#88793 - 12/29/09 12:05 PM
January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1580
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Happy soon-to-be New Year! I always wind up a little behind on creating the January thread, what with the mad holiday rush.
Our January selection is Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a multi-layered mystery thriller that juggles several intriguing questions at once: What happened to Harriet Vanger, a teen heiress who disappeared in a "locked room"-esque scenario more than 40 years prior to the novel's beginning? How can financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist prove once and for all that noted financier Hans-Erik Wennerstrom is a fraud and a swindler -- without being convicted of libel, again. And, finally, what happened to Lisbeth Salander to turn her into the brilliant, feral, eponymous "girl with the dragon tattoo"?
I'm about 1/3 of the way into the novel, and, leaving aside the financial blathering (which, I'm told, is pretty common in Swedish police procedurals, apparently), I'm completely fascinated by this book. I'm looking forward to discussing it, especially your takes on Lisbeth, who is one of the most compelling, and disturbing, characters I've ever encountered in fiction.
Discussion begins on January 15. See you then! Happy reading!
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#88801 - 12/30/09 01:18 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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Angiv
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/01/00
Posts: 1282
Loc: Scotland
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I bought this for my mother for Christmas mainly so that I could read it for the bookclub. I mean, she wanted it - it's not like I bought it just for me. Unfortunately, she hasn't started reading it yet, so I may be a little late to the party. I'm determined to get here though.
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#88804 - 12/30/09 01:44 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: Angiv]
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1580
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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So, a word of warning. If you're squeamish about graphic scenes of sexual assault and/or torture, you should not read this book. We'll have 11 more book club selections throughout the year for which you could join us. I'm sure that the rest of them won't be so grisly. Fascinating and compelling, yes, but grisly. Consider yourselves cautioned.
PSA over. All that said, I really enjoyed the book (to the point that I immediately ordered the next book in the series), and I'm looking forward to discussing it.
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#88805 - 12/30/09 04:37 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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CaitlinM2
Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 217
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
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Thanks for the PSA, LSUG. I read the book a while ago, and the horrible sexual violence is problematic to experience as a reader, so it's nice that others are forewarned. I look forward to the discussion (and as soon as it arrives from the UK, I will be reading the third and final book, so you can tell I've enjoyed them, too, despite the warnings).
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#88849 - 01/03/10 12:57 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: CaitlinM2]
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essay
Ching Shih
Registered: 08/18/01
Posts: 1507
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As I'm about thirty pages from the end, I can definitely say I'll be part of the discussion this time. Let's all remember the spoiler blackout tool so we don't ruin it for anyone when we have our no hold's barred discussion!
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#88854 - 01/03/10 08:15 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: essay]
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1580
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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CaitlinM, I'm glad you agree that the warning was apt. I was a little afraid that I was overreacting, but I also don't want to knowingly subject people to something they might be deeply disturbed by.
essay, I can't wait to start talking about it.
Anyone who wants to review the spoiler policy and the UBB code for spoiler tags, can check here:
http://tinyurl.com/2jb75g
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#88910 - 01/08/10 12:09 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1580
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Bump! Discussion starts in one week!
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#88978 - 01/15/10 07:31 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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L8sleeper
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/02/00
Posts: 108
Loc: New York, NY USA
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Today is the day right? In general I liked the book. I thought it could have been edited a bit - it was too long. It took me awhile to get into the book as I don't find the economics of the international construction industry that exciting. Once the mystery started things really picked up. I didn't see the big reveal coming, although I had figured out who killed Harriets father.
Lisbeth Salander is a very compelling character. I guess we have to wait for the second book to find out what All The Evil refers to. Judging by her reaction to what happened at her guardians house -- her hiding, thinking and planning -- and that many of the other characters think she projects a victim vibe; I'm guessing we're in for more story lines involving horrible sexual abuse. I like how she uses her brain and skills to get an advantage over those who have a perceived physical or legal power over her. While Salander is presented as somewhat of a societal outcast it was easier to relate to her than to Blomkvist. I didn't feel like I really got to know the character of Blomkvist. I certainly couldn't figure out what it was about him that made all the female characters fall into bed with him. He didn't come across as very charismatic. He seemed like a self centered person who took the people in his life for granted unless he needed them for something at that moment.
That's all I've got for now.
Edited by L8sleeper (01/15/10 07:32 PM)
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#88981 - 01/15/10 11:08 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: L8sleeper]
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essay
Ching Shih
Registered: 08/18/01
Posts: 1507
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I liked Blomkvist fine, but I also felt that the willingness of women to fall into his ideas for where they should fit in his life, well, was a male fantasy on Larsson's part. Especially Salander. I can see her being okay with a friendship with Blomkvist, but a deeper connection would seem to have taken a lot more time.
My other problem with the book was with the "locked room" element. In a classic mystery when you have an island, there really is no way on or off. But it was never clear why the search party hadn't checked people's trunks, so of course I felt like she could have gotten off the island and thought from the beginning that I would be quite disappointed to find out that she had gotten off the island, and of course I was. Also, that initial set up was weird with the flowers. Who would have taken the trouble to send them if not her. I would have thought her uncle would have been a bit more clued in than that.
All that said, I enjoyed the book and will read the others. I found the actual detection quite entertaining to follow and unlike many, I didn't find the initial development slow. It was interesting to see how all this libel stuff worked in Sweden, including jail time, and yet there was a statute of limitations on murder! Very different than here.
I'll also say that the personality of Larsson, who we now know quite a bit about, is very evident in the book, and as he seems to have been a very idealistic person, that's too the good.
Well, I look forward to others chiming in.
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#89007 - 01/17/10 11:39 PM
Re: January 2010 Selection: Girl w/Dragon Tattoo
[Re: essay]
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viva
Ching Shih
Registered: 09/06/03
Posts: 926
Loc: Houston TX
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I certainly enjoyed the book, and ripped through it in less than 2 days. I'm interested enough in Salander's backstory to have picked up Girl Who Played with Fire and will probably jump all over the third in the series.
I thought there were several flaws, chief among them the entire Wennerstrom plotline. Boring as hell, contrived, and just seemed to bookend the main Vanger storyline unnecessarily, although I understand there needed to be some motivation for Blomkvist to drop his life and go investigating in the middle of nowhere. I think someone upthread mentioned that this kind of financial intrigue was common in Scandinavian mysteries?
I also thought that there was a lot of unnecessarily graphic/lurid detail that wasn't needed to advance the plot. Designed to titillate?
A last minor quibble was the amount of detailed technical references to Apple computers, which (a) felt like promotional material and (b) will be obsolete and dated in about 2 years. More common for junky modern spy thrillers than a good timeless mystery, no?
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