A review by meganeorcx
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
This book was a spontenous purchase after having discussed parts of both the novel and the film adaptations in class but I ended up regretting spending money on it. I dreaded reading 500 pages of a genre I'm not that into, written by a man, no less. I finally got around to reading it and it was great! It's long and slow but the pay-off is so good. The content is harsh but with the diversity of characters and the mentioned statistics, it doesn't come across as exploitative at all. I do agree with the introduction, though, that it isn't perfect in how it also portrays abusive situations. I also didn't particularly like Lisbeth and Mikael's sexual relationship together. Luckily, the book overall was good enough for me to see past that. In fact, I might end up reading Larsson's other two Millennium books because my curiosity is piqued!
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, and Sexual content