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  • The Atlantic

    The Anti–Lisbeth Salanders: Gillian Flynn's Tough Heroines

    Her novels defy fiction's battered-woman trend.
    by Joanna Rothkopf Sep 12, 2012 3 minutes

    Her novels defy fiction's battered-woman trend.

    rothkopf_flynn.jpg

    Crown

    Popular literature of the past few years has been dominated by the heroine who isn't afraid to throw—or take—a punch. Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander is a sociopathic sex pet to her guardian Nils Bjurman until taking revenge, while Anastasia of got slapped with a belt. Both of these characters star in mega-bestseller trilogies. The huge popularity of books featuring battered women suggests the existence of a new genre of all grown up.

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