hanna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Medical content
helenamichelle's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Injury/injury detail, and Gaslighting
taricianr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry
jailala's review against another edition
- 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
**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.)
Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence
aserra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
- Slow start
- Michael Blomkvist falls into the trope of middle aged white man with suspiciously impressive sexual prowess
- There's a weird amount of description and focus on Salander's body...
- Interesting mystery
- Some people seem to really dislike the writing but, honestly, it's far from the worst I've ever read (it's also far from the best, but it's not terrible y'all)
Personally, despite a lot of tired tropes and my misgivings, I was intrigued enough by the end to continue to book 2, but that's because I already had it. If I didn't, I wouldn't have gotten it.
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Death
Minor: Sexual content, Rape, Murder, Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Incest, Antisemitism, and Forced institutionalization
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
Spoiler
I'm not one to pick up mysteries very often, but something about this was very gripping right from the start. I think it was a mix of having two different points of view as well as our narrator being reluctant to be working on Harriet's case in the first place. Mikael was very likeable, I thought; I enjoyed watching him work and walking alongside his thought processes. He was a very respectable guy and treated everyone with respect, which I was kind of surprised by--I thought he would be another main character womanizer who believes he's better than everyone else, but I was happily surprised! Lisbeth was admittedly a bit more frustrating as the story went on, especially toward the end. I really loved seeing her work and cheered her on when she got revenge on the people who hurt her, she was absolutely right for that. But toward the end she accused Harriet of being a bitch and a coward for fleeing after everything that happened with her brother, and that really bothered me.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
princesspunx'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? Yes
5.0
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
pineconeprovolone'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
3.5
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
vapidtroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Pedophilia
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