Category: Publication Date

2012 Other

The Best Books of 2012? Part 1: Debut Authors

Post author By Jackie
Post date December 9, 2011
36 Comments on The Best Books of 2012? Part 1: Debut Authors

I’ve been flicking through publisher catalogues and asking booksellers and publicists about the most exciting books to be published in the UK in 2012. The following are those that grabbed my attention or were mentioned on multiple occasions.

Note: UK release month shown in brackets, date may be different in other countries.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (January, 4th Estate)

This book has been a massive success in America, but isn’t published in the UK until January. I’m not convinced that a novel about baseball will work in this country, but a lot of people are getting excited about it so I’ll give it a try.

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse (January, Europa Editions)

A small bookshop in Paris uses a top-secret committee to select its books. The shop is very popular, but then the committee members begin to recieve death threats. This book promises to be a real treat for literary fans.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (February, Headline)

I’m lucky enough to have received an advanced reading copy of this and can assure you that this book about a mysterious child in the Alaskan wilderness is truly magical. I’m sure it will be one of the most talked about books in 2012, melting the hearts of everyone who reads it.

Q by Evan Mandery (February, 4th Estate)

A writer has fallen in love and is planning a beautiful wedding when a man claiming to be a time-travelling version of his future self warns him to abandon the wedding. This book is being marketed to fans of The Time Traveller’s Wife. I hope it lives up to these high expectations.

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (March, Virago)

An ocean-liner sinks leaving an eclectic mixture of passengers battling for a position in the lifeboat. The successful ones may have survived the initial hurdle but they face a grueling three weeks fighting for survival; testing the limits of their morality as well as their physical endurance.

The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen (March, Chatto & Windus)

The story of a little girl who, having been bullied at school, decides to build her own world filled with people made from pipe cleaners. One day she uses shaving foam and cotton wool to fill her model world with snow and is amazed by the effect this has on the real world. I can’t wait to read it!

Wonder by R J Palacio (March, Bodley Head)

A ten-year-old boy with a facial disfigurement is going to school for the first time. This book was initially written for children, but this tender story of inner beauty has won the hearts of an adult audience and I look forward to sampling it.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (March, Doubleday)

One day Harold Fry nips out of his house to post a letter, but for some reason he ends up walking from one end of the country to the other. This book is described as tender and comic and I’ve heard it is even better than it sounds.

The Playdate by Louise Miller (April, Pan)

A chilling story about what can go wrong when you leave your child in the care of someone you don’t know very well. Sophie Hannah describes it as “a must-read that will tap into every mother’s primal fears”.

Other books to look out for:

Snake Ropes by Jess Richards (March, Sceptre)

Set on a strange island where children are locked up and then start disappearing, this book is said to be reminiscent of Angela Carter. Sceptre paid a six figure sum for two novels from this debut author so her writing must stand out from the crowd.

A Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman (April, Doubleday)

An Australian lighthouse keeper finds a dinghy containing a baby lying next to the body of a dead man. This book is supposed to be packed with raw emotion and moral dilemmas – exactly as I like them!

The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber (May, Hodder Stoughton)

This novel is written in verse and questions the identity of Shakespeare. I haven’t tried a novel written in verse yet – it could go either way, but I’m up for the experiment!

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (June, Pan)

A beautiful story of a secret friendship between a young girl and her uncle’s bereaved partner. Dealing with the difficult subject of AIDS this book is bound to be an emotional roller-coaster.

Do you like the sound of these books?

Are you excited about any debut novels that will be published in 2012?

Come back next week to see Part 2:

The Best Books of 2012: Authors We Know and Love

2000 - 2007 Fantasy Science Fiction YA

The Shadow Speaker – Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Post author By Jackie
Post date December 5, 2011
14 Comments on The Shadow Speaker – Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Five words from the blurb: 2070, mysticism, West Africa, survival, magical

Earlier this year Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu won the World Fantasy Award for her novel, Who Fears Death. It sounded really interesting, but a few people on twitter suggested that her earlier novel, The Shadow Speaker, was even better and since it was available in my local library I decided to give it a try first.

The Shadow Speaker is a young adult fantasy set in West Africa in 2070. The world has been changed by a nuclear war that released “peace bombs” around the globe. These bombs caused the human population to mutate in a variety of different ways; the idea: to create so much diversity that no single group would be big enough to launch a war against another. Many of the population now possess magical powers – some can fly and the central character, Ejii, has the ability to hear the thoughts of plants, animals and people.

There is a lot going on in this book. African mythology is mixed with science fiction and fantasy to create something truly unique. The blend of magic with interesting predictions for the future created a book that I found very compelling and the fact it is aimed at teenagers means that it is easy to read and is the perfect introduction to African literature.

There is something for everyone in this book – there are talking cats, flesh-eating bushes, links to other worlds and a myriad of new inventions. At times there was a bit too much going on for my liking – so many new ideas on each page that I longed for a bit of calm.

My only other criticism is that the characters weren’t very well developed. There was so much world building crammed into this book that the characters remained a bit flat. They lacked an emotional depth and I failed to connect with any of them, but this wasn’t a major problem as other aspects of the book were so strong.

The best thing about The Shadow Speaker is that it contains a depth behind the words. I found this interesting blog post about the religious messages in the book and I’m sure that it contains equally insightful thoughts about many other aspects of our civilisation.

Recommended to anyone looking for something a bit different, especially if you are interested in African literature.

Tags Africa

2011 Discussions Other

Were any modern classics published in 2011?

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 30, 2011
51 Comments on Were any modern classics published in 2011?

I have read lots of enjoyable books this year, but none stand out as modern day classics. I haven’t awarded my highest five star rating to any book published in 2011 and wonder if I’ve been reading the wrong books – or has it just been a slow year for fiction?

Will any books stand the test of time?

In ten years people will probably still read The Marriage Plot, but only because they loved Middlesex, and I think that Julian Barnes’ vast body of work will ensure that Sense of an Ending will still be read by a few people, but I can’t think of any book that will be remembered on its own merit.

Many years after publication I still push copies of books like Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger into the hands of anyone who hasn’t read them, but in ten years time I can’t see myself being excited by anything published this year.

The entire Booker longlist will slowly drift into obscurity and enthusiasm for the Orange prize winning, The Tiger’s Wife, doesn’t even seem to have made it to the end of the first year. Perhaps we’ll just have to wait for paperback publication next year so that the real gems of 2011 can bubble to the surface through word-of-mouth recommendation?

Do you think any modern classics were published in 2011?

Do you think 2011 produced a lower standard of fiction than usual?

2011

You Deserve Nothing – Alexander Maksik

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 28, 2011
26 Comments on You Deserve Nothing – Alexander Maksik

Five words from the blurb: Paris, school, morality, students, criminal

I have to admit that the blurb of this book held little appeal. A story about the children of wealthy families attending an international school in Paris didn’t sound that exciting, but as we all know, a talented author can transform the dullest premise into something magical and that is what Maksik has done here.

You Deserve Nothing could be seen as a hybrid of three fantastic books:

Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
Rupture by Simon Lelic
Testimony by Anita Shreve

It uses multiple narrators to question who is to blame when a teacher-pupil relationship occurs and it leaves you feeling sorry for perpetrator of the crime.

It also brings other questions to the table:

Should teachers be allowed to encourage children to question their religious beliefs?
Should teachers without counselling qualifications be allowed to talk to children about a terrible event they’ve witnessed?
What level of friendship/trust is acceptable between a child and a teacher?

On top of these carefully constructed moral dilemmas this well written, tightly plotted book gives an atmospheric portrayal of Paris and what life is like for those living in the insulated bubble of an international school.

The characters are well developed, engaging, but deeply flawed individuals, and the continual switching of viewpoint created a fantastic sense of foreboding.

I used to think, These are my students. I love them. I was often amazed by the closeness I felt, by my desire to protect them, to push them. I wanted to make them proud of me. I wanted never to disappoint them. As much as I loved them in those quiet minutes at the beginning of class, I also wanted them to love me in return.

Literature lovers will enjoy the discussions that take place in the seminars of this international school. Shakespeare, Faulkner and Keats are among the many authors introduced to the students and I ended up longing for an English teacher as passionate.

The ending was perfect and I will be thinking about the issues raised in this book for a very long time.

This is one of my favourite books published in 2011 and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

Highly recommended.

2011 Books in Translation

Seven Houses in France – Bernardo Atxaga

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 25, 2011
17 Comments on Seven Houses in France – Bernardo Atxaga

Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa

Five words from the blurb: Congo, fortune, jungle, enslaved, kidnapping

I hadn’t heard of Atxaga before this unsolicited review copy popped through my letter box, but the impressive list of awards he has won (including the Spanish National Literature Prize and a shortlisting for the European Literature Prize) grabbed my attention. The Observer also listed him as one of the top 21 writers of the 21st century, so I was keen to discover why his writing is so highly regarded.

Seven Houses in France is set in 1903 and follows a French Captain who is sent to the Congo to pillage the rain-forest of rubber, mahogany and ivory. He sends a vast amount of wealth back to France, enough to buy the seven houses mentioned in the title.

The quality of the writing was very high, but I hated the actions of the central character so much that I struggled to read it. At one point I almost gave up, but the entire book was a bit like a car crash – you know you are going to witness something horrible, but you are unable to avert your gaze.

The screeches of those vile monkeys was the worst thing about Yangambi, the worst thing about the Congo and about Africa, and he wanted to flay them with his chicotte, to whip them to the bone. He bounded down the first stretch of the path, slithering in the mud, then gradually slowed to a halt.

There were no redeeming scenes – the entire book is about one despicable man who kidnaps young girls from local villages and rapes them; a man who thinks it is entertaining to tie monkeys to posts and use them for target practice – and that is before I even mention the gathering of ivory, the enslavement of local people and all the other shockingly bad things he does without batting an eyelid.

I’m really hoping that Atxaga is being deliberately provocative with his writing; creating an obnoxious character to ensure that we become enraged by his actions. I’m sure some people will love the strong emotions produced by reading this book, but I’m afraid I can’t recommend it to anyone. It is important we know these terrible events happened, but I don’t like the images I now have in my head.

Have you read anything written by Bernardo Atxaga?

Are his other books less disturbing to read?

Tags Africa, Spanish

2011

Three Entertaining Reads

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Five words from the blurb: chimp, boy, scientist, family, trouble

Half Brother is an entertaining YA novel about Ben, a boy who lives with a baby chimp. Ben’s father is a behavioural scientist and he brings the chimp into their family in an effort to teach it sign language. The book follows Ben’s life as it is turned upside-down by the chimp and the media attention it brings.

This is a sweet, entertaining book that introduces many topics to the teen reader. It would be a great discussion point for talks about our relationship with animals, animal experimentation and the definition of family.

As an adult reader I was charmed by this book. It didn’t contain anything particularly new or noteworthy, but was a good old page turner. Perfect for public transport or when you’re in need of a quick, easy read.

The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter

Five words from the blurb: beach, gripping, revelation, puzzling, crime

Outstanding reviews from several of my favourite bloggers (most notably: A Reader’s Respite and You’ve Gotta Read This!) persuaded me to import a copy of this book from America. I’m not sure it is worth shipping across the world, but if you stumble across a copy in your local library you should definitely pick it up.

The Human Bobby is a fast paced read that focuses on Bobby, a homeless man living in a tent on the beach. Bobby used to have a good career, a wife and a young son, but he lost them all. The reasons for his downfall are revealed over the course of the book, as are a surprising number of twists and turns.

I read this book in a single sitting – it was impossible to put down! But on finishing it I felt a little deflated. Everything happened so fast that I didn’t have time to appreciate it – the reader is almost forced to skim read, swept up by the fast paced plot.

If you are after a book to captivate you for an evening then ensure you seek it out, but I don’t think this will leave a lasting impression on me.

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

Five words from the blurb: Poland, war, apart, son, England

I first came across this book when investigating the Waterstone’s 11 novels earlier this year. Despite having no interest in the blurb I was captivated by the voice of this little boy arriving in England after escaping atrocities in Poland.

22 Britannia Road is the address in Ipswich where this Polish family find themselves living after WWII. Janusz has not seen his wife or son for six years and the family find it hard to adjust to life together, as well as adapting to the culture of a different country.

This book is easy to read, packed with emotion and contains a few plot twists to keep the reader entertained. My only problem is that I have read similar things many times before and I am beginning to tire of immigration stories. This is one of the best ones I’ve read recently, but it wasn’t original enough to get me really excited.

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