Her entry begins:The Stieg Larsson trilogy: Unfinished, imperfect, and hard not to read
This past summer my friend and neighbor was drawn into the global excitement over Stieg Larsson’s trilogy and made sure I also read it by loaning me her copies as soon as she was done. Her enthusiasm was infectious so I started in right away. As a teacher of fiction writing, I can’t help but read analytically; and as a crime novelist whose work covers terrain similar to Larsson’s, I was eager to see what all the fuss was about. I quickly found myself careening between admiration and incredulity.
First of all, to Larsson’s immense credit, he did it: he wrote his books as an unknown novelist, unchallenged by deadlines or critics, and succeeded wildly. I applaud him further for having made his undeniable conquest of the literary universe with uneven, imperfect novels, a feat akin to Forrest Gump triumphing at everything he does despite obvious deficiencies; Gump succeeds because what he lacks in intellect he makes up for in heart. As I nitpick through Larsson’s novels, keep in mind that I mourn the passing of a fellow novelist whose life ended in the process of blossoming into a thriller author who was just starting to master his craft. Had he lived, with his bank account filled to overloading, his...[read on]
Born in France to American parents, Katia Lief moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in Massachusetts and New York. She teaches fiction writing as a part-time faculty member at the New School in Manhattan and lives in Brooklyn.Among the praise for Katia Lief:
"Mesmerizing." (Lisa Gardner)Read an excerpt from Next Time You See Me and view the trailer, and read an excerpt from You Are Next and view the trailer.
"A new force to reckon with in...suspense." (Donna Anders)
"Suspense at a high level." (Midwest Book Review)
"Taut, clean storytelling." (Publishers Weekly)
Visit Katia Lief's website.
Writers Read: Katia Lief.
--Marshal Zeringue
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