The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Obviously the hype is pretty intense - it seems everyone is reading or has read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Entertainment Weekly even made the series its cover story a few weeks ago, which is totally out of character for that publication. Usually "entertainment" is strictly film or television for EW, not a book (though they do devote a few pages each issue to new and noteworthy novels). Of course this current frenzy is being fueled by the recent publication of the third installment in Larsson's series and rumors that Dragon Tattoo is going to be made into an American film (a Swedish version exists already) staring any number of famous actors (I'm rooting for Daniel Craig and Carey Mulligan).

I figured I couldn't avoid reading it and that it would be compelling from the start. Though the first chapter was captivating, it took me a while to get into the novel. The first 80 pages or so skip around between a variety of character perspectives - so much so that I didn't know whose story I was supposed to care about. Ultimately, I didn't trust the author.

Plus it was full of what I saw as a dry diatribe on the inner workings of the Swedish financial system. Cue snoozing noise.

I was so lost in Larsson's narration that I completely spaced out when the title character was introduced. It finally dawned on me a few pages later and I had to go back and re-read. Not a good sign.

I told myself to stick it out, though I put the book down for days at a time. I had just finished the newest Sookie Stackhouse and longed to keep reading books for their entertainment value, not because someone else told me it was good. Yah, well, Dante's Inferno is good too. You don't see me picking up that tome for a light summer read (which I tried once - I don't recommend it).

In fact, the only significant association I made in the first 80 or so pages was that I really wanted to go shop at IKEA (seriously, how many people and places in Sweden are the IKEA products named after, anyway?).

Then something happened. The stories came together and I started to see how everything was related. And Larsson dropped the bombshell - there really was a mystery to solve! It turns out that my patience had paid off. I couldn't put the book down and even found myself semi-annoyed at having to take care of things like the dishes when I could be turning the pages of that novel instead. It was definitely worth the read and, in retrospect, even worth the slow start (which contained many tidbits that were relevant later).

Well done, Larsson, well done.