The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Firstly, the only reason I bought this book was because I thought I had already missed the movie; that it had been shown in the cinemas here in Bohol before the holiday season.  It was only recently when I realized I was mistaken.  While in Island City Mall, I saw this huge poster (see below image) that says the movie is coming soon.

Secondly, I was glad I made that erroneous assumption; had I not, I most definitely would have just waited for the movie to be released locally, and not be bothered buying and reading the book.  Its 644 pages seemed a daunting read.  But I was wrong again at that.  This thriller turned out to be an absorbing, believable story, and reading it was rather addictive.  I have never read any of Stieg Larsson’s novels before and was pleasantly surprised to discover the riveting clarity and simplicity of his narrative style.  I’ll probably still go and see the movie just for the heck of it.

Anyway, the story revolves around the scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, Harriet Vanger, who mysteriously disappeared over forty years ago.  Her aging uncle, however, spent all those years seeking the truth.  He finally hires Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist recently convicted of libel and was heading to prison for a couple of months.  His task was to investigate and possibly pinpoint which member of the Vanger clan might have murdered Harriet.  For a research assistant he got Lisbeth Salander, a pierced and tattoed punk prodigy – the girl with the dragon tattoo.  That is all I’m going to reveal.

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“Compelling …. Combine the chilly Swedish backdrop

And moody psychodrama of a Bergman movie with the

grisly pyrotechnics of a serial-killer thriller, then add an

angry punk heroine and a down-on-his-luck investigative

journalist, and you have the ingredients of Stieg Larsson’s

first novel.”

--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

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 Film version of ‘Girl with Dragon Tattoo’ stays true to novel of grit

Movie review by Eldric Paul Paredo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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