Guided Reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, beyond topping the bestseller lists not just for weeks but for years, is an important book. As well as being a damn good thriller, it is a book of social criticism showing the world that Sweden is not the social paradise that is presented to the world. Larsson's carefully told tale is more than a grisly, cynical world view of his country. It is a fascinating character study of a young woman who easily masters computer code but for whom human interaction is almost always more trouble than it is worth, of an investigative reporter who chooses a path of less resistance  but whose humanity reaches out to many including her who need more of their story told. The basic issue of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that of shocking sexual violence primarily against women. Larsson's other major  elements are corporate malfeasance that threatens complete collapse of stock markets and anarchistic distrust of officialdom to the point of endorsing vigilantism. He also deals with racism as he spins a complex web from strands of real and imagined history concerning mid-twentieth century Vanger affiliations with Sweden's fascist groups. The story of the author is almost as fascinating: he died before he could see his trilogy published. He worked for a small paper similar to his hero in the book. After his death, the proceeds from the books did not go to his live-in girlfriend of many years but rather to his estranged father and brother. It is rumored that there is a fourth book but his girlfriend cannot have it published because of the  family and inheritance problems.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson  672 pages published by Vintage in 2005 ISBN-10: 0307949486    The paperback version can be found at just about any bookstore and Sanborns and costs about 10 dollars.

The following questions come from the website GoodRead.com. They are questions for specific information just like an exam. Read the first question and after finding the information, look at the next one and continue reading.  This is a book that is hard to put down and go to bed.

1.  From where is the package that Heinrik Vanger receives post marked?
 Sydney     St. Petersburg     Stockholm     Sarasota

2. The flower received is from what part of the world?
 South America     India     China     Australia

3. How old is Heinrik Vanger?

 82     83     85     89

4. Who is Mikael Blomkvist convicted of libeling?
Harriet Vanger     Lisbeth Salander     Hans-Erik Wennerstrom     Advokat Bjurman

5. What is the name of Blomkvist and Berger's magazine?

 Margins     Moose County Something     Marketing     Millenium

6. Where does Lisbeth Salander work?

Armansky Security     Milton Security     Minos Factory     Mikadem Security

7. Who passes Wennerstrom information from inside Millenium?
Janne Dahlman     Christer Malm     Advokat Bjurman     Martin Vanger

8. True or False: Blomkvist appeals his conviction

 True     False

9. Blomkvist jumps at the chance to work for Heinrick Vanger after Erika fires him for shoddy work?

True     False

10. Where does Heinrik Vanger live?
Hedestad     Hedeby      Norrland     Stockholm

11. How long is Mikael sentenced to serve in jail?
one year     eight months     six months     three months

12. How long does Blomkvist actually serve in prison?
one month     two months     ten months     a year

13. Who is Advokat N.E. Bjurman?
Salander's guardian     Salander's supervisor     Salander's dad     Salander's uncle

14. What does Advokat Bjurman do to Salander when she asks for money for a new computer?
hands her a check for the full amount she requested      he says he has to pass it above for approval      he forces Salander to perform oral sex      he approves the advance against her paycheck and says she will have her money the next day

15. How does Salander ensure that Advokat Bjurman never rapes another woman?

she gets his anal rape of herself on video and threatens to release it if he approaches her in anyway then tattoos him      kills him using nicotine to poison him transdermally      castrates him      reports him to the police

16. What does Heinrik offer Blomkvist to investigate Harriet's disappearance?

 a lot of money      evidence to nail Wennerstrom     neither 1 nor 2     both 1 and 2

17. What do the numbers in the back of Harriet's diary mean?
they are old phone numbers to Harriet's five friends, Magda, Sara, R.J., R.L., and Mari                        a mathematical code describing coordinates to Harriet's body         a coded list of murder victims and the Bible verses explaining their deaths and mutilation          numbered swiss bank accounts and the people Harriet was blackmailing

18. How does Millenium survive the slump after Blomkvist's conviction?
Christer Malm opened his own art gallery, and bought all of the lost advertising       Lotta Karim, freelance reporter, scoops Monopoly Financial with a financial fraud story on behalf of the CIA      Sonny Nilsson gets advertising toreplace that they are losing       Heinrik Vanger and Vanger Corp buy into the magazine and keep it afloat

19. How does Blomkvist figure out that Salander hacked his computer?

he read her report and she quoted the words he used in his own press release after his resignation Salander sends him an email with the answer to the numbers on the names list in the back of Harriet's diary      they meet at Milton Security and she admits her activities      Salander is arrested for hacking

20. What does Blomkvist bring to his first meeting with Salander?

donuts and coffee      tea and crumpets      bagels one stuffed with roast beef, one with turkey, and one vegetarian      nothing

21. Who does Blomkvist sleep with before he meets Salander?

 Harriet     Anita     Ingrid     Cecilia

22. What happened to Harriet?

 Martin killed her like he did countless other women      she ran away and had made it as far as Hamburg when she was captured and sold into slavery      she runs away assuming Anita Vanger's identity      in a tragic accident she slipped and fell off of the deck of a boat, hit her head and drowned, her body was never recovered becase it drifted out to sea

23. Who solves the riddle of the numbers in the back of Harriet's diary?

 Salander      Blomkvist with the help of his daughter      Erika      Janne Dahlman

24. How is it that Janne Dahlman leaves Millenium?

using an elaborate ruse, Dahlman chooses to quit      he is caught embezzling      Erika fires him on the grounds of corporate espionage      he is killed in a gangland shooting

25. What is the title of Blomkvist's book which he wrote about the Wennerstrom affair?
Millennium's Revenge     Wennerstrom the Criminal     Who NOT to Invest Your Money In     The Mafia Banker

26. To Whom does Blomkvist dedicate his book?

 "To Ricky, who displayed theTrojan Odyssey to it's best light"      "To Heinrik without whom this could never have been written"      " For my beautiful daughter Pernilla, Papa loves you      "To Sally, who showed me the benefits of the sport of golf

27. Why didn't Salander tell Blomkvist she loved him?

he died in a gangland shooting before she realized that she did love him      after the case she never saw him again      she died of intestinal bleeding caused by the anal rape      she saw him with Erika and decided against it