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
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that I like as a character, I woefully dislike that he had Blomkvist refer to her as having Asperger's Syndrome (an outdated term, but not sure if it was when this was written).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.
Spoiler
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.
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
serena_reads'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
vengencedemon'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Murder, Torture, and Antisemitism
Minor: Addiction
archosaur's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Misogyny, Incest, Hate crime, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Self harm