Haiku: Scorching Winter. Cup a soup, snow fall. Cold weather, dreary raindrops, Ouch. I burnt my tongue

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1 Haiku: Scorching Winter Cup a soup, snow fall Cold weather, dreary raindrops, Ouch. I burnt my tongue 1

2 Sonnet: Books How I love and cherish my many books Stacked on wooden shelves; brown, dusty and old Flicking and turning, I know how this looks Books always keep me warm and never cold Days turn into nights, summer into snow Yet I ignore it all and keep reading My nose in the pages, my head kept low No matter my health, even if bleeding But wait; ipods and games, girls and TV My homework is due, my dog is unfed Trouble distractions, never easy No time for books, crazy in my head Some alone time at last, I sit right down To my lovely books and again I m bound 2

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4 Review The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larsson Norstedts Förlag, 2005, 533 pp Rating: 8.5 out of 10 From the opening courtroom trial to the terrifyingly violent acts that occur in the gothic dungeon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is to say the least, epic reading. Racing across Sweden with a handful of plotlines and multitude of colourful characters; Stieg Larsson masterfully crafts a multi-layered and complex crime thriller. Combining modern day issues of corporate corruption and financial fraudulence with the timeless fight for justice, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has a little bit in it for everybody; from hardboiled armchair detectives to corporate economists pondering over the current financial crisis. The story kicks off with Mikael Blomvist, our main character and crusading journalist, losing a libel charge brought on him by a Swedish mogul Hans-Erik Wennerström. Seemingly defeated and disheartened, purpose and life is injected back into him by Henrik Vanger head of the wealthy Vanger Corporation who hires Blomvist to investigate into the disappearance of his niece, Harriet Vanger. The only two catches the disappearance occurred nearly 40 years ago on an isolated island and Henrik suspects one of his own relatives is involved. It is here, with this locked-room scenario where most the intrigue and action occur. With the promise of a very substantial sum of money upon the conclusion of the investigation, whether it s solved or not, Blomvist can t resist the offer and finds himself in self-exile, ceaselessly investigating and researching the complex Vanger family tree for clues to the whereabouts of Harriet Vanger. 4

5 Enter Lisbeth Salander, the incredibly resourceful hacker with the dragon tattoo who comes running to help Blomvist with his investigation. Perpetually enigmatic, Salander is undoubtedly the most memorable and perplexing character of the entire Millennium trilogy readers of the first book will no doubt be asking; what the hell is wrong with this girl? While mental problems seem to be the most obvious answer at first; Salander s character is slowly revealed throughout the book to be a highly complex. A walking combination of contradictions; Salander is a brilliant researcher yet she is deeply antisocial; she rejects any kind of authority yet she lives by a strict code of her own morals and ethics. It is with Lisbeth Salander that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is elevated from an ordinary crime novel to a multilayered, part-thriller, part-commentary on modern society and in particular; chauvinists attitude towards women. As Blomvist s investigation into the mystery deepens, Larsson turns up the thrill notch; engaging the reader with a series of clues and revelations, always teasing but never fully revealing anything. In one particular scene Blomvist flicks through a family album, his apprehension (as well as the reader) growing with every turn of the page, and when he finally gets to the key photo, it s an exhilarating yet short-lived moment. As it turns out, the key photo that can potentially solve the entire case is incomplete at best and this leads onto the next clue and next part of the investigation. With the investigation as top priority in his mind, Blomvist also has to manage his co-owned Millennium magazine; continue to fight Wennerstrom as well as deal with the numerous women in his lives from co- Millennium owner Erika Berger to potential murder suspect Cecilia Vanger. As the numerous plotlines all hurtle towards the climatic ending with breakneck speed; the reader is treated with large chunks of diversion into interesting facts and historical events. Parts of the book are devoted to recapping on back-room financial deals in the past and Larsson weaves in and out of them effortlessly. His writing style is short and sweet. With 5

6 superb narrative pacing, he relentlessly keeps the audience on the run and forever guessing; and while the abundant characters and multiple potlines may confuse some readers; it s necessary for a book as epic as this one. However, as sprawling as the story may seem, Larsson also manages to keep the characters mainly Blomvist well grounded and subsequently their personal issues and problems feel surprisingly intimate to the reader. While on the hunt for a serial killer; office politics, spousal troubles and puppy love all pop up throughout the book; providing some comic relief at times and easing up on the intensity for the reader. If there was one problem I had with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; it was that Salander s photographic memory and near-impossible hacking skills were frequently used to tie off plotlines. Too often were the characters in a predicament where Salander came along; type a few keys in her trusty laptop and abracadabra, whatever Blomvist needed from Wennerstrom s banking transactions to finding the whereabouts of missing people he got. At times it felt a little too convenient; the young girl s extraordinary abilities repeatedly saving the day. But all in all, it s a thrilling ride from beginning to end. Make no mistake about the hype it really isn t your average crime novel. Written with absolute precision and detail, Larsson manages to capture the urgency of close action as well as encapsulate the epic nature of the nearly half-century crime committed. It is a stunning debut in the Millennium trilogy and Stieg Larsson will forever be held up as one Sweden s finest crime-fiction writers and journalist. 6

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy Book 1) By Stieg Larsson

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy Book 1) By Stieg Larsson If you are searching for the book by Stieg Larsson The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy Book 1) in pdf format,