ladyzbyrd'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? Yes
5.0
While I definitely did make a number of correct guesses in the first half of the book for the ending, there was still one puzzle I didn’t figure out, and I quite enjoyed the entertainment that was acted upon in solving that last mess. This was a thrilling ride of torment and love (not together).
Note: know your personal triggers and what you can handle. Sexual abuse and violent crimes against women is a theme that pops up several times and is graphically described.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
agusbelegni's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Tuve problemas con los personajes. Siento que las mujeres solo eran relevantes para la historia en tanto servían como intereses amorosos o sexuales para el protagonista (si bien para la época deben haber sido representaciones innovadoras de mujeres poderosas y diferentes). Ellas podrían haber tenido mucho más desarrollo como personajes individuales (separadas del principal), por lo que creo que su potencial fue desaprovechado.
Lo que si destaco es la crítica que realiza el libro ante los asesinatos sistemáticos y la crueldad experimentada por las mujeres en distintas partes del mundo. El libro es muy fuerte al representar la violencia de estas situaciones.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, Gore, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Domestic abuse
Minor: Car accident and Dementia
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
alexandrajjjk's review
- 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
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
khristy's review
- 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? No
4.5
Plot/characters—riveting plot and I enjoyed the characters. They were fleshed out well w good and bad traits. Even when I didn’t agree with their decisions, I liked Lisbeth, B, and Henrik.
Profundity—I need to think on this more. But it addresses treatment of women and mental illness and journalistic ethics so profound issues are addressed.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Misogyny, Abortion, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Rape, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Antisemitism, and Slavery
Moderate: Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Racial slurs
Minor: Grief, Abortion, Addiction, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Car accident
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
finnft4's review
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Incest, Death, Eating disorder, Drug use, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, and Torture
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
dracovich's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Rape, Incest, Antisemitism, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
dizzypanda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, and Torture