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crciii's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great read for pure entertainment purposes. If I were rating based upon the fiction/mystery genre alone it would certainly get five stars.
kailansunshine's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book (the entire series, really). It's wonderfully written, intricate, complex, with tremendously interesting characters.
finalcut's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up because Sweden itself keeps popping up into my everyday conversations. The story painted Sweden with a not-entirely flattering brush - which surprised me; specifically the underlying theme of misogyny that permeate the tale. I don't mean to suggest that the main characters are misogynistic - far from it - but their lives are constantly shaped by the misogyny around them. It makes me wonder how prevalent the attitudes described in the book are in actuality with Sweden.
The title character, the girl, is Lisbeth Salander. She is a bit of an enigma who has clearly suffered some horrible tragedies and is thus completely anti-social toward almost everyone. However, she is also a talented hacker who utilizes her skills in her position as a security researcher for a private security company. Because of this position she is eventually drawn into a nightmarish tale that dates back over 40 years. Fortunately for Mikael Blomkvist, a financial journalist who is equally committed to the tragedies, Salander is also a tenacious fighter who hates one thing above all else - women hating men; which coincidentally is close to the original name of the book "Men Who Hate Women." Had I known that before picking up the novel I wouldn't have been so surprised at the attitude of so many of the secondary male characters.
The story starts leading the reader to believe the tale will be about the Wennestrom affair but the majority of the novel basically ignores Wennestrom and, instead, focuses on the Vanger family - a wealthy but disfunctional family with sprawling, but fading, business interests within Sweden.
Stieg Larsson does a fine job of telling a compelling tale that kept me sucked in and awake late into the night as I poured through the pages in order to find out the resolution. However, at times, Larsson seemed to get bogged down in excessive details; specifically about particular items aquired by the characters. For instance, at no point did I need to know the amount of RAM within Salander's new Macbook. Fortunately, that is the only real criticism I have of Larsson's writing style and I throughly enjoyed the book.
The title character, the girl, is Lisbeth Salander. She is a bit of an enigma who has clearly suffered some horrible tragedies and is thus completely anti-social toward almost everyone. However, she is also a talented hacker who utilizes her skills in her position as a security researcher for a private security company. Because of this position she is eventually drawn into a nightmarish tale that dates back over 40 years. Fortunately for Mikael Blomkvist, a financial journalist who is equally committed to the tragedies, Salander is also a tenacious fighter who hates one thing above all else - women hating men; which coincidentally is close to the original name of the book "Men Who Hate Women." Had I known that before picking up the novel I wouldn't have been so surprised at the attitude of so many of the secondary male characters.
The story starts leading the reader to believe the tale will be about the Wennestrom affair but the majority of the novel basically ignores Wennestrom and, instead, focuses on the Vanger family - a wealthy but disfunctional family with sprawling, but fading, business interests within Sweden.
Stieg Larsson does a fine job of telling a compelling tale that kept me sucked in and awake late into the night as I poured through the pages in order to find out the resolution. However, at times, Larsson seemed to get bogged down in excessive details; specifically about particular items aquired by the characters. For instance, at no point did I need to know the amount of RAM within Salander's new Macbook. Fortunately, that is the only real criticism I have of Larsson's writing style and I throughly enjoyed the book.
mermerdundun's review against another edition
1.0
I only finished this book because of a pledge I made to complete the books I start before I move on to a next one.
mishka25's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
squid_vicious's review against another edition
4.0
Noir, thriller, family-mystery, social and political statement, psychological study… There is so much stuff going on the in the Millenium trilogy that I don’t know where to begin with reviewing this book.
I watched a documentary on Stieg Larsson and one of the first thing they said, as you get a panoramic shot of beautiful Stockholm, is that Sweden is the rape capital of the world. “What? WHAT?!?!” you might have heard me scream at my tv, had you been in the room with me. Apparently, under its guise of lovely socialist Heaven, Sweden has some very dark spots, and Larsson was not afraid of bringing some very uncomfortable truths about his country to light. He was an investigative journalist who, just like his protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, pissed off important (read: rich) people by telling the world the not-so-nice things they were doing, and for that, he actually lived in fear for his life.
Because he is a journalist, I can tell you right off the bat that his prose is nothing special. In a possible effort to sound realistic, he describes settings, meals and the contents of people’s bags in an almost clinical fashion. That’s really the only thing I can hold against his work though, because he created an amazing story and unforgettable characters, despite his obsession with sandwiches and IKEA. His Millenium trilogy is compulsively readable and impossible to forget.
Originally titled “Men who hate women”, this is the first book featuring the Mikael Blomkvist/Lisbeth Salander duo. A disgraced journalist is hired by an old industrialist to solve an ancient family mystery: the disappearance of his beloved niece. Said journalist hires a very unusual assistant, and they both find out much more than they bargained for as they conduct their investigation.
That’s the main story, but Larsson packs a lot more than that in there. Lisbeth’s own struggle with her legal guardian and her bizarre family history are interwoven with the investigation, as well as Blomkvist’s attempt at cleaning his reputation after he was accused of defamation and sentenced to go to jail. In fact, it’s a very hard book to summarize because it goes so many places, in a very intricate web, and somehow, doesn’t feel scattered. It’s also a completely addictive read: the pacing is great, the characters out of the box and the story unfolds in a very gripping way. You end up wanting to figure it all out just as much as Mikael and Lisbeth.
A word about Lisbeth: she is such an amazing bad-ass. Damaged, resourceful, incredibly intelligent, completely unique. I simply loved her and rooted for her on every page. She is weird, anti-social, has major trust and authority issues and can react violently when she feels threatened, but she is also deeply caring, albeit in her own awkward way. It has become a cliché to have a dark, “alternative” looking female hacker character kicking around, I am quite aware of that. But I think that Lisbeth stands out. We must remember that this is the first tome of a trilogy, and that through said trilogy, she matures and evolves quite significantly. In “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, she is introduced and shown at a pivotal moment of her life, and events taking place in the first book start a ripple effect that continues throughout the entire trilogy.
Blomkvist is a weird one: women apparently find him irresistible, he’s a great journalist, a shitty father, but a generally good and caring guy. I like the fact that he is realistically flawed and clever, but some aspects of his personality felt a bit inconsistent. The other characters are interesting, though I feel they are not as fleshed out as the leading duo.
I really enjoyed this book! It’s a great, entertaining, disturbing read. The main characters are compelling, the mystery is fascinating and the final part will keep you reading on the edge of your seat until the last page. I like that the topic of violence towards women was addressed in a realistic, careful way. It is not a pleasant subject matter to tackle, and it took a lot of courage on Larsson’s part to write about it. I’m very happy to have an intelligent noir thriller handy when I feel like escaping (to a super fucked up, violent place).
Oh, and no offense to Mr. Fincher, but if you want to watch a movie version, get the Swedish trilogy. Noomi Rapace is incredible as Salander!
I watched a documentary on Stieg Larsson and one of the first thing they said, as you get a panoramic shot of beautiful Stockholm, is that Sweden is the rape capital of the world. “What? WHAT?!?!” you might have heard me scream at my tv, had you been in the room with me. Apparently, under its guise of lovely socialist Heaven, Sweden has some very dark spots, and Larsson was not afraid of bringing some very uncomfortable truths about his country to light. He was an investigative journalist who, just like his protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, pissed off important (read: rich) people by telling the world the not-so-nice things they were doing, and for that, he actually lived in fear for his life.
Because he is a journalist, I can tell you right off the bat that his prose is nothing special. In a possible effort to sound realistic, he describes settings, meals and the contents of people’s bags in an almost clinical fashion. That’s really the only thing I can hold against his work though, because he created an amazing story and unforgettable characters, despite his obsession with sandwiches and IKEA. His Millenium trilogy is compulsively readable and impossible to forget.
Originally titled “Men who hate women”, this is the first book featuring the Mikael Blomkvist/Lisbeth Salander duo. A disgraced journalist is hired by an old industrialist to solve an ancient family mystery: the disappearance of his beloved niece. Said journalist hires a very unusual assistant, and they both find out much more than they bargained for as they conduct their investigation.
That’s the main story, but Larsson packs a lot more than that in there. Lisbeth’s own struggle with her legal guardian and her bizarre family history are interwoven with the investigation, as well as Blomkvist’s attempt at cleaning his reputation after he was accused of defamation and sentenced to go to jail. In fact, it’s a very hard book to summarize because it goes so many places, in a very intricate web, and somehow, doesn’t feel scattered. It’s also a completely addictive read: the pacing is great, the characters out of the box and the story unfolds in a very gripping way. You end up wanting to figure it all out just as much as Mikael and Lisbeth.
A word about Lisbeth: she is such an amazing bad-ass. Damaged, resourceful, incredibly intelligent, completely unique. I simply loved her and rooted for her on every page. She is weird, anti-social, has major trust and authority issues and can react violently when she feels threatened, but she is also deeply caring, albeit in her own awkward way. It has become a cliché to have a dark, “alternative” looking female hacker character kicking around, I am quite aware of that. But I think that Lisbeth stands out. We must remember that this is the first tome of a trilogy, and that through said trilogy, she matures and evolves quite significantly. In “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, she is introduced and shown at a pivotal moment of her life, and events taking place in the first book start a ripple effect that continues throughout the entire trilogy.
Blomkvist is a weird one: women apparently find him irresistible, he’s a great journalist, a shitty father, but a generally good and caring guy. I like the fact that he is realistically flawed and clever, but some aspects of his personality felt a bit inconsistent. The other characters are interesting, though I feel they are not as fleshed out as the leading duo.
I really enjoyed this book! It’s a great, entertaining, disturbing read. The main characters are compelling, the mystery is fascinating and the final part will keep you reading on the edge of your seat until the last page. I like that the topic of violence towards women was addressed in a realistic, careful way. It is not a pleasant subject matter to tackle, and it took a lot of courage on Larsson’s part to write about it. I’m very happy to have an intelligent noir thriller handy when I feel like escaping (to a super fucked up, violent place).
Oh, and no offense to Mr. Fincher, but if you want to watch a movie version, get the Swedish trilogy. Noomi Rapace is incredible as Salander!
annarosereads's review against another edition
1.0
Whenever I'd tell someone about how I couldn't get into this book, they would tell me I had to give this book a second chance. So I final tried the audiobook version on my ipod. I really wish there was a second rating area for the performances, because this reading was great!
That being said, the book is something I'm still not a fan of. I've read reviews which praised [a:Steig Larsson|706255|Stieg Larsson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1246466225p2/706255.jpg] for his raising awareness of violence against women. I just don't see what the big deal is. There is nothing inherently feminist or even brave about writing about violence against women, especially when it is done in such a sensational and salacious way. If anything that idea that only a woman who is not quite right emotionally will be willing to fight back is insulting. All the female characters are one-dimensional and damaged. But thank god there is knight-errant Mikeal Blomkvist to help all the ladies sort out their problems.
What really boggles my mind in regard to the popularity of this novel is not the sexism, but the poor and uneven storytelling itself. It's painfully boring at the start, unbelievable in the middle, and then hurriedly wrapped up at the end.
That being said, the book is something I'm still not a fan of. I've read reviews which praised [a:Steig Larsson|706255|Stieg Larsson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1246466225p2/706255.jpg] for his raising awareness of violence against women. I just don't see what the big deal is. There is nothing inherently feminist or even brave about writing about violence against women, especially when it is done in such a sensational and salacious way. If anything that idea that only a woman who is not quite right emotionally will be willing to fight back is insulting. All the female characters are one-dimensional and damaged. But thank god there is knight-errant Mikeal Blomkvist to help all the ladies sort out their problems.
What really boggles my mind in regard to the popularity of this novel is not the sexism, but the poor and uneven storytelling itself. It's painfully boring at the start, unbelievable in the middle, and then hurriedly wrapped up at the end.
alyssainnc's review against another edition
4.0
Not what I expected and I'm sorry I waited so long to read this book. Interesting story and characters. I prefer McDermid's writing a bit more (Larsson even mentions one of her books in Dragon Tattoo), but I still look forward to reading the other two in this series.
nozzony's review against another edition
3.0
It took me awhile to drag through this. I partly blame it on the fact that I saw the movie before reading the book. I didn't much care for the way it ended. The book seemed long and rather actionless until about 70% through. I checked the synopsis of the other two books and don't intend to read them anytime soon. It was basically a book within a book within a book. I will give Larsson credit for creating a deeply interesting character in Lisbeth Salandar, but the other characters seemed rather shallow and even Blomkvist seemed half done.
nikchick's review against another edition
4.0
After a slow start I got into the book and kept picking up speed and interest like a train finally coming up to speed. Set in Sweden, all the references to coffee and aquavit, the summer cabins on coast and the freezing winters made me "homesick" for Finland and even the Scandinavian sentiments and trappings of northern Minnesota. The author succeeded in eliciting strong responses from me throughout the book and made me also care for the characters. I was sorry to learn the author died in early middle age and did not get to finish his planned series. In the end, I liked this book very much.