This title “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was calling out to me at the book shops for many years before I answered the call and picked it up. As it happens in many of such cases, it was difficult to put it down after that. It is a story of investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander and their investigation into the circumstances of missing girl. They not only end up resolving the mystery but discover much more than what they had bargained for.
Of course the investigation itself is very complex and engaging and it has all the correct elements of thriller mystery. That alone would not have made this a great book to read. It is the character of Lisbeth Salander that makes it different and much better than regular thriller mysteries. Stieg Larsson has created the character of Lisbeth that is victim and heroine at the same time. She hacks into computers without any feelings of guilt but she is not criminal. She steals millions of dollars from a corrupt businessman but she is not corrupt. Her moral standards are different from society in many ways but they are strong and good.
She likes to be independent and on her own but she shows true care for people who have been nice to her. In one scene she feels strong affinity for Mikael because he is not judgemental about her like everyone else is. Her conflicts of emotions about people and her methods to deal with unknown are all portrayed in an amazing way. As a reader you feel for Lisbeth from the very beginning once you get to know her. You also realise how wrong it can be to judge people from their appearance or first impression.
I did watch the movie and also read the sequels of this book but that story will need to wait for some other time.
I and Books 