The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005) – Stieg Larsson
Translated by Reg Keeland
Mildly intriguing yet ultimately disappointing, read only if you love dark trashy mysteries.
Quality: 4
Plot: 6
Style: 4
Entertainment: 6
Depth: 4
= 4.8
Why such a low score? I'll explain. The first book in the astoundingly popular Millennium Series, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a dark mystery thriller. Despite this label, there is nothing thrilling about the opening of the book.
We are introduced to the two main protagonists who show promise, but are ultimately disappointing.
Firstly, the journalist Blomkvist. Virtuous, confident and resilient, Larsson tries to create a man anyone could like. In the midst of crime and confusion, he is simple and honest. The only hint of realistic passion stems from his desire to expose the corruption of those pesky fat-cat bankers. Despite being tested and stretched, his vanilla good-guy persona still comes across as bland, forgettable and faintly obnoxious.
Then there is Salander, the hacker anti-hero. A damaged outcast, the tattooed punk girl is supposed to be the cool edgy foil to middle of the road Blomkvist. She is an independent, feisty genius with serious self-esteem issues. Instead of being won over by her self-sufficiency and no-nonsense attitude, you end up half-heartedly pitying her childish vulnerability and severe social ineptitude. Her character is potentially interesting but soon becomes a tedious chore to read about.
The mystery itself is meticulously presented. It is undeniably an intriguing puzzle, however the narrative is repetitive with plot-establishing details and tiring overemphasis on its apparent uncrackability. There is only one memorable scene in an otherwise dull first half.
Thankfully, the pace does quicken and the story reveals its gripping talons. The pages start to fly by before a surprisingly swift resolution underwhelms the reader. Initial excitement soon wears thin following a climax which relies on shock and action to make up for its lack of ingenuity.
At this point a significant portion of the story still remains, and you wonder where it might lead. Hopes are sadly dashed as the conclusion reverts to a languid pace and is diminished by its insipid predictability.
It's hard to tell how much of the book's simplistic narrative style is due to Larsson's journalistic voice or Keeland's translation. At times the wording also seems clumsy and rushed. An example: “Eighteen percent of the women in Sweden have at one time been threatened by a man.” Call me a pernickety pedant, but that definite article – the women - rings foreign and unnecessary. Furthermore, this moment of weakness is emphasised by inconsistency – with a later sentence reading “Ninety-two percent of women in Sweden...”.
Perhaps I'm picking nits. This novel is about violence against women and the courage to fight injustice, right? It is hailed as such and it does vaguely raise the profile of these problems, but it is much more a cash cow which plays on popular fascination with serial killers and the hidden darkness of seemingly idyllic small-town life.
With this book Larsson makes a token effort to address some moral issues, but never delves deep enough to provoke any enlightening discussion. Avoid it if you like innovative or insightful crime drama. If, however, you can't get enough gruesome violence, religious insanity and eyebrow-raising action, then this trashy mystery is right up your alley.
