The Guardian view on rewriting classics: what the Dickens? | Editorial

Retellings of novels like Huckleberry Finn and David Copperfield help to keep the canon aliveIt might have lost out at the Booker, but James, a reworking of Huckleberry Finn by Percival Everett, was the unofficial book of 2024, topping best-of-the-year lists and winning the prestigious US Book Award for fiction. Everett retells Mark Twain’s 1884 picaresque novel about a 13-year-old boy’s escapades on the Mississippi from the perspective of runaway slave Jim. Shocking, gripping and surprisingly comic, it’s a bravura performance that celebrates and subverts the original.Its success follows that of last year’s Women’s prize-winning Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, a dazzling 550-page updating of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield transported to the author’s home region of Appalachia during the 1990s opioid epidemic. As the supreme chronicler of social injustice, Dickens provided Kingsolver with “a masterclass” in how to use narrative to make readers care about a latter-day underclass.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-12-30 18:25:43 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "The Guardian view on rewriting classics: what the Dickens? | Editorial"


The Guardian view on rewriting classics: what the Dickens? | Editorial

Retellings of novels like Huckleberry Finn and David Copperfield help to keep the canon aliveIt might have lost out at the Booker, but James, a reworking of Huckleberry Finn by Percival Everett, was the unofficial book of 2024, topping best-of-the-year lists and winning the prestigious US Book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-12-30 18:25:43 UTC ]
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A year of plentiful prose: The best books of 2024

The year’s best books include the novel “James” by Percival Everett and a memoir by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2024-12-18 16:59:22 UTC ]
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Book Review: The Poetry of Percival Everett

The winner of this year’s National Book Award in fiction has published several collections of poems. Our critic takes a look. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-12-16 10:02:11 UTC ]
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I’ll defend Allison Pearson’s right to be obnoxious – as she should defend mine | Kenan Malik

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[ The Guardian | 2024-11-24 08:30:06 UTC ]
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L.A. author Percival Everett wins National Book Award for retelling of 'Huck Finn'

USC professor Percival Everett wins the National Book Award for Fiction for 'James,' a retelling of 'Huckleberry Finn' from the character Jim's point of view. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-11-21 21:14:19 UTC ]
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Percival Everett, Author of ‘James,’ Wins National Book Award for Fiction

Jason De León received the nonfiction award for “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-11-21 03:36:15 UTC ]
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Anatomy of a non-scandal: the defence of Allison Pearson reveals how ‘free speech’ has been weaponised | Jane Martinson

The Telegraph journalist sent a deeply offensive and inaccurate tweet. Yet she has won the support of a swath of newspapers, an ex-PM – and Elon MuskThe Allison Pearson saga is nothing if not a morality tale about the modern media. Among its many learnings are that calling a group of people of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-11-20 08:50:32 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: ‘Big Jim and the White Boy’ by David Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Andaleeb Wajid Wins Bengaluru’s 2024 Neev Book Award

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-10-08 02:16:33 UTC ]
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Salman Rushdie and Miranda July among National Book award finalists

This year’s contenders for the main prizes also include Percival Everett, Hisham Matar and Kaveh AkbarSalman Rushdie, Miranda July and Percival Everett are among this year’s finalists for the National Book awards.Rushdie, who is receiving his first nomination, is competing in the non-fiction... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-10-01 14:15:10 UTC ]
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2024 National Book Award Finalists Are Named

Percival Everett’s “James,” Salman Rushdie’s “Knife” and Diane Seuss’ “Modern Poetry” are among the honorees. Winners will be announced next month. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-10-01 14:00:07 UTC ]
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2024 Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

This year's six-book shortlist includes five women authors—the largest number of women in the prizes 55-year history—and two Americans: Percival Everett and Rachel Kushner. The winner will be announced on November 12. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-09-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Are novelists who worry about the rise of AI really ‘classist and ableist’? | Arwa Mahdawi

An international writing organisation appeared to greenlight the use of AI, prompting anger, the resignation of four board members and an entire creative community to ask: ‘What?!’Please spare a thought for artificial intelligence (AI). It may not have feelings yet but, if it did, it would feel... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-11 10:00:07 UTC ]
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Dunya Mikhail Talks Mythology, Translating Her Own Poetry, and Exploring the Past Through Objects

Lit Hub is excited to feature another entry from Poets.org’s “enjambments,” a monthly interview series with new and established poets. This month, they spoke to Dunya Mikhail. Dunya Mikhail is the author of numerous books of poetry, including Tablets: Secrets of the Clay (New Directions, 2024).... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-09 08:55:06 UTC ]
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“Wild Text Raging”: A Conversation with Threa Almontaser, by Renee H. Shea

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[ World Literature Today | 2024-09-03 19:05:24 UTC ]
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Here are the finalists for the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prizes.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2024-08-15 12:00:52 UTC ]
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Utah Issues Statewide Ban on 13 Books

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[ Book Riot | 2024-08-05 15:05:00 UTC ]
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The first US Book Prize judged entirely by incarcerated people has announced a winner.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2024-08-02 17:05:17 UTC ]
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This Booker longlist might just be the most enjoyable of recent years

No Sally Rooney, one clear favourite and a novel set in space - this is a longlist of unexpected discoveries and big ideas• Three British novelists make Booker 2024 longlist among ‘cohort of global voices’It is 10 years since the Booker prize expanded its remit to include American novelists. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-07-30 13:04:15 UTC ]
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