Why is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo so damn popular?!
Massive selling of books, movies in more than one language, and years on best-seller lists; why is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo so popular?
My theory? Lisbeth Salander is a modern superhero. She is almost magical in her intelligence, cunningness, and agility; though she is not magical, she is human. And with that humanity comes her backstory of hurt, neglect, abuse, and loneliness that readers (and viewers) can identify with to varying degrees. She takes steps with her revenge that could be done. She’s not afraid to be a loner or to be different from what is expected of women. She is as badass (or perhaps more so) than Angelina Jolie in any of her action movies, without being the sex symbol that Jolie cannot help but be; and is therefore more relatable… even to this blonde haired, blue eyed girl who doesn’t bleach her eyebrows and is more inclined to add Kate Spade to her wish list than t-shirts that tell others to go f*&k themselves.
One of my all time favorite scenes from any book (or movie) is what Salander does to her wretched social worker. When I read the book (which I did a few years ago before seeing either of the film versions), my heart leapt with excitement. Before you think I’m a masochist, let me explain that it was because I was utterly thrilled to see this spritely version of an outsider, with no back-up or CIA links, out-con a sadistic abuser who was not an over-exaggerated villain, but rather a very real portrayal of what an actual assailant would be like: normal to the world and twisted on the inside (and in particularly with a female he thinks he has control over).
Why do YOU think this series so popular? There are so many out there that incorporate mystery, revenge, and intrigue – yet this one has become a phenomenon. Thoughts?
I have to agree. Lisbeth makes the books. Her personality is just so everywhere yet no where that I can’t help be fascinated with her. And the way she interacts (or lack there of) is just mesmerizing. She makes the outcast look cool and edgy rather than weak and sympathetic.
I think Lisbeth is definitely at the top of the reasons why this series is so popular. I didn’t know anything about this series, the extent of the hype or anything when I read this – and Lisbeth stood out like a shining star. You just want to be her in a way – a woman completely just being herself and not trying to live up to some expectation.
I think a lot of it is also down to Larsson’s passion as well. There are many genuine criticisms of this book – he’d often go off into tangents about something and have a little rant about sexism, hypocrisy, the social system etc etc which I’m sure in any other book I’d have found annoying, along with all the other little niggles. There was a lot of power and feeling behind the words and the development of Lisbeth as a character that it feels kind of like a punch. It fires people up and makes you cheer for her.
For me, Lisabeth is definitely the reason I grew attached to the book. As I was reading, I felt excitement once I got to sections of the book that discussed Lisabeth and her comings and goings. Whereas with Mikeal (sp), I felt I was going through the motions. I think we loved rooting for the underdog and Lisabeth is definitely an underdog.
I recently just wrote a post about the movie and the book over at my blog explaining how I felt about jumping upon “the bangwagon” of a popular book series. At first I was kind of hesitant but my curosity got the best of me and I am glad that it did.!
I’ve read a million posts praising The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but this is the first post that really makes me want to read the book. Lisbeth sounds like my kind of heroine.
Lisbeth is definetly a fantastic character. The question is, why do I have to wade through hundreds of pages of backstory and detailed descriptions to get to the good part? This is not a thriller! Half the book reads like old Russian novels, full of disfuntional families and the like. What this book is…it is a triumph in marketing! You could package the same messages about people and how lousy they are in a lot less space.