Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

18 reviews

dontthink2x's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I thought I was going to love this book. I did love the story line, the detail, and how the mystery keeps you wondering from beginning to end. The book is incredibly dark, which I normally really enjoy but I found myself lacking connection with the book and struggling to feel invested in the outcome. I think this is due to the lack of emotion in the book and the overwhelming amount of business blah blah. The entire book reads as an incredibly long list of facts with not a shred of poetic wording or connection to any deeper meaning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

boogiebeez's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

this shit insane

• I never read mystery but this was actually very good!
•  definetly was a good book to make into a movie cause the dialogue in the book feels like a movie script.
• I 🖤 lisbeth salander
• i feel like I'm probably not gonna read the other books in the series but you never know 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Incest, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Ableism, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Stalking, Body shaming, Death, Kidnapping, Child death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Car accident

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Confinement

sammygordon13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Violence, Sexual content, Incest, Child death, Animal death, Child abuse, and Car accident

Moderate: Stalking and Antisemitism

Minor: Abortion and Suicide

theuncannydani's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Addiction, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Gun violence

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Classism, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, War, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Bullying, Police brutality, and Ableism

alexandrajjjk's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Torture

aserra's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

Not much to add that hasn't been said before. To summarize:

• 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.

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Content Warnings

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

dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really liked this! Picked it up on impulse while visiting my grandma, who said she would read it after I was finished with it. Definitely going to warn her that this gets very, very dark, but is overall very entertaining and well worth following along with the mystery!

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!

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Content Warnings

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

ivana's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The mystery in this book didn't pull me in like I hoped it would. The writing style wasn't for me either - it felt like big parts filled with exposition followed by big parts filled with dialogue and it never felt cohesive. Not to mention the typical male protagonist written by a man who every woman can't help but want to sleep with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion and Transphobia

pineconeprovolone's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

bubothereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

Do you ever read a book that you enjoy, but you also want it very far away from you when you finish it? The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  was that book for me. It's mysterious, well-written, and intriguing. But, it's also traumatic, triggering, and brutal—probably the most trigger warnings I've ever put on a book. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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