The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Is it overrated?

[Alicia Dean]

I admit I haven't read this book in its entirety, but I couldn't get past the first few pages. I wonder if it's just me, or if it's overrated, or if it's worthwhile to stick with it. The head hopping and poorly written beginning put me off, but apparently, this book resonated with TONS of readers. I understand it was translated, so that could be part of the problem with it. Opinions?

[MH Sargent]

Everyone has different tastes. As for the poorly written complaint, you have to remember it is translated into English. So it might come across as awkward at points. That said, I found this entire series to be excellent and I'd ask you to stay with it for a bit. I think you'll reach a point where you find you are really enjoying it.

[Ann in Arlington]

I've read the first 2 and quite enjoyed them.  The 3rd is queued up, but I'm not sure how soon I'll get to it.

[SylviaLucas]

The few people I've talked to who have read it said they had a really hard time getting into, and then staying with, it. (However, I've heard the movie is fantastic. Is it bad taste to talk about movies in the Kindle forums?)

[mooshie78]

Not at all.  I think it's a fantastic series.  Love the story and characters.

As we've been discussing in the "I'm struggling..." thread on here, the first book does start out slow.  The first 100 pages or so are a bit of a slog with too much detail on the Vanger family history, the financial case that got Mikael sued for libel etc.  But after that it picks up and is a great read through the rest of the trilogy.

All IMHO of course.  Everyone has different tastes and there are plenty of people who won't like the series at all period.

One caution I'd throw out is that it is a very dark book with a lot of graphic violence, sex, rape etc., as I know some have posted that they don't like books/movies with that type of content.  So just a fair warning to those who like to steer clear of such content.

[Masha du Toit]

What Mooshie says about sex and violence is true.  A very disturbing book. I thought it was excellent though.  The abuse is not just there for thrills, it is central to the plot.  I did not find the beginning slow at all though, so maybe my taste is very different from yours

[Beth Dolgner]

I agree with Mooshie about the beginning being slow. I had a hard time getting into the book, and just couldn't connect with Lisbeth, but the second half flew by once things really got moving. I liked it well enough to go see the movie, but not well enough that I've bothered to read the second book yet.

[tinytoy]

There is about 100 pages of back-story and I found it somewhat difficult to get through the beginning, but I stuck with it because I was told the story gets better.  And it does; I very much enjoyed the book and am glad I stuck with it.  I am just now about to start the second book in the series. 

[mooshie78]

The second book is my favorite in the series.

And there's nothing in the 2nd or 3rd book like that 100 page stretch of backstory to start the first one.

[tinytoy]

This may sound a bit pathetic but I found that watching the movie trailer motivated me to get through the beginning of the book.  It was kind of like a promise that the story was to get good.  haha   

[Jen Black]

I  started and gave up on the Dragon Tattoo - so slow and not getting anywhere. Then a friend said keep going just a little longer, once it gets to X it really lets rip. So when I found the 3 volumes sitting on a friend's shelves, I started again (where I'd left off the first time!) and my friend was right - it did go off with a bang from about two pages further on. After that I romped through volume two and then volume three, each with their own theme and very different from the preceeding volume. What a pity the author died before he saw his success.

The books are long and extremely detailed, but most of it is interesting. I think I just wasn't in tune to the idea of long, involved stories when I first tried reading, but I soon got back into it and it paid dividends - I can remember those plots and incidents, where I often forget a lighter book a couole of weeks after I've finished it. So I would say, keep plugging away, skip a paragraph or two if it helps, but don't give up on the books.  They're worth it.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

As an aside, I think whether or not a book is overrated or underrated is largely dependent on your subjective opinion of it. As George Carlin said, "Have you ever notice that everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, and everyone who drives faster than you is a maniac?"

[jmiked]

"Have you ever notice that everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, and everyone who drives faster than you is a maniac?"

I'm glad someone else noticed. 

Mike

[Brad Murgen]

Definitely stick with it, even if the beginning is slow.  I felt the same and wondered what everyone was raving about, but once you get past the setup and history, it moves along quite fast and you won't be able to put them down.

[KindleChickie]

Count me as someone who is interested, bought the whole series, but cannot for the life of me get past the first of the first book.  I even watched the movies, still can get into the first one.

I think, maybe, there is a culture difference.  I guess libel cases are big deals in other parts of the world.  Here they just don't even make news.  So the first book starts with a court case that means nothing here.  And it goes on way too long.  But it took me months to get past the first part were he goes into detail about packages and flowers.

[Jan Strnad]

It seemed as if he started out to write one book, introduced Lisbeth, and then she hijacked the novel.

I found it very slow going at first with a terrific middle, and an epilogue that was too long and anticlimactic. The movie threw out a lot of the opening stuff and compressed the epilogue, both excellent decisions, IMO.

[Debra Purdy Kong]

This discussion is pretty close to mixed comments I've heard from others. Most of the people I've talked to about it agree that the story takes a while to really get into. I've seen all three movies, though, and thought they were terrific. They make me want to read the books, long beginnings notwithstanding!

[Borislava Borissova]

First I watched the Swedish movies based on the books and they made me yearning to read the books. Usually I like books more than movies but this time I have had an interesting experience. Some parts of the books I like more, some parts of the movie are stronger and better than the written story. Overall there is what to be learnt, to be taken despite it left me sad about all violence and abuse in our world.

[SawyerKing]

I couldn't get through the first few pages, which surprised me, considering all the hype. But I did enjoy the movie.

[CraigInTwinCities]

I admit I haven't read this book in its entirety, but I couldn't get past the first few pages. I wonder if it's just me, or if it's overrated, or if it's worthwhile to stick with it. The head hopping and poorly written beginning put me off, but apparently, this book resonated with TONS of readers. I understand it was translated, so that could be part of the problem with it. Opinions?

My wife didn't like it, even though she forced herself through it.

I went a few pages in, and decided I had better books to devote my reading time to.

Highly overrated, IMO.

[DGFall]

I have read all three. I did not have any difficulty getting started. They made me neglect some chores that I was working on. Wonderful series.

[mscott9985]

I think that if I'd gotten this book from the library instead of buying it, I would have given up after the first few pages, but since I bought it, I hung with it.  Overall, I thought the story itself (the mystery) was terrific, and I also enjoyed the setting.  At the same time, however, I had a lot of trouble with the sex/violence thing.  I never did read the second book because of the teaser for it at the end of the first one.  B-r-r-r...

My hubby and I saw the American movie last week, and I liked it a great deal.  In fact, I liked it so much that I may actually read the second book after all.

[tamaraheiner]

I commented a little about this on another post, but in respect for the dead, I'll keep my thoughts to myself on this one.

[Meemo]

I said this in the other thread about "Dragon Tattoo", but it's almost like two different books.  The first few chapters (and I don't remember now how far in I got before it got interesting) are like a dry financial report, with some other stuff thrown in to introduce the characters.  But there's a point where he gets past all that, and suddenly you're reading a "different" book with interesting characters, sex, violence, a mystery being solved, etc.  Even in the 2nd book, at times it feels like there's almost some product placement going on, and he goes on much too long about technical details of computers, Ikea furniture, and I finally googled Billy's Pan Pizza to see if it really exists (it does).  Some editing would've been good, and I suspect if Larsson had lived it would've happened.  But under the extraneous details is a cracking good mystery about a serial killer in the first book, & about The Girl's past in the second.  The third I haven't read yet, but I will. 

Clearly not all books are for everyone - but this is one that I suggest people keep slogging through (at least the first 100 pages or so) to get past the boring "first book" to see if the second book engages them.  (And don't bother with a sample - this is definitely a book that isn't well-served by a sample.)

[Seleya]

I think, maybe, there is a culture difference.  I guess libel cases are big deals in other parts of the world. 

I think you nailed it. Over here (and as far as I know in the rest of Europe) a libel case is pretty serious, a thing like that involving a well-regarded newspaper or magazine would be front news for quite a while.

There's nothing 'slogging' or 'slow and boring' in a set-up that involves going to court, for us.