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_annika__'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Sexual harassment
agnesssimo's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Den var så intressant men så lång. Alldeles för mycket beskrivande kring affärer och finans, den skulle gott o väl kunnat kortats ned några hundra sidor. Dock var Vanger- ploten såååå bra, hade inte tänkt mig det där.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, and Murder
leila_scola's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Murder
adventurouspotato's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
This is a tough book to review. The mystery at the heart of it is compelling and well laid out but there is a lot of other stuff in this book which slows the pace down incredibly for most of the first half as well as the last 50 pages. I think the beginning of this book is pretty bad, with infodump problems in the first couple chapters. The Wennerström affair and the future of Millennium was just not that interesting to me and the book outlines it in too much dry detail.
It took until part 2 for this book to even start being interesting, and it takes until part 3 for any progress to be made on the case! But the mystery itself is well laid out and interesting, and while I guessed a couple things, namely thatHarriet was still alive, most of it was a complete surprise. The end of part 3 and beginning of part 4 was a real page turner, but then we saw more of a secondary plot at the end which I didn't care much about.
The characters are also interesting, especially the title character, but I had some issues with their relationships with one another. Is it really too much to ask forany of the main female characters not to fuck Blomkvist? I think his relationship with Cecilia was a bit interesting cause it could have compromised the case, but otherwise, was it really necessary to spend that much time on the subject of his sex life?
Salander is even more complicated in this regard.I think her experience of SA and how she responded to it actually gave an important look at her character, which I do have to respect since it's kind of rare for that to work. Her revenge was really satisfying and shows how she takes care of things on her own even though it may be more dangerous.
You can also see how her circumstances affects her attitude towards the case and other male characters. She has no idea what it's like to have healthy boundaries or relationships, whether platonic or sexual, and it's no surprise when she randomly asks her boss if he thinks she's attractive or when she tries to have sex with Blomkvist even though he's old enough to be her dad. This is the first time Salander actually trusts someone as a friend and she basically tries to sabotage it by reverting to a dynamic she understands.
This all makes sense for her character, but I hate that Blomkvist goes along with it! For him it's just sex but it should be clear that Salander is vulnerable and that their relationship would be healthier without that. Blomkvist isn't always perfect but I'm not sure if we're supposed to treat this as a mistake since there isn't any consequences for him and their relationship remains pretty much the same, just now with sex. I think this is a missed opportunity for Salander to either be confronted with healthy boundaries in a platonic relationship for once, or to have a conflict between them because their sexual relationship isn't super healthy for their friendship and working relationship.
Anyways, I'll wrap up with some more small thoughts. This book is really Swedish and it doesn't try to explain linguistic or cultural things to a foreign audience for the most part, except for some reason it used Fahrenheit for the temperature which just killed me as a Canadian. It also makes constant reference to books, newspapers and magazines characters read, almost none of which I had heard of. For all I know they are fictional, but I assume they are well known to Swedes. I thought this surprising lack of localization was interesting given this book's international success.
Also, most characters are referred to by last name way more frequently than I would expect, which is probably a Swedish cultural thing? But it makes it confusing since the Vanger family are all called by their first names, but "Vanger" is specifically used for Henrik Vanger. Another example is that Birger Vanger is called "Birger" while Erika Berger is called "Berger". This confusion could have been avoided if she was called by her first name in the text!
It took until part 2 for this book to even start being interesting, and it takes until part 3 for any progress to be made on the case! But the mystery itself is well laid out and interesting, and while I guessed a couple things, namely that
The characters are also interesting, especially the title character, but I had some issues with their relationships with one another. Is it really too much to ask for
Salander is even more complicated in this regard.
You can also see how her circumstances affects her attitude towards the case and other male characters. She has no idea what it's like to have healthy boundaries or relationships, whether platonic or sexual, and it's no surprise when she randomly asks her boss if he thinks she's attractive or when she tries to have sex with Blomkvist even though he's old enough to be her dad. This is the first time Salander actually trusts someone as a friend and she basically tries to sabotage it by reverting to a dynamic she understands.
This all makes sense for her character, but I hate that Blomkvist goes along with it! For him it's just sex but it should be clear that Salander is vulnerable and that their relationship would be healthier without that. Blomkvist isn't always perfect but I'm not sure if we're supposed to treat this as a mistake since there isn't any consequences for him and their relationship remains pretty much the same, just now with sex. I think this is a missed opportunity for Salander to either be confronted with healthy boundaries in a platonic relationship for once, or to have a conflict between them because their sexual relationship isn't super healthy for their friendship and working relationship.
Anyways, I'll wrap up with some more small thoughts. This book is really Swedish and it doesn't try to explain linguistic or cultural things to a foreign audience for the most part, except for some reason it used Fahrenheit for the temperature which just killed me as a Canadian. It also makes constant reference to books, newspapers and magazines characters read, almost none of which I had heard of. For all I know they are fictional, but I assume they are well known to Swedes. I thought this surprising lack of localization was interesting given this book's international success.
Also, most characters are referred to by last name way more frequently than I would expect, which is probably a Swedish cultural thing? But it makes it confusing since the Vanger family are all called by their first names, but "Vanger" is specifically used for Henrik Vanger. Another example is that Birger Vanger is called "Birger" while Erika Berger is called "Berger". This confusion could have been avoided if she was called by her first name in the text!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
braedenjed's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder
brodabooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Not so incredible from start to finish, but incredible overall.
Many rollercoasters throughout, well-penned characters with reasonable development.
I especially love how the plot and the characters effortlessly switch control and takeover under Larsson's pacing.
Many rollercoasters throughout, well-penned characters with reasonable development.
I especially love how the plot and the characters effortlessly switch control and takeover under Larsson's pacing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Abortion
ladylexi'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this is such a great thriller! the main characters are so interesting and the writing is great. 10/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Murder
mjohn058's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All things considered, it’s very good. The topics/themes, the plot, the writing, all good.
However,the entire subplot of the sexual relationship between Lisbeth and Mikael is completely unnecessary. You could simply flip a switch to make their relationship platonic, and both only would nothing fundamentally change, it would actually have been better. Why must she fall in love with him? It’s so out of character with zero justification or pay off.
And this is a minor point, butwhy on earth is it titled the way it is? It sounds good. It sure is mysterious. But the book isn’t *really* about her. And her ooooo spooky dragon tattoo is not relevant to the plot at all.
Aside from that, very good.
However,
And this is a minor point, but
Aside from that, very good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Antisemitism, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
egilbertt's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder
allymcbroom's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment