‘A smorgasbord of unlikability’: the authors helping ‘sad girl lit’ grow up

In this post-Fleabag world, publishing has become obsessed with the inner turmoils of messy millennials – but isn’t it time they pulled themselves together? Meet the novelists subverting the clichesYou’ve probably come across this woman: she is unfulfilled in her career, has been abandoned by at least one man, she is aimless and lamenting the obstacles in her life (of which, in reality, there don’t appear to be many). She is not just miserable, she’s a mess; self-absorbed and full of self-loathing.If you’ve read a book by a woman, about a woman, that has been published in the last five years, then it’s overwhelmingly likely that this woman was the protagonist. The narrative likely circled around this character’s sadness, her passive struggle to overcome it, and little else. Typically, such stories have notes of darkness but will rarely deliver the actual thing. Usually the main character (like the author) will be middle-class, if not incredibly wealthy. Almost always she will be white. The book’s cover will probably feature a devastated-looking woman with her hair covering her face or her head cradled in her hands. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 15:19:43 UTC ]

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That creeping feeling

Fiction that lazily predicts a dystopian, ecologically decimated world is doomed to fail; instead novelists must engage on a new level with the climate crisis Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-18 12:54:39 UTC ]
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Granta launches hunts for Best of Young British Novelists

Granta Magazine has opened submissions for the fifth edition of its Best of Young British Novelists list, to be released in spring 2023. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-13 08:19:00 UTC ]
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Hawkins, Norton and Wheatle to pen Quick Reads 2022 titles

Novelists Paula Hawkins, Graham Norton and Alex Wheatle are among the authors writing short, accessible titles for the Quick Reads literacy programme for 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-26 23:05:50 UTC ]
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Bullshit Saviors: Helen Benedict and Nadia Hashimi on Depictions of the American Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

Novelists Nadia Hashimi and Helen Benedict join hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the mistakes American writers and culture made in depicting the United States’ wars Iraq and Afghanistan. In the wake of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and President Biden’s decision to pull US... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-23 08:49:21 UTC ]
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Nadifa Mohamed is sole British writer to make Booker prize shortlist

The author of The Fortune Men will now compete with five other novelists from South Africa, Sri Lanka and the US for the 2021 awardAlex Clark explores how the Booker shortlist tunes in to the worries of our ageJust one British author has made the shortlist for this year’s Booker prize: Nadifa... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-09-14 15:25:06 UTC ]
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The Enduring Appeal of Fictional Sisters: A Reading List

There’s something about literary sisters. Siblings offer a unique, complex, and compelling relationship for novelists to explore, so it’s no surprise that so many novels have sisters at their heart. From Jane Austen’s loveable Bennett sisters in Pride and Prejudice, and Louisa May Alcott’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-08-13 08:49:04 UTC ]
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Now that you’ve read ‘The Last Thing He Told Me,’ let’s talk about the ending

Laura Dave’s suspense novel is impossible to put down. But how satisfying is that conclusion? Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-12 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Keeping a Critical Eye on Brazil: A Conversation with Emilio Fraia, by Anderson Tepper

Interviews Emilio Fraia’s Sevastopol, out this summer from New Directions, is the sort of book that beguiles and dazzles in equal measure. Consisting of three disparate stories—of a mountain climber attempting to scale Mt. Everest, a mysterious loner... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-08-09 20:31:30 UTC ]
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Graphic Novelists Who Show Us What Loneliness Means

In her latest Graphic Content column, Hillary Chute looks at new books from Kristen Radtke and Lizzy Stewart, as well as a first graphic novel from Anne Carson. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-07-29 09:00:05 UTC ]
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Who Wrote the Advertising Slogan ‘Go to Work on an Egg’?

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle ponders the links between famous writers and advertising slogans Fay Weldon, author of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983), is one of several famous novelists who started out in the field of advertising. In this connection... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2021-07-23 14:00:03 UTC ]
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For Literary Novelists the Past Is Pressing

Historical fiction was once considered a fusty backwater. Now the genre is having a renaissance, attracting first-rank novelists and racking up major prizes. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-13 09:00:02 UTC ]
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Romance novels to read this summer

Romance novelists make their picks for the season, and they run the gamut from sexy to sweet to a little bit murderous. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-27 13:00:00 UTC ]
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How women conquered the world of fiction

From Sally Rooney to Raven Leilani, female novelists have captured the literary zeitgeist, with more buzz, prizes and bestsellers than men. But is this cultural shift something to celebrate or rectify?In March, Vintage, one of the UK’s largest literary fiction divisions, announced the five debut... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-16 06:00:48 UTC ]
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Review: Two iconic novelists, Adichie and Lahiri, step off their pedestals

Two big novelists take sharp turns in new books: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie mourns in "Notes on Grief"; Jhumpa Lahiri writes a novel, "Whereabouts," in Italian. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-30 14:00:38 UTC ]
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Christian Publishers Tap into Grittier Side of Fiction

Novelists no longer shy away from tough issues readers are facing such as mental illness, racial inequity, sexual harassment and abuse, trafficking, and domestic violence. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne – the ‘modern Jane Austen’?

This excellent cradle-to-grave biography of a much loved novelist who goes in and out of fashion captures her alarming habits and tormented love affairsIn 1971 the author Barbara Pym was at her day job at the International African Institute when she noticed “Mr C” laboriously attacking his... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-04-08 06:30:07 UTC ]
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James McBride has won the inaugural Gotham Book Prize for literature that celebrates NYC.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-06 13:00:34 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: March 24, 2021

“By relearning his grandmother’s old style of storytelling, Márquez began telling a story unlike any before.” Angus Fletcher on what Gabriel García Márquez understood about rediscovery. | Lit Hub Criticism Are climate change novels a form of activism? Seven novelists weigh in, including Pitchaya... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-24 09:30:49 UTC ]
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How Contemporary Novelists Are Confronting Climate Collapse in Fiction

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international accord that marks the first time nearly every nation on Earth promised to tackle the climate crisis. The goals set by that agreement, however, have not been met. As the climate crisis worsens, more novelists than... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-24 08:53:41 UTC ]
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Kazuo Ishiguro on the Joys of Repetition

At the Guardian, Kazuo Ishiguro discusses his newest book, Klara and the Sun, and how this latest offering echoes themes and ideas he has often explored in his previous work. “Literary novelists are slightly defensive about being repetitive,” Ishiguro says. “I think it is perfectly justified:... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2021-02-26 21:30:38 UTC ]
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