The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Plot Summary:

This book opens on Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged financial reporter, during one of the worst days of his life. He has lost a libel case against one of Sweden's titans of industry. Mikael is facing prison time and a hefty fine that will drain every last drop of his savings. He receives a mysterious call a few days later offering a partial solution to his problem. When Mikael arrives in Hedestad, three hours outside of Stockholm, he meets with Henrik Vanger, an old industrialist from Sweden’s past, who needs help.

Henrik’s niece went missing in 1966, and he is convinced someone inside the family committed the murder and disposed of the body. Mikael’s job is simple, examine all the evidence from the 40 year old case and attempt to solve a crime, which may or may not have happened, while interviewing the Vanger family who may, or may not, want to talk to him. If, at the end of a year, Mikael has not solved the case he will receive a sizable paycheck for his time. If he happens to discover what really happened back in 1966 he will receive a payment that would change his life.

Mikael is a good reporter who chews up data and spits out stories, but he’s no match for the sheer volume of research needed to examine the case from every angle. He is eventually connected with Lisbeth Salander, a techno punk “kid” half his age with piercings, a short haircut, and a standoffish attitude toward the world. Together the unlikely pair cracks the case and shares a shocking truth with the Vanger family, and the world.

Impression:

I’m old enough to remember when this book first came out. It seemed to be everywhere and everyone was reading it. As a reluctant contrarian, and someone who gravitates more toward the fantastical than the factual, I dismissed this book thinking, “if everyone likes it, how good can it be?” I’d like to go back in time and smack myself upside the head.

This book is fantastic. It is the kind of story that will revitalize a person’s love of reading when they have hit a dry spell.

It should come as no surprise that the characters are the best part of this book. The author creates characters with gravitas and makes them feel alive and important to the progress of the story. What caught my attention was the strength so many of the characters showed. When we first meet Lisbeth Salander she is a tough young woman taking care of herself and not letting anyone take advantage of her. When she’s faced with an authority figure abusing his power she carries out a plan to ensure that she is the last one to ever suffer at this person’s hand. Later in the story we learn that there is another man in authority who is abusing his power, and the righteous anger Lisbeth feels spurs her forward instead of letting fear of the familiar situation hold her back. Likewise, when Mikael is forced to serve jail time for libel he doesn’t stop being a curious journalist. Instead, he pursues a new story with focus and dedication and ultimately does what no one else could do for 40 years.

Being a thriller, the breadcrumb trail of clues and information is equally as important as the characters. A disappointing number of thrillers and mysteries clumsily reveal key points, or provide information that turns out to be unrelated to the mystery at all (do I hear Chekhov shouting about a gun?) Not so with this story. Each piece of information is carefully dosed out, and I felt like a junkie needing another fix. I stayed up late and woke up early to read this book. I took time off work to read this book (jk). I stuffed my Kindle in a Ziploc bag so I could read in the shower.. All because Mr. Larsson masterfully laid out a near-perfect narrative for his readers.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, whether they enjoy thrillers or not. There are no jump scares, no sense of foreboding or anxiety that something bad is going to happen at any second. Instead it is a story that thrives on the power of the characters and the expert crafting of the story to keep readers going long after they should have been in bed.