Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

264 reviews

lildot's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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ed_moore's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

3.75

Thus concludes the oldest book on my TBR, which I have had intention to read for at least 5 years when thriller was my go-to genre. Stieg Larsson’s thriller ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ follows journalist Mikhail Blomkvist and his unlikely partner, hacker Lisbeth Salander in their freelanced job to find the missing niece of a industrialist tycoon CEO who went missing 40 years prior, the case closed as an unsolved mystery. It also follows a side plot of a corporate legal battle which highlights the faults of capitalism as a system. It was an extremely engaging story throughout, as the case with most mysteries as clues begun to emerge me progressing through the book much faster, and some moments succeed in sending literal chills down my spine. The mystery was really well written and full of twists, though it is impossible to ignore how harrowing the book was. Larsson writes extremely graphic and detailed scenes of rape and torture that are extremely uncomfortable to read. Each part of the book is epigraphic by a statistic about women and sexual violence in Sweden, which is extremely important in addressing the crisis beyond being in fiction, and in most cases the sheer size of the statistic percentages were tragic. (Men are disgusting.) I end on that note as it is the primary message of the novel, though the mystery was engaging it was an extremely uncomfortable and illuminating read. TW’s are crucial with this one.

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cerealceec's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.5

huh, ok. went into this with a sense of obligation because i've heard a lot about this book (and movie adaptation) and wanted to form my own opinion. i'm sure i would have had a much harder time staying focused and invested if i'd read it, but as it turned out, vance's reading was so perfectly done that i thoroughly enjoyed listening to even the "boring" parts. this might actually get me into audiobooks for good.

it's hard to say exactly what it was about the characters, but i found them and their relationships just fascinating. many of them weren't portrayed with unusual depth, but i guess i loved how unflinchingly their flaws were portrayed. i love that lisbeth is infuriating at times in her anger and propensity to fly off the handle. it makes perfect sense for her character.

mikael's relationship with erika was such an unexpectedly loving, earnest portrayal of relationship anarchy and nonmonogamy that i couldn't believe i was reading it in such a well-known book. i'm really curious how it'll be expanded on in further books, especially with lisbeth involved.

i'm not a great plot critic but i was more or less satisfied with the resolution; not sure how i feel about some aspects of the villain's portrayal but i'll have to think on that one.

lots more thought but i'll sit on it, probably going to check out the next one.

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sat on it, updated thoughts:

started the next book and it's unfortunately put the first book's flaws closer into focus... think i might give up on this series. blomkvist's Nice Guy characterization is starting to get on my nerves, especially the way all female characters can't help but be attracted to him... also the page on lisbeth's breast implants, jesus christ. think it's best to appreciate the first book for what it was and leave it there.

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meganeorcx's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was a spontenous purchase after having discussed parts of both the novel and the film adaptations in class but I ended up regretting spending money on it. I dreaded reading 500 pages of a genre I'm not that into, written by a man, no less. I finally got around to reading it and it was great! It's long and slow but the pay-off is so good. The content is harsh but with the diversity of characters and the mentioned statistics, it doesn't come across as exploitative at all. I do agree with the introduction, though, that it isn't perfect in how it also portrays abusive situations. I also didn't particularly like Lisbeth and Mikael's sexual relationship together. Luckily, the book overall was good enough for me to see past that. In fact, I might end up reading Larsson's other two Millennium books because my curiosity is piqued!

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