Review

Title: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson (+)
Setting: Sweden mostly
Major themes: Investigative journalism, women, violence, sexual assaults, thriller, family
No. of pages: 644
Completed in: 3 months

WARNING: This review may contain spoilers.

The novel kicks of with Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist of an independent publication Millennium, being sentenced to months in prison for libel against billionaire Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Professionally battered and disgraced, Blomkvist steps down as editor and publisher, and was soon contacted by Henrik Vanger to investigate on a cold case. He was soon joined by Lisbeth Salander, an elite hacker with psychological dependencies. Together they unravel the Vanger mystery and restore Blomkvist’s career to greater heights.

First and foremost, Blomkvist is not your typical hero. For one, he maintains an affair with his co-worker Erika Berger, married. It is that same affair that ruined his marriage. Then, of course, there’s the libel case. But Blomkvist has the human factor. It was not easy to warm up to him because his inquisitive mind can be irritating. He had too much questions that almost led to a dead end. In all honesty, I don’t think he could have gotten far without Salander.

Salander makes me imagine Carey Mulligan and all her bad assness. Her pathological need to constantly remain private and be all about the job reminds me of workaholics today, only she’s skinnier and better and of course more technologically equipped than most.

According to a couple of readings, Larsson witnessed a sexual assault when he was 15 and the victim was named Lisbeth. He did not come forward and has since written the Millennium trilogy as an homage to this woman.

There’s a lot of sex in this book and it’s not the kind you like. In reading those scenes, you’ll feel it was hardly pleasurable. Every assault scene was perfectly described and you can feel it for yourself – that you’ve been wronged and abused all in one ball. As the mystery unraveled, it became one of those novels you can’t put down. It was a very very good investment.

Just so you know, you can’t solve this mystery by yourself. It will be a difficult one. It doesn’t even have a Grisham twist to it. It has Larsson’s. It was so good, it made me buy the second installment right away.

Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars

PS: It took me three months to finish because I was reading it in between classes and work. I will definitely read the second one faster.

Like I said the other day, Dylan and I grabbed some Cheetos and watched The Legend of the Guardians at the SM Mall of Asia 3D theatre. Like promised, here’s my take on the film.

When I first saw the trailer, I was immediately interested, mainly because the owls reminded me of Harry Potter’s snow white owl, Hedwig. It’s quite unusual really, when you come to think about it. Looking back on your childhood, did you really imagine that owls can be so fierce (and by fierce, I mean warrior fierce, not diva fierce)?

Anyway, the film is visually SPECTACULAR. I am going to be brave and say that it can rival Avatar when it comes to landscapes and settings and movement and detail. It was so amazing. And funny, because when we watched it, there was a kid in front of us that kept raising his hand, probably trying to touch the characters. But his mean dad kept scolding him. Note to self: hate that kid’s dad.

However, the movie in general is just an average movie. I think one of the main mistakes they made was having the same animal. It’s a movie for kids, and unfortunately, kids have a hard time distinguishing personalities when they look alike. That’s the reason why Lion King was of epic proportions; mention a character name and you’d know right away how it looks like and (better) what kidn of animal it was.

I am not discounting the fact that the story wasn’t rich with characters because it was. Soren is the dreamer, the evident protagonist. Eglantine is the youngest sister, the one that idolises Soren. And if you have three kids there, there’s bound to be one that is envious and spiteful… hence, the existence of Kludd.

It’s the tragic story of Mudblood and Pure Blood. Of course, it was narrated by the most animated narrator I’ve ever heard. Just so you know, it’s an all-British cast, so when you bring your kid to the movie, be prepared to answer the question “Ano daw? (What did s/he say?)”

I enjoyed the movie very much. To be frank, even if the story didn’t blow to large proportions like the visuals did, it was still a very enjoyable family movie. Guaranteed, you’ll fall in love with the female owls, go gaga over Eglantine, and just be awestruck when you see the perfect combination of flight and water.

And when your jaw drops because of the amazing theatrics, please give me a call. :)

Score: 3.5/5