Did Anyone Else Hate This Book?

[Jo Ellen]

Karen wrote: "It made me squirm so I had to examine WHY it made me squirm. It tears open, for glaring exposure, topics of evil and domination we don't want to believe exists. It forced me to see people as warri..."

[Jo Ellen]

Yes. I agree with and applaud your review. Lisbeth is a brave, gritty, and tragic hero. She triumphs in her own sad way. I loved her strength. Also, as you say, I sometimes was repulsed by her. A very complex and well developed character. Her story deserved all of the resulting acclaim. I also was so fascinated by Swedish Society and a glimpse into their culture.

[Raine]

I hated it. Couldnt get through the first 100 pages. And I did really try!

[Amber]

I really liked this book. The 1st few pages were a bit technical for my taste but once I got going into it I couldnt put it down. I read the 2nd two books in the series but they were just not all that great to me.

[Paula]

I read the whole book. Its a fair to poor mystery, plain and simple. I don't care what you blame it on-bad translation, cultural difference- whatever.

I HATE that my expectations were so high that I didn't quit when I should have. I AM incensed and confused about the time it spent on the bestseller list especially with the mixed comments on it.

I had to read the Tipping Point before I understood all the drama, and here we are perpetuating it. The good news is maybe some even handed discussion will allow those who are bored to tears on pg 50 put it down, or wait to find it at the 50cent book sale.

[Elisa Santos]

I loved it, all 3 of them, read them all back to back and have to say that story gripped me to no end. I thought it crude, real on a distorted, tortouous sort of way, with some kickass (literally) characters.

Now, the backstory on the 1st book - tough to get past it, because of story within the story, but after those 150 pages, the plot just breezed in.

Different people like diferent things - that´s why there are numerous literary genres and thousands of authors: to satisfy all the diferent book-worms.

[Elisa Santos]

Grimnir wrote: "I neither hated nor liked the first book. Disinteresting is probably the word I'd use.

I also found the first half too slow and boring for my personal tastes. I don't mind back ground or back stor..."

Excuse my asking, but in light of your comment, why did you rated it 5 stars?

[Jo Ellen]

Maria wrote: "I loved it, all 3 of them, read them all back to back and have to say that story gripped me to no end. I thought it crude, real on a distorted, tortouous sort of way, with some kickass (literally)
I agree, Maria. Well said.

[Saxonjus]

I didn't enjoy or "get" it! Halfway through I abandoned the read which is very rare for me!

[Lucy]

I liked the first two books, but i can almost swear the third book was the second, I could barely get through it!

[Bill]

Isn't that the beauty of books and reading! I love this trilogy and would expect everyone else to share my view but of course it isn't the case. I read the books first and then saw the Swedish film and then the US version. I enjoyed all of them. I think the character of Lisbeth Salander helps make the books very special and the final one is a gem (as is the film) when the bad guys finally get what they deserve. As for whether the book is for women I have to say it is the favoutite book of my wife and many of her female friends.

[Cat]

I never really liked it.
I have only read the first book and it seemed to go from way to boring to downright creepy, I just couldn't get into it, yet something made me want to read all the way to the end, which is why I gave it three stars.

[Donna]

I thought it was really well done, and the whole series was stellar. I felt really bad that the writer died after dropping them off, and didn't get to see how successful they were.

At the same time, I have a friend who won't touch them. Why? Because they are so intense. You need a strong "ick" threshold to deal with the pacing, tension and violence. Because this came so close to tipping over mine, I was afraid to watch the movie. Didn't think I'd like it, or maybe I'd have to leave for certain parts. But we watched it at home, and during the very most difficult sexual scene I looked down for a few seconds and said, "Tell me when this part is done," and almost right away it was. Great books, great movie, but perhaps not for everyone.

[Elisa Santos]

Donna wrote: "I thought it was really well done, and the whole series was stellar. I felt really bad that the writer died after dropping them off, and didn't get to see how successful they were.

At the same tim..."

I never got to see film 3 (swedish version) because my rental place went down.
The rape cene on filme 1 - creeeepy! and dificult to watch but it fitted the storyline and was a demonstration of how Lisbeth as seen/perceived/ treated by society.

Definitly, not for everyone, as you say.

[[deleted user]]

I quite liked girl with the dragon tattoo but he lost me with the other too books , they became too political , I prefer fiction to concentrate on the characters, as for the movies loved the original Swedish film , disliked the American version

[Harold]

I didn't hate it. It began well but became a drag. I have not read the others in the series.

[James]

I had to force myself to get through it. Way too wordy. If I wanted to read about making sandwiches and coffee, I would have gotten a cook book. I felt the parts that were supposed to be dark and sordid were forced and inorganic. It was totally unconvincing to me that the main character (whose name I forget, it's been awhile since I read it) was the ladies man that the author tried to make him out to be. At the part where he discovers that Lisbeth is a computer hacker, he seems surprised, like he had never considered he might have been hacked. Are we really supposed to be surprised that she is a computer hacker? That happens all the time, even when the book was written that sort of thing happened all the time. I don't get why he seemed to make such a big deal out of her being a hacker. That's such a mundane thing. I found Lisbeth to be nothing more than a spoiled brat. Also, I really didn't feel the end was very satisfying.

[Ann]

I loved the book, but it definitely could have done with more editing. Something about it struck me as highly original... I guess the characters... and the viewpoint.

[Gary]

Hate is a little strong, but certainly didn't love it. I guessed the "twist at the end" by the end of the first chapter, so the rest of the book seemed tiring. Some of the characters and plotlines seemed arbitrary and forced, while others seemed pointless.

Not a bad book, but not worth the hype.

[Vrushali]

Yes, I am with you. I finished the book yesterday after a marathon read and I am only regretting the decision to have ever picked it up!

[Erin]

I read all 3 books. The first was enjoyable - yes, intense, and way too long, but enjoyable - but was clunky in the way the author tried to juggle and then resolve three different and not really related plot lines (which is why the David Fincher film ended so weakly). But the 2nd book was less strong and the 3rd was, to me, just irritating.

Lisbeth Salander was a riveting character in Dragon Tattoo. But once it's established that she can arrange anything through either her own hacking skills or her league of hackers and will never be harmed and will always come out triumphant, all interest drained from the stories. There is no longer any mystery, just elaborate bloody revenge plots.

Larsson desperately needed the help of a gifted editor. Perhaps if not for his untimely death, the books might have reached publication in a less verbose, less morbidly obese form.

P.S. And to answer several comments here: That the books are Swedish is irrelevant. It's not a matter of culture or of cultural expectations, but of simply bad writing.

[Elisa Santos]

Erin wrote: "I read all 3 books. The first was enjoyable - yes, intense, and way too long, but enjoyable - but was clunky in the way the author tried to juggle and then resolve three different and not really r..."

There were to be another 7 books on the saga; you say that once the reader realizes that Lisbeth will always get out scot free, there is no interest left. I believe that if he lived, then he would put Lisbeth thu some wormholes, as there were still a few plots to develop.

[Annie]

I agree with all the other haters of this book! Writing wasn't any good, character development was terrible, and the plot was silly, contrived and totally predictable.

This was one of the worst books I've read this year!

[Tsehay]

Emma wrote: "Anna wrote: "I hated the Da Vinci code as well. So maybe it is me!"


Anna, I am ashamed to say I didn't even bother with Da Vinci code. Or 50 Shades. By the time I heard everyone loving or rantin..."

Oh my gosh...I really thought I was the only one on the planet who struggled to enjoy this book. It was tedious to read, over the top descriptive and really slow. I disliked Da Vinci Code as well and was never able to get into 50 Shades.

[J.D.]

I haven't read most of those books but I did try to read "Angels and Demons" and I imagine they are all similar to it. I call them "blockbuster books," where it's a lot of shallow wham-bang that sucks up huge numbers of pages with mostly fluff and nothing too substantial. Obviously a lot of people enjoy those kinds of books because they make millions, but I'm not one of those people.

[☆Ruth☆]

I found this very difficult to get into and gave up trying until I saw the film. After that I found it made a lot more sense and I was able to finish and enjoy the book - although I think it was so hyped up it was always going to be an anti-climax.

[Tsehay]

J.D. wrote: "I haven't read most of those books but I did try to read "Angels and Demons" and I imagine they are all similar to it. I call them "blockbuster books," where it's a lot of shallow wham-bang that s..."

Ditto

[Lauragais]

Can't say I hated this book - I don't hate anyone, I'd give this particular book just too much power over me and my mind - but I do agree that I would not give the book any stars and in fact I would recommend to potential buyers not to buy it as it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Think ecology!

[Pamela]

I also hated it. Thought the prose was inelegant and the characters uninteresting. Put it down halfway through, because I was so bored and annoyed.

[Norman]

I loved all three books, although I thought the second was the best. While the sexual violence was difficult to read, I think it was necessary to understand Lisbeth's character/motivation....I never appreciate authors who choose to take the easy way out. Applause for Stieg Larsson (he is missed) and George RR Martin.

[Jeff]

Book one was interesting, but it was straight downhill from there. Probably after the author died, his editors tried to capitalize on his drafts. When a mystery's character becomes implausible and bears no relation to life as we know it, the work becomes junk: Lisabeth, shot in the head, digs herself out of a grave.... Really? Did I tell you the one where my pussycat, Don, solved Fermat's Last Theorem Tuesday morning while puzzling out his Rubiks Cube? You don't believe me, but you believe Lisabeth rose up from the dead. Ugh. We're doomed. If a work isn't believable, the writer has failed.

[Elisa Santos]

J.D. wrote: "I haven't read most of those books but I did try to read "Angels and Demons" and I imagine they are all similar to it. I call them "blockbuster books," where it's a lot of shallow wham-bang that s..."

And bearing your comment in mind, how did you rated it 3 stars? Since you don´t read fluff and unsubstancial books?

Bit snobish and stiff upper-lip - you might not enjoy them and Angel´s and Demons and the others like them, but no reason to put down others who did enjoy it.

There is such a thing as light reading and any reading better than spending tons of hours watching crap tv....

[Carlos]

Yes. it was terrible-boring boring boring and exploits violence against women to sell books

[Aelys]

I knew I hated it when the main character whored herself to her lawyer or guardian or whatever he was to get the money to buy an Apple. It only got worse after that. It read like a cross between grrrrrl-power comic book and an advertisement for iCrap.

I could tell the author got the ideas from newspaper headlines. He totally made up the alleged inspiration for it too. He never witnessed the gang rape. It was just another story he heard about while working as a reporter.

My girlfriend loved it, and I lost respect for her intelligence after I read it.

[Denise]

I just joined Goodreads and read the comments on this book, now 2018. Must say I loved these books and the tv series that followed, this was so different from other books I have read.

[Ray]

I did not write that I hated this book. On the contrary I very much enjoyed all three books. Also, I watched the Swedish movies as well as the one made in the U.S.
However, I am reluctant to read the books by David Lagercrantz continuing the series.

[Andrew]

I have avoided David L's sequels, as well. I may eventually check them out, but without Stieg's original vision, and knowing he had a plan beyond the trilogy, the new books seem conceptually like fan-fiction or something.

[Ray]

I might as well. I can't bring myself to read Van Lustbader's continuing the Bourne series either.

[Betro]

I liked this one, and the second did not like the third and was not happy to learn there was a sequel.

[Jacob]

Emma wrote: "I have to be honest; I hated this book.

I found the first third of the book clunky, slow and bogged down with jargon and pointless detail.

I found it disturbing and hard to read (which is not nec..."

Book really sucks tbh, not into to chicks with dragon tats on their leg yanno.

[Denise]

Loved, loved, loved the three books, watched the European series (not the American one) and would gladly watch it again.

[Ray]

I'm with you. The American movie was good , also.

[Denise]

Finally, someone that agrees with me, thank you Ray.

[Marilyn]

Some of my best friends disliked this series, but I loved the original three book - even more so after watching the movies and re-reading all the books. Hated the newest book written by some knock off author-

[Ray]

Thanks, confirms my inclination not to, also. The movies are still on my Netflix list. I'll watch them at again at some point.

[Andrew]

Saw a commercial this morning (online? TV? forget) for a "The Girl in the Spider's Web" movie coming out this fall.
Never bothered to read the book, probably will only go to the movie if someone else wants to go and I just tag along.

[Cathy]

I finished the book.. It was different and I think it lost something in translation.

[H.S]

It's a decent story but the way it is written is a snoozefest. I'm a somewhat fast reader - I finish books within 2 to 4 weeks depending on page count, but I read this for around 3 months on and off. I finished it eventually, but in the time it took for me to finish this one book, I could have read about 3 to 6 other books.

I did not like the writing style as he seemed to go off on tangents of other stories that were simply unnecessary in the grand scheme of things.

Since this book, I learned an important life lesson. If you don't like a book or film or show, do NOT force yourself to finish. Toss it aside and move on. Since then, I have done the same with Frank Herbert's Dune and Isaac Asimov's Foundation book 1. I read the first 100 pages then realized it was not for me. I moved on.

Reading is but a hobby for all of us. There is simply not enough time in the world to be wasted making yourself do something! I think 100 pages is more than reasonable - if you can't get drawn into the storyline within that length, you will never get into it.

[Marcia]

I loved everything about the whole trilogy. The author who passed before they became block busted hits. The two after we're okay...6 month book hang over ...I loved this series.

[Marcia]

Excuse the typo