Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres by Stieg Larsson

83 reviews

vulturetime's review against another edition

2.5

I will say it was a very readable book and I was interested for a lot of the main plot. The thing that detracts from my enjoyment are the relationships. Almost everything is about sex and it gets rather tiring. Additionally, Lisbeth and Mikael get in a relationship, to which Mikael protests that he is old enough to be Lisbeth's father. And yet he still continues to have sex with her fairly regularly. Man has no backbone when it comes to these beliefs of his and it was just irritating to read about. Also there were some fairly iffy lines to me now, reading this book almost 20 years after it was first published. 

There is a lot of sexual violence in this book, so keep that in mind. There are some fairly explicit descriptions of women who had been raped and killed in brutal ways. Lisbeth is also a ward because she was deemed mentally incompetent, so there's a bit of talk on that. Lisbeth does get raped during the course of the story and Mikael was a second away from being raped as well. Lots of talk about Nazis and antisemitism as well, for reasons that are apparent when you meet the Vanger family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexual violence, and Incest

Minor: Eating disorder

photogenicegg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Antisemitism and Animal death

eks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

The mystery was very spicy and unexpected. I definitely didn’t know what was going to happen or how characters were going to connect. 

Some parts were slow and boring though. Took me a while to get through the beginning. There’s a lot of financial industry jargon that made my eyes glaze over. 

My main critique is that the female characters are so one note and clearly written by a man. Like they’re all so boss bitch but also flighty and needy but then again cool? And the treatment of sexual assault and violence against women is questionable to me. And the age gap relationship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, and Xenophobia

bibicornxx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

I honestly dont know how to feel about this book. Its very definitely of its time, and also very obviously a predecessor of every trope to do with crime media of modern day. 

Lisbeth is an amazing character and also awful. she makes me want to rip my hair out, but i can also respect that shes so unique and different from every flimsy protagonist of today that i have to respect her.

blomkvist bored me to tears in some parts, but was oddly likeable in a few others? definitely found his perspective the most difficult to read at the start of the book.

the complicated family tree and legal issues definitely killed a few brain cells off, but the action parts (although few) brought them back.

overall, not a book i want to read again in a hurry, but one i have an odd amount of respect for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Rape, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism, Stalking, and Child abuse

padsworth's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Sexual harassment, Torture, Death of parent, Animal death, Rape, Suicide, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

ariadnelydia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal cruelty, Incest, Murder, Rape, and Animal death

Moderate: Antisemitism

neha2lal's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a riveting, unflinching look at men who hate women (which happens to be the title of the original Swedish novel). What would otherwise be a basic thriller/mystery is elevated by its unapologetic examination into the intersections between misogyny, Nazism, financial corruption, and systemic failures in all sorts of institutions. Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist were interesting and compelling leads. Their stories start out separate, and when they intertwine it lights a spark going forward in the novel that remained strong until the end. I found myself unable to put the book down and highly recommend it, with the caveat that the novel heavily features triggering topics and may not be suitable for all readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Incest and Animal cruelty

Minor: Antisemitism

a1mello's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The short review is that the book truly starts to pick up in the middle and is very good overall. The story was very intriguing and well done and kept me interested. The long review is that unfortunately there were several unnecessary scenes in the first half of the book that did nothing to advance the plot or to assist in character development. These could have certainly been excluded without affecting the storyline at all as they felt like they were included for shock value. It should also be known that Lisbeth doesn't truly start to come into the story until about halfway through which was frustrating. Beyond that, the female relationships that the main character has feels very much like it was written by a man, which was wholly annoying and disappointing in comparison to the rest of the books writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Racism, Rape, Animal death, Death, Murder, Sexism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Child abuse

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Car accident

amberacks12's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

The mystery was intriguing. The characters were all gross, mostly unlikeable individuals. Someone mutilates a cat. Lots of women get r*ped and murdered. 
Writing it all out like that makes me wonder why I finished this book. 
Probably because I needed to know that it ends. And that the most disgusting men get their due. 
Probably won’t read the next one. 

Enjoyment: 2.5
Educational value: 3
Emotional impact: 2 (this book made me mad)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Torture and Abortion

Minor: Antisemitism

beckiesophie11's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Sexism, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, and Forced institutionalization