Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres by Stieg Larsson

35 reviews

jailala's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book was fascinating!  It has strong characters as well as a few different mystery plots going all at the same time.  Somehow, Larsson managed to create several very real, complex characters well at the same time engaging in both a slow-burn financial/political thriller, a family history thriller and layered over all a raging murder mystery with a despicable yet socially accurate baseline running throughout.  And all this before the Me-too movement.  I wouldn't be surprised in coming years if this book isn't sited as helping to bring the Me-too movements personal stories out into the light.
 **That being said: there should be a strong warning attached to this book for anyone who has trauma associated with sexual assault.  Likewise, those who have had to fight for their own privacy when it comes to their personal experiences might find this book either threatening or impowering depending.
(Personally, I find Lisbeth Salander to be a heroine easily identified with and will carry her as a kind of superhero shield in my mind.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence

princesspunx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Murder, Animal cruelty, Trafficking, Suicide, Physical abuse, Animal death, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Incest, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Eating disorder, Ableism, Alcohol, Racism, and Religious bigotry

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Incest

captureeverychapter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Rape, Physical abuse, and Death

pineconeprovolone's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Kidnapping, Incest, Antisemitism, Pedophilia, Ableism, Murder, Misogyny, and Mental illness

aoifestardust's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Antisemitism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent

bubothereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

Do you ever read a book that you enjoy, but you also want it very far away from you when you finish it? The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  was that book for me. It's mysterious, well-written, and intriguing. But, it's also traumatic, triggering, and brutal—probably the most trigger warnings I've ever put on a book. 

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. 

Finally, an incest plot. I'm sorry. I can't. If you have to stoop to incest to make your plot interesting, you've got the wrong plot. The characters were horrific enough—at that point it just felt gratuitious.

I really found the mystery intriguing. But, I can't continue with the series for the aforementioned reasons. 

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Content Warnings

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

dizzypanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

solaceinliterature's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

annah_jade's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Not the ending I had hoped for, but a good ending overall. The book itself took a bit to get into, but it was definitely an interesting read. Be warned though, it does get extremely graphic in some scenes containing sexuality and violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide