A review by keelya
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

How this book was a National bestseller is beyond me. The actual mystery plot was good but there was so much wrong with the book it was hard to focus on the mystery. 
 
My main grievances lay with how the author wrote about Lisbeth. My first grievance is way the author presents the character Lisbeth. She is first described by her boss in the most disrespectful and misogynistic way. And guess what, her boss’s weird infatuation has no connection to the plot! It’s just a weird way to sexualize Lisbeth for no reason! Second, the brutal rapes of Lisbeth also have no bearing on the plot!! What was the reason for the creepy conservator?! It was not needed. Women’s assault and rape is not a plot device!! The second rape is graphic, cruel, and violent. There was absolutely no reason for this. Third, every person who comes into the book has something mean to say about Lisbeth’s body. Why? She is described as anorexically thin several times. When she is looking at her body in the mirror she says because she’s thin “She didn’t have much to offer”. Why all the body shaming of this character from everyone? The male characters body is NEVER described in a negative way, only Lisbeth’s.  Fourth, Lisbeth has a “photographic memory” - which does not exist. The author essentially gave her a magical power to further the plot. Lazy. Sixth, the author hints that Lisbeth is autistic. Oh this made me mad. Lisbeth is described as anti social - because she had a rough past and doesn’t want people to know she’s under state conservator. Not wanting to talk much doesn’t mean you’re autistic. I hate when people minimize autism like this. 
Blomkvist’s character was okay. The most annoying thing was that every woman couldn’t help but throw themselves at him. Literally he sleeps with everyone woman who he talks to in this book. He’s also an absent father. Also Lisbeth, who he sleeps with (of course) is closer in age to his daughter than to him. Gross. 
Lastly, I knew Martin was involved from the beginning. I didn’t know to what extent but I knew he wasn’t innocent. It was not that big of a plot twist. 
Overall, this book was terrible. I only finished it to see if the creepy boss and rapes of Lisbeth would add to the plot - which they didn’t. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
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