What We're Reading – October 2019

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most of whom identify as female, living in London. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them through my reading and seeing how their lives are linked or overlap in different ways. What I found particularly interesting about this book is how each character responds in their own way to the universal questions of self and identity, particularly the tensions between personal, public and political gender discourse and the effect it has on the relationships the characters have with others. This feels like a very important book, and a must-read if you’re interested in what’s happening in UK fiction today.Rachel Stevens, Director LiteratureCommon People - An Anthology of Working-class Writers (ed Kit de Waal). An exceptional collection of essays, poems, memoir and short stories celebrating working-class life, culture and literature. There are many highlights, but I especially recommend Lisa McInnery’s essay ‘Working Class: An Escape Manual’, which considers how working-class writers and artists are co-opted into other identities when they achieve success. Debut author Adam Sharp’s ‘Play’, a memoir of his relationship with a substance-addicted father, is poignant and deftly handled - he’s a writer to... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading – October 2019"


Misha and the Wolves review – Holocaust hoax doc plays like thriller

This film about Misha Defonseca, author of a ‘memoir’ about escaping the Nazis and sheltering with wolves as a child, is propulsively watchable“Sometimes a story is so astonishing it’s unbelievable.” So said a Massachusetts radio presenter in the 90s, introducing Misha Defonseca, a local Jewish... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-09-02 06:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Andersen partners with Moon Lane on Luna Loves Dance windows

Andersen Press has partnered with children's bookshop brand Moon Lane Group to promote author Joseph Coelho and illustrator Fiona Lumbers' latest title, Luna Loves Dance, in a series of window displays. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-01 11:21:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ghanshamdas joins Round Table Books as director

Independent children’s bookshop Round Table Books has hired Meera Ghanshamdas as its new director. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-01 06:07:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


W&N snaps up Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s short story collection

The late Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s collection of short stories, The City of Mist, has gone to Weidenfeld & Nicolson.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-31 06:33:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘The Last Nomad’: Somali refugee, soccer mom, and everything in between

Shugri Said Salh’s memoir strives for an accurate – rather than sensationalized or simplified – account of growing up in, and then fleeing, Somalia. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-08-30 19:15:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Summary and Analysis of Franz Kafka’s ‘A Country Doctor’

‘A Country Doctor’ is one of the best-known and most widely studied short stories by Franz Kafka (1883-1924). This short story, which Kafka wrote during the winter of 1916-17, tells of a country doctor who makes a visit to a nearby village to tend to a sick boy, but the […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2021-08-28 14:00:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this


For ‘Unorthodox’ fans, Deborah Feldman’s new memoir offers intriguing update

“Exodus, Revisited” offers new insights about a woman’s break from her Hasidic community. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-28 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Donald Newlove, 93, Dies; Novelist Explored the Depths of Drink

His acclaimed fiction and a memoir had a common theme: alcoholism. After becoming sober, he called his former besotted muse “Drunkspeare.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-28 11:13:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Three Short Works of Literature That Can Inspire You to Fight Climate Change

Libia Brenda, Hannah Onoguwe, and Vandana Singh recommend two short stories and a poem that can help you think differently about climate change. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2021-08-27 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lit Hub Daily: August 27, 2021

“By the time I was born, the city had been conquered thrice, by the British, the Japanese, and the military junta. Three enemies to symbolize the three torments of the mind.” Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint on war, reincarnation, and the changing names of Myanmar. | Lit Hub Memoir Jeffrey Webb revisits... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-08-27 10:30:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Think of it this way: at least you're not locked down with drunken, misanthropic bookshop owner Bernard Black

The lead protagonist in the British TV comedy series Black Books might even relish being in lockdown. If you don’t, you might enjoy watching this show. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-08-27 00:11:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Essex indie bookshop doubles in size after 'thriving' in pandemic

An Essex-based indie bookshop is doubling in size after "thriving" during the pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-25 20:03:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this


New indie bookshop nods to Bristol's 'radical past and present'

A new independent bookshop which nods to Bristol’s “radical past and present” has opened in the city’s Harbourside area, near where Edward Colston's statue was brought down last year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-25 11:33:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Review: Masterful memoirist Deborah Levy finds an empty nest of her own

Levy's memoir trilogy concludes with "Real Estate," pondering happiness and a new kind of home. Unlike Rachel Cusk, she keeps herself in the picture. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-08-24 15:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hodder Studio pre-empts 'irresistibly compelling' debut by Wharton

Hodder Studio has pre-empted Ghost Girl, Banana, an “irresistibly compelling” novel by debut author Wiz Wharton. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-24 13:37:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Kat Chow on How Mourning Is Like Taxidermy

In her memoir “Seeing Ghosts,” the author recounts her mother’s death and her immigrant family’s numerous migrations, separations and losses, evoking the way grief entails a particular, perpetual sorrow. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-24 09:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


In William Maxwell’s Fiction, a Vivid, Varied Tableau of Midwestern Life

Though his novels and short stories — published over six decades, beginning in 1934 — are set in an older, more decorous America, he grapples with themes that feel shockingly contemporary. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-23 17:02:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins Ireland scoops memoir by warden of Skellig Michael

HarperCollins Ireland has scooped a "unique" memoir by the warden of Skellig Michael, a remote Irish island. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-22 23:51:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘Swan Dive’ gives voice to every suspicion you may harbor about professional ballet

Georgina Pazcoguin’s biting memoir is full of melodrama. It also has an important message. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


James Whiteside isn’t a typical ballet star, and his memoir isn’t a typical ballet story

The American Ballet Theatre star has written a thoughtful collection of essays that gives readers insight into what it means to defy categorization. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this