The international best-selling novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is considered a literary classic by many, having received a multitude of positive comments from known journals such as Independent and The Washington Post. However, this review, contrary to what one might be anticipating, will not praise the novel, but criticise its deficiencies and shortcomings. Note that this critique includes my own personal opinions and should be approached with skepticism.
When I started reading the book, I was captivated by the first chapter. The writing style was beguiling, the mystery seemed to be alluring and compelling. However, by the third chapter, I had guessed the ending of the book and by the fifth, the murderer.
The fact that the ending was easy to foretell does not usually bother me, yet when met with other, more severe weaknesses, it makes the novel feel tacky and faded. I feel there are many frailties within the book, yet the most prominent one is the characters’ underdeveloped identities. Said underdeveloped identities lead to them being superficial, which in turn causes the author never being able to delve into the potential that could have been reached with rich and complex characters. The capacity not having been reached by the author’s writing leads to the readers feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied.
“Keep in mind that I'm crazy, won't you?”
I believe I can base this argument of shallow characters on many individuals in the book, but the one who disappointed me the most is one of the main characters. Lisbeth Salander is an autistic “hacker” who shows all the stereotypical autistic traits that are actually common misconceptions which are genuinely harmful for autistic people. Her being brilliant with computers, smarter than other people yet socially withdrawn and classified as “having a mental illness” that has such an impact on her life that even though she is a legal adult, she is still under the care of a guardian/caretaker (who, by the way, assaults and rapes her on multiple occasions and threatens to put her into a mental facility if she dares to tell it to others). And while I do understand that it’s supposed to be a crucial part of Lisbeth’s life and her character is supposed to be invigorated “thanks to” the trauma she has experienced; basing her identity on a single aspect makes her one-dimensional and shallow, and she does not reach the potential one could reach with someone like Lisbeth.
“I am a rapist and a sadistic pig,' if you get that tattoo removed I will carve it into your forehead, do you understand?”
I also did not appreciate the author first infantilising her by talking about how skinny and like-a-14-year-old she was and then making her have sex with 2 different men (One being the aforementioned caretaker who rapes her (which in turn makes her go “batshit crazy” and torture the man psychopathically and sadistically (which is supposed to be a crucial point in her character development I’m guessing)))
Not only that, the actual main character, Mikael Blomkvist, is based on the author himself. The similarities between Larrson and Blomkvist are undeniably evident, which leads me to believe whilst some parts of Blomkvist are things that have happened to the author in his life, the rest are traits that he would have liked to have. Blomkvist is a very successful journalist whose main characteristic is being a “womanizer”, and the author incessantly praises said essence of his personality. Not to mention the fact that he, as a nearly fifty year old man, has sexual intercourse with a 24 year old who in his words, “looks like a 14 year old” and whom he has told “I’m old enough to be your dad.” which does nothing for the plot but sexualise Lisbeth once more.
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I do understand and appreciate that the original name of the book is “Men who Hate Women” and the entire story is centered around men who hate women, and that the author is trying to create an environment to address, and moreso to expose the misogyny within the society. The fact that this is an examination of the violent abuse of women in Sweden, focusing particularly on the warped philosophies and governmental failures that permit such acts is undeniable and significant. That I understand and respect. Yet, even with that said, I believe there are better ways to do that, without the dehumanisation of neurodivergent people and sexualisation of young women.
With all that said, my stance on this book stands firm, and while I do understand the intentions of the book, the execution makes it dilapidate horribly. I am in no way trying to disregard the sexism and blatant misogyny in the society, nor am I trying to state that said issues are unimportant and not worth investigating within a novel; I am simply trying to assert that the delivery of the ideas (which I adored, by the way, because biblical references when intertwined with homicide, specifically serial killers, are always a treat to have) could have been vastly improved.