The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) in WACKY READING CHALLENGES

Jul 04, 2020 Alicia rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2020-aty

I cannot fathom what people see in this book. I've even tried reading the positives reviews in hopes that maybe I just didn't get it. They didn't help. Let me list just SOME of my problems:

(1) The book is divided into 4 parts (approximately 150 pages each). The only part that had anything exciting or pertinent was Part 3. That means I read 300+ pages of nothing, got to a good part, then read 150 pages of nothing. The remaining 3 parts are filled with the exact sleeping times of the protagonist, I cannot fathom what people see in this book. I've even tried reading the positives reviews in hopes that maybe I just didn't get it. They didn't help. Let me list just SOME of my problems:

(1) The book is divided into 4 parts (approximately 150 pages each). The only part that had anything exciting or pertinent was Part 3. That means I read 300+ pages of nothing, got to a good part, then read 150 pages of nothing. The remaining 3 parts are filled with the exact sleeping times of the protagonist, his eating habits (sandwiches, but never just one always multiple sandwiches with liverwurst), and his love of coffee. At one time it got thrilling because as he was investigating, people kept offering him coffee. And he thought it was too much coffee. Which is fascinating because all he f***ing talks about is coffee.

(2) The writing is absolutely terrible. The only sections that the book takes the time to go into detail with are sexual assault, murder, animal mutilation, torture and sandwiches. Everything is completely glossed over. The author tries to fit so many different topics into one book, that you can't fully get invested in any topic. I see some reviews say it's because it's been translated from Swedish, but I find that hard to believe. Translations only exemplify originally poor writing. Additionally, at one point the author relies on emails to fill a conversation. One email in a book? Ok. A book where social media is an important part of the plot (like Love, Simon)? Ok. In a book like this? Pure and simple lazy writing.

(3) The characters have no personalities. Here is what I know about these characters: Mikael enjoys sandwiches and coffee (see above), he did not put up a defense in his trial, and he enjoys having casual sex with women. Lisbeth, on the other hand, may or may not like sandwiches. What I do know is that she has the emotional range of a fly. Which results in her having absolutely no emotions except occasional murderous rage. The book hints, as do other reviewers, that she has autism. Which is great to include in a book. But people with autism have feelings, especially when we are writing from the perspective of inside their mind. Also, there may be a great reason why she comes across as a sociopath, but we are just hinted at the reasons without being given any answers.

(4) The plots do not intersect in any way except that they both include Mikael. Which is not enough. The author actually had a HUGE CHANCE to connect these, but then just passed that up. Because, once again, poor writing.

(5) Apple had to have paid to be featured in this book so much. It was the only thing that was mentioned as much as coffee or sandwiches.

Are you sick of me talking about coffee and sandwiches? Wonderful, because that was me groaning the 100 times those topics came up. ...more

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Dec 15, 2016 Chelsey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-to-buy, 4-star-books, worth-the-hype

*Spoiler free review.

I would give this a solid 3.5 stars. Since there is no half star option, I'm choosing to round up because I really did enjoy this book. I felt compelled to keep reading, even in the sluggish parts. The cons of this book are not so heavy that they constitute rounding down.

My experience with crime and mystery novels is limited. This is not my usual genre, but it is a genre I want to explore more. If you're a heavy crime or mystery novel reader, you may have picked out the t *Spoiler free review.

I would give this a solid 3.5 stars. Since there is no half star option, I'm choosing to round up because I really did enjoy this book. I felt compelled to keep reading, even in the sluggish parts. The cons of this book are not so heavy that they constitute rounding down.

My experience with crime and mystery novels is limited. This is not my usual genre, but it is a genre I want to explore more. If you're a heavy crime or mystery novel reader, you may have picked out the twists sooner. I, however, did not see the twists coming.

As most people have already stated in their reviews, this novel has a very slow pace. I would say the first 50% of the book is backstory and set up details. BUT! I really enjoyed reading the backstory of the characters and learning about the mysterious, soap opera details of the Vanger family. So, I didn't entirely mind the slow pace. The other contribution to the slow pace was the vast amount of details about the financial, journalism, and hacker worlds. I know virtually nothing about any of those subjects. Unfortunately, the information about those things was not written clearly or compellingly enough for me to care or understand. I could have done without the long explanations of finance. Explain it to me like I'm 5 and move on with the story. Still, those long winded sections didn't make me want to stop reading altogether, I just read a little faster and a bit more carelessly. I think if you hate slow paced novels AND hate boring, long details about subjects you know little about you may not get into this book.

The writing was decent, in my opinion. A lot of people have stated that the constant passages about drinking coffee and eating sandwiches was repetitive and unnecessary. While I agree with those people, I really didn't notice those sections that much as I was reading. Those unnecessary details didn't distract me at all. Truthfully, it just made me crave coffee more so than usual. Still, I think with proper editing those parts of the novel could have been cut down and some pages could have been trimmed off. Other than that, there was nothing about the writing that annoyed or distracted me. It wasn't anything to rave about, but it was altogether decent and readable.

Some people have complained about the casual sex in the novel. I did not have a problem with this. I found Mikael's long term relationship relationship to be just fine. Two consenting adults having sex and everyone effected knew about it. So what? I think if you have a problem with that relationship, you may just have a personal bias against polygamy and casual sex. The next sexual encounter of the book, though, left a bad taste in my mouth. Not because it was a casual fling, but because the relationship felt unresolved at the end of the novel and truly unnecessary in terms of plot or characterization. It seemed like it was just written to fill up space and time while Mikael was on Hedeby Island. The last relationship left me scratching my head a little bit. It seemed a bit out of character and I didn't believe the set up and foundation for the relationship.

As far as the characters go, I liked Salander. She has a unique view on life and some strong, unpopular opinions. I didn't really like how they referenced her as having Asperger's. My career is in working with people that have autism and so I'm always a little more judgmental when authors use that label. I'm not sure if that exactly fits her, to be honest. It seems like the author felt the need to justify her actions with a diagnosis rather than just portraying her as someone with unresolved issues from the past who leans towards being antisocial. Maybe that's just me, but I wasn't a fan of that. Still, I liked Salander and I really hope the next book explores her character and her past more in depth. I liked all the other characters. No one besides Salander really stood out to me as exceptional and amazing, but I don't think any of the characters were Mary Sues or cliché.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was constantly waiting to be off work so I could go home to read more of the novel. I was genuinely interested in the murder mystery, the characters, and the resolution of Mikael and Salander's personal problems. The downside to me was the long details about finance, hacking, and journalism. I also thought some bits in the last 30 pages or so were a little confusing. However, the beef of the story was compelling and I really enjoyed reading this. I have the 2nd and 3rd books waiting to be read. I plan to start the 2nd one as soon as I get home today. Do I think it was worth /all/ the hype? Probably not, but I don't think was as bad as some other very acclaimed novels I have read. So, 3.5 stars from me. I can't wait to get started on the 2nd book. ...more

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Mar 18, 2019 Sue Lauzon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Books the size of this one somewhat intimidate me. I go into the book with a preconceived notion that it will be boring and take me forever to read it. Although this one did take me a very long time (sometimes I went weeks without reading a few pages), I did enjoy it once I got into the storyline. The two storylines at first bothered me because I did not know where exactly it was going to take me and if the two main characters were ever going to meet. I found that part of the story just dragged ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 Debra Barstad rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a good book. I liked how the writer kept you guessing until the end. I would recommend this book to those that like crime/mystery type books.

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