THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

This book was long due for many years. I don’t know why I kept putting it off to take this book and read it. But, man, I am glad that I get to read it finally!!

This is one of the greatest books I have read in quite a while. No wonder it has risen to become one of the best-selling books in the world. The first in the Millennium series, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is about a Swedish journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who made allegations against a billionaire, but wasn’t able to prove his testimony in the court and thus lost the case. 

When Mikael is glooming on his defeat, he is invited by Henrik Vanger, the head of Vanger Corporation, to help him solve a case by offering lucrative money and most importantly, important proofs against the billionaire against whom he had lost the case. Since his career as a journalist was almost over, he found no reason to not accept the assignment.

The assignment was to find out his grandniece, Harriet, who went missing many years back. Henrik Vanger provides him with all the evidence which he had collected over the years. Lisbeth Salander, who aptly signifies the title, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, helps him in his case. 

The character Lisbeth Salander was inspired from Steig Larsson‘s real life, when he stood by and watched his acquaintance, Lisbeth, being gang-raped when he was at the age of 15. After that, consumed by guilt, he tried to earn her apology but could not. This character Lisbeth Salander, who is also a rape survivor, is a shadow of the real Lisbeth from his life.

The sad part of the book is that Stieg Larsson died before the book was published. A man who has so brilliantly written such an intricate plot with lots of characters, keeping the clarity intact is to be accoladed. 

A brilliantly crafted book worth spending some worthwhile time. 

I’m waiting eagerly to start on the second book of the Millennium!