Booklist 2011 #1: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

[miss_s_b]

Yeah, I know, everybody else has already read it. I didn't like it, so this isn't going to be a long review. Something about the prose style put me off from caring about the characters, even though you'd think the titular Girl would be right up my alley. And I hated the torture porn and sexualised violence.

In style it struck me like a less well-written Jeffrey Deaver - even down to the real life stats at the beginning of sections. I'm a big fan of Jeffrey Deaver. I wasn't keen on this. Won't be reading the next two - in part because the excerpt from the next one in this one was all torture porn...

Next on the list: Batgirl Rising, which was one of Holly's Christmas presents from A Nonnymouse.

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Comments

[norfolkian.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it! I know this is a bad reason not to read a book, but the cover really doesn't appeal to me.

[el_staplador]

I haven't read it! - largely because I keep reading reviews that say much the same as yours.

[bagpuss]

Haven't read the first book just seen the film and certainly the way the torture porn was handled in the film was really gratutious without adding much to the story

[miss_s_b]

Yes, well, that's what it's like in the book too. Whereas when Deaver does torture, it's ALWAYS integral to the story and sensitively done.

[von_geisterhand]

Hm, I think I know what you mean in terms of style. There were a few aspects of story and style that made me think that the editor might have wanted to be a bit more ruthless, dead author or not.
As for the violence, you can really tell why the book is called originally "Men who hate women". And that's a major theme in the other two books, too, even though it's slightly more subtle there.
I see what Larsson wanted to do there but after a while it becomes somewhat predictable.