Categorising fiction may help to sell books, but it says little about how writers write or readers readIn her Reith lecture of 2017, recently published for the first time in a posthumous collection of nonfiction, A Memoir of My Former Self, Hilary Mantel recalled the beginnings of her career as a novelist. It was the 1970s. “In those days historical fiction wasn’t respectable or respected,” she recalled. “It meant historical romance. If you read a brilliant novel like I, Claudius, you didn’t taint it with the genre label, you just thought of it as literature. So, I was shy about naming what I was doing. All the same, I began. I wanted to find a novel I liked, about the French Revolution. I couldn’t, so I started making one.”She made A Place of Greater Safety, an exceptional ensemble portrayal of the revolutionaries Danton, Robespierre and Desmoulins, but although the novel was completed in 1979, it wasn’t published until 1992 – widely rejected, as she later explained, because although she thought the French Revolution was the most interesting thing in the world, the reading public didn’t agree, or publishers had concluded they didn’t. She decided to write a contemporary novel – Every Day Is Mother’s Day – purely to get published; A Place of Greater Safety emerged only when she contributed to a Guardian piece about writers’ unpublished first novels. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-11-27 12:30:00 UTC ]
Daniel Genis, author of the new memoir 'Sentence: Ten Years and a Thousand Books in Prison,' recommends 11 essential books about life behind bars. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Her memoir describes her long career in diplomacy and her unwitting entanglement in Donald Trump's schemes. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-11 18:24:57 UTC ]
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Qian Julie Wang’s debut memoir Beautiful Country is a compelling and intimate portrait of an undocumented childhood. Much like Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, we are carried into the heart and mind of a child: this time, a young, undocumented girl in... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-03-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In the memoir North to Paradise, Ousman Umar tells the story of his migration from rural Ghana to urban Europe, a five-year journey that took him across 11 countries. These years are so eventful and rife with suffering that just one could be a book unto itself: Ousman is exploited in Accra;... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-10 09:50:30 UTC ]
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T.E. Lawrence’s memoir of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire -- the basis for “Lawrence of Arabia” — offers a sweeping look at war and its consequences. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-09 13:00:57 UTC ]
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At the Chicago Review of Books, Meghan O’Rourke discusses The Invisible Kingdom, a mix of memoir and research that investigates chronic illness through multiple lenses. “My work as a poet helped shape this book,” she explains. “I didn’t want it to be merely a work of reportage; I wanted to... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-03-07 21:30:33 UTC ]
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Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom takes you inside the world of being chronically ill. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2022-03-03 22:44:06 UTC ]
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‘The Paris Bookseller’ by Kerri Maher and ‘The Diamond Eye’ by Kate Quinn are among several great new works of historical fiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-02 15:27:34 UTC ]
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The novelist Kathryn Davis’s personal and time-shuffling new book, “Aurelia, Aurélia,” is about the death of her husband. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-02 10:00:08 UTC ]
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The novelist Kathryn Davis' memoir, 'Aurelia, Aurélia," is a Virginia Woolf-inspired whoosh of experiences in the aftermath of her husband's death. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-01 18:31:42 UTC ]
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Playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein reveals how a chubby gay kid from Brooklyn became a Broadway powerhouse and LBGTQ crusader. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-03-01 14:00:34 UTC ]
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In her new book, Amy Bloom writes about loving her husband and helping him to end his life after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-03-01 10:59:23 UTC ]
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Bethanne Patrick's March picks include works by Bob Odenkirk and Elena Ferrante, as well as an Indigenous punk memoir and magical African allegories. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-28 14:00:38 UTC ]
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Tell me about it, stud: Here are 12 exciting upcoming 2022 memoirs full of hot goss and amazing stories for you to add to your TBRs, including Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-28 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Until I was five years old, my mother and I lived with her parents in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We never talked about my father. We never said his name, which meant that we never said my full name, Sherry Zimmerman. I first saw my full name written out in an inscription in a children’s alphabet book […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:49:55 UTC ]
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In “One Damn Thing After Another,” the former attorney general suggests that Republicans move past Donald Trump and his “madcap rhetoric,” but saves his harshest words for the former president’s critics. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-02-27 19:50:52 UTC ]
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Dig into these historical fiction titles that take inspiration from true crime. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-27 11:32:00 UTC ]
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Just because the 2020s aren't quite living up to the hype of the 1920s doesn't mean we can't enjoy some great twenties historical fiction. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-26 11:32:00 UTC ]
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Understanding the Ukraine crisis: a comprehensive reading list on Russia, Ukraine, and the rise of Vladimir Putin. | Lit Hub History Jane Pek considers Pride and Prejudice, the gay marriage movement, and the choice to marry. | Lit Hub Memoir Why Ed Simon mentally crosses his fingers when saying,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-26 11:30:00 UTC ]
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'Wall Street Journal' reporter John West is bringing a debut memoir to Eerdmans; Kar-Ben takes a picture book biography of 19th century leader, Rabbi Wise; and Convergent nabs a young astronaut’s inspiring story. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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