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khristy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Plot/characters—riveting plot and I enjoyed the characters. They were fleshed out well w good and bad traits. Even when I didn’t agree with their decisions, I liked Lisbeth, B, and Henrik.
Profundity—I need to think on this more. But it addresses treatment of women and mental illness and journalistic ethics so profound issues are addressed.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Misogyny, Abortion, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Rape, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Antisemitism, and Slavery
Moderate: Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Racial slurs
Minor: Grief, Abortion, Addiction, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Car accident
aileron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Incest, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Gun violence, and Confinement
Minor: Abortion, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Ableism, Death of parent, Dementia, Suicide, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
rachelditty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think my biggest gripe with the story was the unnecessary romance between Lisbeth and Mikael. I was worried that when their two points of views met in the middle, we'd see them fall in love, or at the very least having sex. Given that he was twice her age, I hated their engagement with each other immediately, and just found it an unnecessary catalyst for the rest of the story. I understand that it was partially needed for Lisbeth to break down some of her walls, but I think the same thing could have been accomplished if they had just become friends, as Mikael had suggested and pushed. By the epilogue, when Lisbeth had admitted she was in love with him, I was rolling my eyes. Maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but I would have loved it so much more if the two of them had just become really close friends after such a fucked-up series of events that had pulled them together.
I also found it just a tad strange that Harriet took over as CEO and was also on the board for Millenium, which I know was explained by the fact that she ran the sheep farm in Australia and therefore had a good idea of business, but she had just gotten back from being in hiding for thirty years, it seemed like it was so rushed to make that choice. Maybe time just moved faster because I read the ending so quickly, I don't know.
SO glad Harriet's uncle was able to see her alive at the end. The awful brother and mom both died, the Nazi has cancer, and the corrupt business was thrown to the dirt. You love to see it.
VERY interested in picking up the rest of the series!
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Incest, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Car accident, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Torture
Minor: Dementia
finnft4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Incest, Death, Eating disorder, Drug use, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, and Torture
bubothereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I thought Larsson wrote strong characters, created a spooky atmosphere, had great pacing, and had fine writing (though it might be better in its native Swedish). But, I can't get past how graphic this novel is. Some scenes are still scarred in my head and I wish I'd never read them. I skimmed over it where I could, but he also wove important plot points into those scenes, so they weren't entirely avoidable.
And though there are parts of Lizbeth Salander that I like as a character, I woefully dislike that he had Blomkvist refer to her as having Asperger's Syndrome (an outdated term, but not sure if it was when this was written). Larsson wrote her VERY stereotypically for autism if this is the case. As an autistic myself, who's also been through loads of trauma, I find it disgusting to paint this violent stereotype—it's not true, even with PTSD. And even if it is true for some, using her as a character with these characteristics makes neurotypicals feel like all autistics are like this (and she's not an own-voice) or make autistics feel mislabeled and unseen.
It's so frustrating to continue having this harmful narrative spread. It's what causes us to get held against or will, or worse.
I really found the mystery intriguing. But, I can't continue with the series for the aforementioned reasons.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
dracovich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Rape, Incest, Antisemitism, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
dizzypanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, and Torture
novelyon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Incest, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, and Stalking
Minor: Abortion
clemthecat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
I understand the text is translated from Swedish, but I find the writing very bland... It isn't great writing in my opinion. A lot of info dumps on unnecessary/uninteresting backstory. The characters feel two dimensional, and in dialogue they all sound the same. Blomkvist was a boring man that slept with lots of women and went for runs and made lots of coffee. Cool. Salander was supposed to be "not like the other girls" but I just found her to be this stereotypical "goth girl" "hacker" persona and it was a bit cringey. I felt the author could have fleshed out the characters further. I just couldn't sympathise or relate to anyone.
The plot wasn't that enticing to me. Perhaps it's just not my thing, but I wasn't quite drawn into the mystery, and I was not shocked by any of the revelations. I feel there was far too much narration and not enough actual ACTION. I think that could have made the story much richer.
Not a very satisfying read for me. It's easy reading, finished in only a few days, but just wasn't my cup of tea. I don't think I'll read the sequel, just because I wasn't impressed with this one.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
poubelleboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Dementia, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt