Halloween 2009: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

In an effort to get a little more content up here, I'm going to try to do a post a night this week in honor of Halloween. I'll try to write about Halloweeny things, but some will be more Halloweeny than others. This first entry is really only vaguely Halloweeny.

My brother-in-law (who's German) recommended Stieg Larrson's novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, ages ago. In hind sight, it was probably before it was even released in this country. It's the first in a trilogy by the late Swedish author who basically wrote the series as a pastime. The series is relatively popular here, but it's huge in Europe. Literally millions of copies have been sold--it's like Harry Potter, but instead of magic for kids, it's sex and murder for adults.

I suppose the book is what one calls a crime thriller. It's not a genre I read often, so it's tough to say. It's the thriller part that gets me. The only difference between "thriller" and "horror" in my mind is that the "horror" usually involves the supernatural in some way. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I guess it's the thriller part that also makes this book vaguely Halloweeny--there are some legitimately creepy parts.

But more importantly, once you get past the first 60 pages or so, the book is pretty much unputdownable. Sure, 60 pages is a lot, but it's worth getting through. Not that the beginning is a complete slog, but it's our first introduction to the main characters of not just the book, but the series. The real meat of the story comes soon after, and it's very tasty meat indeed.

Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist who's recent fall from grace leads him to a dubious new employer. Though he's not the most exciting character, he's thrust into the extraordinary circumstances that form the crux of the novel. Lisbeth Salander, the titular "girl", is a fascinating character and the centerpiece of the series. It takes an agonizingly long time for her to enter the central plot, but she requires a lot more development as a character.

And really, I can't say much more without spoiling it. I haven't stayed up late to read a book in ages, and my wife read it three times faster than I did. She cursed me for encouraging her to read such a riveting book that was also too scary for her.

The novel isn't great literature, and it's not without its flaws, but it was undoubtedly a fun read. If you started it right now, you'll probably have it done by Halloween. As for me, the sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, should be arriving on my doorstep any day now.