‘There is joy, and there is rage’: the new generation of novelists writing about motherhood

From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the shock of birth and early parenthood, then I didn’t notice. The sheer physical and emotive force of the experience left me profoundly shaken. Words felt insufficient. And yet I kept reading – everything I could get my hands on. I wanted answers. I wanted to feel recognised. I wanted this untranslatable experience to be translated into language. Most of all, I think, I wanted restitution for all the maternal stories that had been left untold by centuries of silencing and minimising, not just for myself, but for all of us.Books about motherhood come in waves: the recent spate only the latest in a long line of literary endeavours. In the 1950s there was Shirley Jackson’s Life Among the Savages. The 1960s wave saw Margaret Drabble’s The Millstone and Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, alongside Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique; the 1970s The Women’s Room by Marilyn French, Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born, and In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens by Alice Walker. In the 1980s writing about motherhood became even more transgressive and imaginative, with Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter. The early 2000s saw an... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "‘There is joy, and there is rage’: the new generation of novelists writing about motherhood"


Industry Notes: Bologna Round Table in New York; New ‘Handmaid’ Images in Milan

The Bologna Children's Book Fair's 50th year illustration exhibition has a session in New York this week, and Milan illustrators Anna and Elena Balbusso produce new 'Handmaid's Tale' artwork ahead of Margaret Atwood's sequel. The post Industry Notes: Bologna Round Table in New York; New... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atwood to publish sequel to The Handmaid's Tale in 2019

Margaret Atwood is writing a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, set 15 years after Offred's ambiguous final scene in the acclaimed 1985-published novel. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Margaret Atwood announces The Handmaid's Tale sequel, The Testaments

Sequel to the Canadian author’s bestselling feminist dystopia will be published around the world in September 2019Margaret Atwood has announced a sequel to her bestselling feminist dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, titled The Testaments. It will be published in September 2019.“Dear Readers,”... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Margaret Atwood Is Writing a Sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Following two years in which Margaret Atwood's classic dystopian novel saw a skyrocketing in readership and new cultural relevance, both on television and in society at large, the author has announced 'The Testaments,' due September 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walter Laqueur obituary

Distinguished historian, journalist and scholar who focused on terrorism, the Holocaust and the decline of EuropeThe contemporary historian and journalist Walter Laqueur, who has died aged 97, made the great issues of the past century accessible to a wide readership in the almost 100 book titles... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sophie Mackintosh on debut novel The Water Cure

As Feminist Book Fortnight draws to a close, we spoke to debut author Sophie Mackintosh, whose devastating dystopian novel The Water Cure (Hamish Hamilton) has drawn comparisons to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors and publishers donate thousands of books to Oxfam

Paula Hawkins, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman and Robert Webb are among the authors donating thousands of books to Oxfam in a bid to boost sales in the charity's shops and raise money for its work. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atwood, Schlag and Morris to receive Hay Festival Medals

Margaret Atwood, Evelyn Schlag and Jackie Morris have been named the recipients of this year’s Hay Festival Medals.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atwood and Walliams to headline Hay Festival

Margaret Atwood, David Walliams and Jacqueline Wilson are amongst those headlining the Hay Festival, which is set to respond to the world's “urgent need of empathy”, according to organisers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Female writers dominated 2017's literary bestsellers, figures show

Topped by Margaret Atwood, the UK’s Top 10 bestselling authors of literary fiction last year features only one male writer, Haruki MurakamiFlying in the face of Norman Mailer’s infamous comment that “a good novelist can do without everything but the remnant of his balls”, Haruki Murakami was the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books trend for 2018

By all accounts, the Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale” was a huge success in 2017. Counterintuitively, the Margaret Atwood novel it was based on has been a constant on bestseller lists. Hadn’t people gotten the story from watching the show? Apparently not. In fact, this was the case for a number... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cornel West’s Reckless Criticism of Ta-Nehisi Coates

It’s not an overstatement to say that, if you are a young writer who interrogates American race relations and white supremacy, Cornel West is the foundation upon which you stand. Alongside the likes of Kimberlé Crenshaw, Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, and, of course, James Baldwin, West’s work is... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Notables of the Year: Margaret Atwood

The septuagenarian Canadian author has, this year, become a cultural icon, as well as Canada’s best-known author—and 'The Handmaid's Tale' has become a backlist sensation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: 'The Handmaid's Tale' Returns

Margaret Atwood is back on top of the Apple charts, knocking John Grisham's latest, 'The Rooster Bar,' off the throne after a single week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld to publish Essex marshes-set debut

Transworld has acquired an "atmospheric" debut novel set on the Essex marshes during World War 2 and in the present day. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atwood, Auster and Shafak condemn Russian violence

Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster and Elif Shafak have joined a number of other authors in criticising Russia’s treatment of Ukraine and calling for freedom of expression to be preserved. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NBF Names Annie Proulx Winner of Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters

The author of such works of fiction as 'The Shipping News' and 'Barkskins' is the 30th recipient of the medal, which has writers including Robert A. Caro, Judy Blume, and Toni Morrison. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Weekly E-Ranking: Sunday Morning Coming Down rises high

Nicci French's Sunday Morning Coming Down swipes the number one spot from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Canadian Author Canadians Know Best? Margaret Atwood

A new survey of Canadian readers found that Margaret Atwood is the Canadian author most residents recognize. The BookNet Canada survey also found that one in five Canadian readers cannot name a single Canadian author. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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RZA And Chipotle Are Bringing Beats (But Not Beets) To Your Lunch

Assemble the ingredients and assemble the track on their interactive website. Chipotle hasn’t been shy about tapping the creative talents of prominent people in the past. They’ve published short stories by Jonathan Safron Foer and Toni Morrison on their packaging, and talked up their fresh... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2017-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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