bearlyliterate's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, Incest, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Violence, Murder, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Mental illness
Minor: Abortion
boogiebeez'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
4.25
- 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
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
theuncannydani's review against another edition
- 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
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
matthewslaura'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Torture
Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
alexe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship
poubelleboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Dementia, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
kycerae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
rrkreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Usually, good thrillers are anywhere between 300-400 pages. This book is a chunker of almost 540 pages. So I was a bit skeptical about how info-dumpy and descriptive the narration will be. But it was none of those.
The narration was exceptionally good with small chapters broken into digestible paragraphs. The narrative style is breezy though the subject matter is quite intense.
Plot-wise I cannot give out much except what's already mentioned in the synopsis. I haven't seen the movie so I have no reference for comparison.
I must warn though, there are every trigger warnings possible in the story. Sexual assault, abuse, murder, gore, mental health issues, etc.
But, what really surprised me was the brilliance of the author. This book was written in 2005 and the technological know-how was exceptional. I am not sure if I could find such a tech-savvy fictional novel even today in 2021. It's not futuristic but he has taken the latest up-to-date technology of his time and has put them to good use in his story, which for me is an impressive feat. I despair at the loss of his talent.
If it is not obvious by now. I must tell you that I really was surprised and taken by the story, narration, and characters of this book. I did find the sexual references to be a distraction in parts but they were just minor irritations rather than a major complaint.
RRKReads Objective Grading - Invest Grade - Book worth buying and adding to your collection.
RRKReads Subjective Grading - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Graphic: Animal death, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Stalking, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, and Incest
syllareads'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? It's complicated
4.0
The girl with the dragon tattoo (or, the German title "Verblendung", as I read it in German) is the first book in Stieg Larsson's critically acclaimed Millenium series, a slew of books that deal with Mikael Blomkvist, founder of the independent paper "Millenium" (no doubt the reason why this series bears its title), who stumbles over a mystery in book one that he cannot quite let go of. Not exactly because he wants to solve it out of curiosity, but because the "owner" of said mystery, a millionaire named Henrik Vanger, pays him a hefty sum after an article gone awry. Instead of Mikael seeing himself without a job after he's gotten himself into legal trouble over defamation, he gains a simple job: pretend to write a family chronicle while in fact digging for the root of another mystery that has plagued an old man for years: What happened to Harriet Vanger, who vanished off a closed-off island in 1966?
Off to a slow start, Larsson gives himself a good 100+ pages to set the entire stage for his mystery but after the pace picks up, there's not one quiet moment for our MCs who could not be more different: Mikael is soon joined by Lisbeth Salander, a young 24-year-old woman who could not be more different to him if she tried. These two, when finally meeting on-page, make for an iconic if strange duo that mainly functions because Mikael simply accepts everything Lisbeth throws at him and Lisbeth thrives from the freedom he provides her through his actions. After upping the pace like that, Larsson's gritty mystery continues until a finale that left me devouring the pages at breakneck speed. I also fully appreciated the way he doesn't simply cut off the story when all is said and done but gives his characters and readers a chance to catch their breath in his final act of weaving every last bit of story together.
I'm eager to read book two, The girl who played with fire, this month and I hope to continue thinking rather highly of this series!
Graphic: Rape, Incest, Murder, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual content and Car accident
ginny1321's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Rape, Misogyny, Murder, Incest, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Car accident, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, and Stalking