The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Synopsis
This is the first installment in Larsson's world-renowned murder mystery series. It follows Mikael Blonkvist, a financial crime journalist who has recently been convicted of libel against the powerful Wennerström corporation. Blonkvist is hired by the elderly industrialist Henrik Vanger who's niece Harriet was the victim of an unsolved murder in the 1960s, on the very island Blonkvist used to visit with his family in childhood. Under the ruse of writing a personal biography for Henrik, he joins forces with hacker Lisbeth Salander. Salander is recruited by him to aid in the investigation, and both characters bring their unique skills to the table. Together, the two grow close and discover some long-held secrets regarding the Vanger family, but the underlying moral is the potential for self-growth and learning to be vulnerable with the ones we love. Above all, the book is a commentary on both systemic and interpersonal violence, specifically in the case of women in Swedish society.
Review
I really enjoyed the Swedish setting and having the opportunity to learn about the country's geography. While this was undoubtedly a page-turner, I had some qualms with the way the author writes his female characters in particular. A major them within the book is the societal expectations to conform that are generally place onto women. Larsson's depiction of Salander's character does not lend itself well to this theme. She's a hyper-intelligent hacker who is fiercely independent and not easily in tune with her emotions, yet she conforms to the male gaze in the fact that she's attractive, sexually available and experiences trauma that feels overly sensationalistic. These contrasting descriptions of her are at odds with the other and has the effect of cheapening the story's authenticity. We get a lot of details that never come full circle and there's a lot of technical jargon about computers and businesses that feels rather irrelevant. I think that Larrson is too generous with his character's inner dialogues, which leaves less room for imagination on the part of the reader. While this was a fun read, I would not go out of my way to continue with the series.