Mænd der hader kvinder (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) - Stieg Larsson

[goodreads]

Title: Mænd der hader kvinder (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Author: Stieg Larsson Genre: Suspense Rating: 10/10 # pages: 556 Date read: March 2008

The retired director for the Vanger concern, Henrik Vanger, hires Mikael Blomkvist, journalist at the periodical Millennium, to write his biography. Blomkvist reluctantly accepts the job and as an assistant he hires Lisbeth Salander, a tattoed, pierced young lady who's been declared incapable of managing her own affairs, and who just happens to be a fantastic researcher and the best hacker in Sweden. Together they dig deep into the Vanger family's past and there meet a darker story than any of them had ever expected.

Though more than 500 pages I read it in less than 24 hours. I simply couldn't put it down. I read until far too late last night, and got up early this morning for the sole purpose of reading a bit more before having to leave for church. The plot is fascinating, uncompromising and horrifying, but the masterpiece is Stieg Larsson's way of expressing this plot, and the characters that he brings forth. It is not easy reading, and many of the details are just disgusting, but once you pick up the book, it's impossible to leave it until the last page is read.

Reread in 2010. I still think it's an amazing book, but this time I was really surprised to see how slow it actually is. I didn't remember that at all from my first read, but the first 8 chapters are pretty much just background. The story quickly picks up after that, but I understand how some people might give up before they got to that point.

But still a terrific book!