the man with the mediocre book

book: the girl with the dragon tattoo
author: stieg larsson
completion date: 14/06/10
method: borrowed (mum and dad)

i actually picked this book up in chapters and carried it around with me for a while, but found something that i was more interested in and abandoned this book. i was glad that i read it. at moments i thought it showed signs of promise and for the last few pages i couldn't put it down (the bus driver laughed at me). but i was disappointed at the end. well, the last few pages at least. where i thought the book should have ended was about 20pages in from this page.
this book felt like a first draft to me. the idea was strong and the characters had potential but it was all too shallow for my liking. Mikael, the male lead, is likable enough but seems to passive to be this hard hitting journalist. he seems too soft, not nearly ambitious enough but maybe that would make him too much of a stock character.
and lisbeth. oh lisbeth. writing a maladjusted, unlikable character is difficult. she just seems too unreal and angry. but then again this is just the opinion of a relatively well adjusted girl of about the same age. my father actually wrote a pretty accurate critique of it on his blog here: http://beebee-lovehastornusapart.blogspot.com/2010/06/tattoos-are-not-enough.html which sums it up a lot better than i can.
unlike dad i probably will at least give the second novel a try once mother finishes with it, but then again my recommendations list has reached epic proportions...
maybe i'll just wait for the movie
xo-ellebee