First of all, I have a request. Or maybe it’s more of an order.
DO NOT GO WATCH THE MOVIE.
I’ve had this book sitting on my bookshelf for more than three years. In that time, I’ve been meaning to read it, but have never gotten around to it.
Then my husband saw a trailer for the movie, and we went to it in theaters. Worst decision ever. Granted, it was the 2011 movie with Daniel Craig, and not the one made in 2009, which I’ve heard is better.
Nevertheless, I put off reading the book more, because of how much I disliked the movie. Finally, I pulled it off the shelf for my trip to my younger brother’s wedding in Phoenix two weeks ago.
Lo and behold, I actually liked the book.
It’s more a mystery than anything. In the movie, there was always the mystery involved, but the movie concentrated a lot more on Lisbeth, the girl who in my opinion has anti-social personality disorder, and her struggles with violent males. The book concentrates a lot more on Mikael, the main male character, and his search for the missing girl, Harriet.
Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:
Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch—and there’s always a catch—is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson’s novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don’t want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.
I really enjoyed the novel. While Larsson deals with some pretty heavy issues, and the crimes Mikael finds are some pretty evil ones, the book is very well written and engrossing. The characters are interesting – definitely not perfect – and now I want to pick up the second and third book and see where Larsson goes from here.
I was very sad to read, in the “About the Author,” that Larsson died in 2004, shortly after delivering the manuscripts for the three books in the series to the publisher.
In short, don’t judge a book by its movie.
Find it on: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
I'm a lover of writing and books. I graduated from South Dakota State with a master's degree in communications in 2011, the same year I was first published. I'm a wife and mom, and I work in content and digital marketing in South Dakota.
Me and my writing life 
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