A review by orangeslices
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

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

2.5

"Men Who Hate Women" was the original title of the Swedish thriller that later came to be known as "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo." Each section of the book is prefaced with a statistic about the violence that is endured by Swedish women that goes unreported and consequently, unknown. Braced with the facts in mind, the plot unravels to an obvious conclusion about who is the perpetrator behind Harriet Vanger's disappearance. Drawn from the same vein, Stieg Larsson, falls into cliche trappings. The perspective pieces from Lisbeth falls flat - which is disappointing because I was so excited to meet her character - her punk looks and intelligent character was the main draw. Unfortunately, all of the women of import are drawn to Blomkvist (who's not very interesting) and women that are meant to be written as independent and whip smart (e.g. Erika and Lisbeth and Cecilia), they all fall for him and even draw up petty emotional "catfights" over him.
I really can't draw myself to read any more of the books because the debut book in the series falls flat.
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