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A review by tori_storydelver
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
5.0
4.5 stars
The original title, "Men who Hate Women," makes so much more sense than "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." I mean seriously, the girl they are referring to has many tattoos and honestly the one she has of a wasp gets talked about way more than the dragon. Where the hell did this title come from? That is not the only criticism I have with this book either. The two main characters are so flawed. Lisbeth tries to handle everything by herself and has a huge hold up about letting anyone into her personal life. Mikael is not only a bad dad (which to be fair he fully admits to) but he also fits that trope of man without any personality who women just fall for right and left for no apparent reason at all. It is pretty easy to guess some details of the mystery, but I thought it was still entertaining to watch unfold. The beginning is slow, and the ending drags a bit.
Now, you're probably thinking that is a lot of criticism for a book you gave 4.5 stars to, and you might be right. This has been one of those books I kept putting off despite everyone recommending I read it. I am so happy that I finally did! I seriously could not put this book down! I loved how flawed the main characters were! It made them seem so much more realistic. It was refreshing to have morally grey characters be the "good guys" in a thriller/mystery book. Lisbeth especially is just so bad-ass! There are scenes in this book that are extremely graphic and hard to read through, but I am so thankful that Stieg Larsson didn't shy away from these. Physical and sexual violence are things that happen in real life and they shouldn't be glossed over or toned down. They are horrific to think about and it should be hard to comprehend how one person can treat another human that way. Watering down that sort of behavior makes it not have as big of an impact as these crimes should have. I really appreciate the overall theme of this book, "Men who Hate Women" is a very apt title. And who doesn't like when we take such a serious topic and add in a healthy dose of vengeance and justice?
The original title, "Men who Hate Women," makes so much more sense than "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." I mean seriously, the girl they are referring to has many tattoos and honestly the one she has of a wasp gets talked about way more than the dragon. Where the hell did this title come from? That is not the only criticism I have with this book either. The two main characters are so flawed. Lisbeth tries to handle everything by herself and has a huge hold up about letting anyone into her personal life. Mikael is not only a bad dad (which to be fair he fully admits to) but he also fits that trope of man without any personality who women just fall for right and left for no apparent reason at all. It is pretty easy to guess some details of the mystery, but I thought it was still entertaining to watch unfold. The beginning is slow, and the ending drags a bit.
Now, you're probably thinking that is a lot of criticism for a book you gave 4.5 stars to, and you might be right. This has been one of those books I kept putting off despite everyone recommending I read it. I am so happy that I finally did! I seriously could not put this book down! I loved how flawed the main characters were! It made them seem so much more realistic. It was refreshing to have morally grey characters be the "good guys" in a thriller/mystery book. Lisbeth especially is just so bad-ass! There are scenes in this book that are extremely graphic and hard to read through, but I am so thankful that Stieg Larsson didn't shy away from these. Physical and sexual violence are things that happen in real life and they shouldn't be glossed over or toned down. They are horrific to think about and it should be hard to comprehend how one person can treat another human that way. Watering down that sort of behavior makes it not have as big of an impact as these crimes should have. I really appreciate the overall theme of this book, "Men who Hate Women" is a very apt title. And who doesn't like when we take such a serious topic and add in a healthy dose of vengeance and justice?