murdered by a greedy and petty Vanger. This was the starting point of a fast-paced thrilling story of greed, lust and killing sprees. Now I know what Katy meant when she said "It has a lot of physical and sexual violence". What really sad is the fact that these things actually happened and it was stated in the stats in the book.

"Forty-six percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to violence by a man."
"Thirteen percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to aggravated sexual assault
outside of a sexual relationship."
"Ninety-two percent of women in Sweden who have been subjected to sexual assault have not
reported the most recent violent incident to the police."

These numbers were really disturbing. That's not how you treat a woman.

But what captures me is the heroine of the story, Lisbeth Salander. A victim of sexual abuse herself, Salander is an intelligent hacker and apparent partner of Blomkvist in solving the Harriet Murder Case. Lisbeth was a very likable character, she was honest to her feelings and a one tough punk. She was the first and most original heroine of crime and mystery.

I have also watched a film adaptation of the book and I'd say the movie was brilliant. It captures the essence of the book and and it gave justice to the characters, especially Lisbeth Salander. It couldn't get any more perfect. The one who portrayed Blomkvist kinda off to be Blomkvist, I imagined a more handsome actor. The girl who played the young Harriet Vanger was more than perfect! She's exactly like the one I imagined as Harriet. I like Julia Sporre (Harriet Vanger) because she gave justice to the character and she's soooooo beautiful (and uber hot)! Just look at the picture at the right and you'll know what I'm talking about. She has one hell of a beautiful face.


All in all, I'd say this book kicks effin ass! I'm looking forward to read the sequel (The Girl Who Played with Fire) and the the sequel of the sequel (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest). Stieg was a genius and he deserved all the praises. Good job Stieg and may you rest in peace.

Rating: 9.6/10
*Images: Book Cover of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; Harriet Vanger (from the film adaptation)

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