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 ]

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Book Deals: Week of November 2, 2020

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WATCH: Tiny Nightmares: Very Short Stories of Horror

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On Choice, Children, and Womanhood: A Conversation with Christa Parravani

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16 New Books to Watch For in November

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[ The New York Times | 2020-10-29 09:00:34 UTC ]
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Headline to publish 'laugh out loud funny' memoir of autism

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Riot Recommendation: What Outstanding Short Stories Have You Read?

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Picador wins auction for 'superlead' Maddie Mortimer debut

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Faber bags Evan Dando's memoir

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What Barack Obama's memoir reveals about his long battle for healthcare reform

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Jona Frank: Between Reality and Fantasy

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Lit Hub Daily: October 26, 2020

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