Today we have a book review by CMS's very own aspiring novelist, Meredith. You can follow her blog "Write until there is nothing left" where she shares chapters and excerpts and the joys slash frustrations of writing.
Her bio will be up next week and as soon as she gets her first novel published we'll hook you up with signed copies!
In the future I promise to
not triple the reading material on your bedside table with one book review. In
this case, however, reading just one of these recommendations isn’t
enough. You may think I am going to say
50 Shades of Grey…but I’m not….please give me more credit than that.
This three piece series
mixes in so much more than sex, although it is there, and not always in a good
way. The first book was recently made
into an American movie, all three have been done for Swedish audiences, and
Hollywood is sure to follow on the success of the first movie by transforming
the second two books into major motion pictures. If you haven’t already guessed, the series I
am speaking of is The Millennium Series, or more commonly known for the titles
of the three books: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with
Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.
Your first thought may be
that these books do not follow the general theme of Color Me Styled, which is
exactly why I am recommending them as my first post. The precedent for uniqueness is being set
right off the bat.
Released over the course of
three years, starting in 2005, these books published posthumously on behalf of
the author Stieg Larsson are based on actual demons of his past and dance
around the concept of insanity, how it is defined, who is in fact insane, and
the people charged with judging our sanity. Within these three books Larsson
exposes the corruption prevalent in all of society. Based throughout Sweden, this continuous
story contains murder, theft, rape, greed, kidnapping, and an unexpected
heroine.
While in the first book it
may not seem that the story revolves around our heroine, Lisbeth Salander, the
second two books tell the story of a woman who has had society rooting against
her from the beginning. Taking on some
of the most powerful men in government, as well as those who control the sex
trade and drug trafficking throughout all of Europe, Lisbeth is repeatedly
beaten down (literally) but manages to come back with a more powerful punch
against each and every one of her enemies.
While not exactly a
realistic tale, and definitely not a fairy tale, the story of Lisbeth Salander
inspires women to fight not just against a male dominated system, but against
the basic human injustices which plague any and all societies today.
Word! Thanks Meredith - can't wait to read what's next!
(And for the record, CMS is a pretty clean cut and upbeat corner of the internet...
but we L-O-V-E, love this series. Plus, we live by the motto "Girl Power".)
Loved these books. (even though I haven't read the 3rd one yet). But they're so intense I have to take a little break between each one. Now you've got me itching to get to the final chapter of the collection.
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