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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Honestly I don't understand the hype. It's not awful, it's just a standard mystery novel with an interesting (and autistic!) female lead. But it's not the amazing masterpiece that redefines the suspense genre like people make it out to be.
The pacing is atrocious. The whole first half of the book feels like setup for a story that's about to happen. Then everything happens all at once in about four chapters, then the last quarter of the book is a drawn out epilogue.
There's so much unnecessary detail about things that aren't relevant. The intricacies of financial journalism are boring unless you're a financial journalist. The parts explaining Lisbeth's hacking are laughably inaccurate. What the hell is a "broadband cuff" and how does attaching it to an ethernet cable let you read someone's email? Come on.
The best part of the book was the characters, and by that I mean Salander. Blumqvist was a generic everyman, and everyone else is either a one-dimensional journalist, rich person, corporate executive, or - in the case of that one guy - rapist. But Salander was interesting and actually had some depth to her. I enjoyed the portrayal of her being obviously autistic without it seeming like it was the basis of her personality, or made her unable to function in day to day life. Her part in the story should've been much bigger, as she was far more interesting than a middle aged dude who every woman wants to sleep with for some unexplained reason.
The pacing is atrocious. The whole first half of the book feels like setup for a story that's about to happen. Then everything happens all at once in about four chapters, then the last quarter of the book is a drawn out epilogue.
There's so much unnecessary detail about things that aren't relevant. The intricacies of financial journalism are boring unless you're a financial journalist. The parts explaining Lisbeth's hacking are laughably inaccurate. What the hell is a "broadband cuff" and how does attaching it to an ethernet cable let you read someone's email? Come on.
The best part of the book was the characters, and by that I mean Salander. Blumqvist was a generic everyman, and everyone else is either a one-dimensional journalist, rich person, corporate executive, or - in the case of that one guy - rapist. But Salander was interesting and actually had some depth to her. I enjoyed the portrayal of her being obviously autistic without it seeming like it was the basis of her personality, or made her unable to function in day to day life. Her part in the story should've been much bigger, as she was far more interesting than a middle aged dude who every woman wants to sleep with for some unexplained reason.
So much to say… I really liked the plot and the way that Lisbeth and Mikael worked together to solve the mystery. The relationships though… kind of weird. A lot of weird sexual violence/relationships that seemed unnecessary sometimes. Still liked it tho!!
There were some parts that moved a little slow to me, but overall a great mystery. I will be reading the next two books.
Jumped ship after 39 pages, a personal record.
I could deal with the clumsy beginning. (44 years becoming less than 40 years two sentences later, no explanation on what the nickname "Kalle" means or who Astrid Lindgren is, a long description of the main character's loft which I suspect the author owns and is really proud of, etc.) What I couldn't deal with is the arrival of the eponymous heroine and the at least seven pages the author spends describing her (maybe there's more, I don't know, I don't feel like going back to the book to check).
Already treading dangerous terrority with the innate abilities but if it's explained later and the rest of her character is balanced it could work. (Spoiler: it's never explained.)
So a damaged alternative girl. Cool. Not the most practical appearance when you tail people for a living, but sure.
She's alternative b-but she's still pretty ok? She's skinny b-but she still doesn't care what she eats ok? She dropped out of school b-but she's still smart ok? She's cold b-but characters still like her ok?
Ooookay I think I know where this is going. At this point I'm checking if I'm still within the maximum return date of my kindle copy.
And of course she's very, very smart, even more so than trained experts.
Theeere we go, saw it coming bigger than an iceberg. Time to abandon the HSwMS Pet Peeves. Don't let me splash you on my way out!
Edit: This book's Wikipedia page says that at 15 years old the author stood by while an acquaintance of him named Lisbeth got sexually assaulted by several men and that's where he got inspiration for his heroine. If that doesn't give you the ick already, there are doubts that he actually stole that story and retold it as his own. Looks like you can judge the book by its author in this case.
I could deal with the clumsy beginning. (44 years becoming less than 40 years two sentences later, no explanation on what the nickname "Kalle" means or who Astrid Lindgren is, a long description of the main character's loft which I suspect the author owns and is really proud of, etc.) What I couldn't deal with is the arrival of the eponymous heroine and the at least seven pages the author spends describing her (maybe there's more, I don't know, I don't feel like going back to the book to check).
"If there was any dirt to be dug up, she would home in on it like a cruise missile. Somehow she had always had this gift."
Already treading dangerous terrority with the innate abilities but if it's explained later and the rest of her character is balanced it could work. (Spoiler: it's never explained.)
"Armansky’s star researcher was a pale, anorexic young woman who had hair as short as a fuse, and a pierced nose and eyebrows. [...] However, it was not Lisbeth Salander’s astonishing lack of emotional involvement that most upset him."
So a damaged alternative girl. Cool. Not the most practical appearance when you tail people for a living, but sure.
"[...] but with the right make-up her face could have put her on any billboard in the world. Sometimes she wore black lipstick, and in spite of the tattoos and the pierced nose and eyebrows she was… well… attractive. It was inexplicable."
"She did not in fact have an eating disorder, Armansky was sure of that. On the contrary she seemed to consume every kind of junk food."
"He had not expected that a girl who had cut so many classes in school that she did not graduate could write a report so grammatically correct."
"He found her prickly and irksome, but much to his surprise he began to like her."
She's alternative b-but she's still pretty ok? She's skinny b-but she still doesn't care what she eats ok? She dropped out of school b-but she's still smart ok? She's cold b-but characters still like her ok?
"She had simply been born thin, with slender bones that made her look girlish and fine-limbed with small hands, narrow wrists, and childlike breasts. She was twenty-four, but she sometimes looked fourteen."
Ooookay I think I know where this is going. At this point I'm checking if I'm still within the maximum return date of my kindle copy.
"He could not imagine that anyone else at Milton Security would have lifted excerpts from the confidential journal of a doctor at a women’s crisis centre."
"He asked Milton’s technical director to give her a basic course in I.T. science. They sat together all afternoon until he reported back that she seemed to have a better understanding of computers than most of the staff."
And of course she's very, very smart, even more so than trained experts.
"A more serious problem was that he could not be sure of his own feelings for the young woman. [...] It was not a sexual attraction, at least he did not think so. [...] And besides, he had been married for twenty years to a Finnish woman named Ritva who still more than satisfied these requirements. [...] But the marriage was happy and he had two daughters of Salander’s age. [...] Even so he had caught himself having inappropriate day-dreams about Lisbeth Salander, and he recognised that he was not completely unaffected by her."
Theeere we go, saw it coming bigger than an iceberg. Time to abandon the HSwMS Pet Peeves. Don't let me splash you on my way out!
Edit: This book's Wikipedia page says that at 15 years old the author stood by while an acquaintance of him named Lisbeth got sexually assaulted by several men and that's where he got inspiration for his heroine. If that doesn't give you the ick already, there are doubts that he actually stole that story and retold it as his own. Looks like you can judge the book by its author in this case.
Excellent mystery/thriller. Highly complex story line. Makes me want to visit Sweden again. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Even though it took me a full 3-4 (can't remember) weeks to get through this book, I LOVED IT. Everything about this book was DENSE. Rich, dynamic characters, thick plot & deep mysteries. Definitely not what I'd consider a light read, but I am a sucker for mysteries. All the characters were bold yet they did show growth, ESPECIALLY Lisbeth. I hear the second book, readers get more background information on her. I admit it, Blomkvist is a bit of a heartbreaker to me, but I absolutely am crazy for his character. His constant un-procrastinating, one task after another thing was delightful and although he's a bit of a manwhore, that kind of makes me love him even more. *sighs*. This whole book was incredibly well written & the mysteries grabbed my heart. There were times when I didn't put the book down and texted people saying "UM, SO AND SO IS NEARLY DYING, NO I CAN'T TAKE A BREAK AND GET DINNER WITH YOU." just kidding:) but honestly, a very mature, beautiful read. I definitely look forward to reading the rest of this series :)
One last thing:)
Are the Swedish addicted to coffee? I felt like every two pages Blomkvist was 'putting on water' for coffee. Honestly made me want to become a more regular coffee drinker!
Second time rereading summer of 2015, finished reading 6/3/2015
I love rereading books, it's like reading a different book but you get to revisit old friends. All the characters are amazing, and the ending to this novel is PERFECTION. This book is a favorite and yet still took me a good month to read. Blomkvist & Berger's relationship is so realistic & honest & weird at first glance, but it's really amazing. I also love Salander & Blomkvist's relationship as well as Blomkvist and Henrik's relationship. I mean this book is pure gold. Makes me want to reread the second book too, and maybe try to get into the third one <3
Quotes I love:
"Being a homoicide detective can be the loneliest job in the world. The friends of the victim are upset and in despair, but sooner or later-after weeks or months- they go back to their everyday lives. For the closest family it takes longer, but for the most part, to some degree, they too get over their grieving and despair. Life has to go on;i it does go on. But the unsolved murders keep gnawing away and in the end there's only one person left who thinks night and day about the victim: its the officer who's left with the investigation'' -page 195
"She did nothing. If there was one lesson Holger Palmgren had taught her over the years, it was that impulsive actions led to trouble, and trouble could have unpleasant consequences. She never did anything without first weighing the consequences." - page 221
"There was no point whimpering about it." -page 228.
"She had never brooded over whether she was straight, gay, or even bisexual. She did not give a damn about labels, did not see that it was anyone elses' business whom she spent her nights with." -page 327
"There's always someone willing to believe malicious rumours." -page 372
"It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on. She had also learned that every time she tried to make someone aware of something in her life, the situation just got worse. Consequently it was up to her to solve her problems by herself, using whatever methods she deemed necessary." -page 394
" 'Sex has nothing to do with friendship. Sure, friends can have sex, but if I had to choose between sex and friendship when it comes to you, there's no doubt which I would pick.' " -Blomkvist, page 507 CUE THE AWW
" 'I dont discuss a friend behind her back. I'd be breaking her trust, I wouldn't dscuss you with Erika behind your back either.' " -Blomkvist, page 507
One last thing:)
Are the Swedish addicted to coffee? I felt like every two pages Blomkvist was 'putting on water' for coffee. Honestly made me want to become a more regular coffee drinker!
Second time rereading summer of 2015, finished reading 6/3/2015
I love rereading books, it's like reading a different book but you get to revisit old friends. All the characters are amazing, and the ending to this novel is PERFECTION. This book is a favorite and yet still took me a good month to read. Blomkvist & Berger's relationship is so realistic & honest & weird at first glance, but it's really amazing. I also love Salander & Blomkvist's relationship as well as Blomkvist and Henrik's relationship. I mean this book is pure gold. Makes me want to reread the second book too, and maybe try to get into the third one <3
Quotes I love:
"Being a homoicide detective can be the loneliest job in the world. The friends of the victim are upset and in despair, but sooner or later-after weeks or months- they go back to their everyday lives. For the closest family it takes longer, but for the most part, to some degree, they too get over their grieving and despair. Life has to go on;i it does go on. But the unsolved murders keep gnawing away and in the end there's only one person left who thinks night and day about the victim: its the officer who's left with the investigation'' -page 195
"She did nothing. If there was one lesson Holger Palmgren had taught her over the years, it was that impulsive actions led to trouble, and trouble could have unpleasant consequences. She never did anything without first weighing the consequences." - page 221
"There was no point whimpering about it." -page 228.
"She had never brooded over whether she was straight, gay, or even bisexual. She did not give a damn about labels, did not see that it was anyone elses' business whom she spent her nights with." -page 327
"There's always someone willing to believe malicious rumours." -page 372
"It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on. She had also learned that every time she tried to make someone aware of something in her life, the situation just got worse. Consequently it was up to her to solve her problems by herself, using whatever methods she deemed necessary." -page 394
" 'Sex has nothing to do with friendship. Sure, friends can have sex, but if I had to choose between sex and friendship when it comes to you, there's no doubt which I would pick.' " -Blomkvist, page 507 CUE THE AWW
" 'I dont discuss a friend behind her back. I'd be breaking her trust, I wouldn't dscuss you with Erika behind your back either.' " -Blomkvist, page 507
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Me perturbo de una manera densa, pero la historia en torno al misterio considero que es buena