What's new in fiction for August? Check out what to add to your summer reading list:
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
A historical fantasy featuring eleven-year-old field slave, Washington Black, who finds himself taken from the world he knows in the cane fields of Barbados, to embark upon an adventure which covers the deserts of Morocco, the Canadian Arctic and the streets of London. This book is an incredible adventure and an exploration of what freedom really means.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Connell and Marianne are both from a small town in rural Ireland but are from very different worlds. They both receive places at Trinity College in Dublin and the story explores how a person can change another's life and how difficult it is to talk about how we feel.
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
Previous Booker prize winner, Pat Barker, reimagines the Trojan war from the perspective of Briseis, as her life falls apart when her women are taken from their homes and enslaved by the Greek army. This is an exciting insight into a male-dominated tale from a perspective which has been absent from the history books.
The Man Booker Longlist
This year's Man Booker Longlist has been announced and was probably a huge surprise for many. Some of the big names many expected to see were missing from the list, and many new and unexpected authors came from seemingly out of the blue. The hugely exciting part of the list is that the number of female authors outweighs the male.
As it has been five years since a woman last won the prize, this long list is very exciting and hopefully one will make it to be this year’s winner! Disappointingly, the list is not particularly diverse in terms of world literature, as all the authors on the list were from the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US. The winner will be scrutinised as both winners since the competition opened up to the US have been American. Putting aside the politics, there is a list of 13 cracking books to put on your summer reading list.
Films
Christopher Robin
Everyone's favourite bear is back in this live action film which looks at a grown-up Christopher Robin. This adaptation looks adorable and is sure to have people revisiting their favourite stories from the 100-acre woods.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
A highly anticipated adaptation of a coming-of-age novel which explores a 12-year-old girl discovering her homosexuality. After her parents die, Cameron goes to live with a conservative aunt and is faced with being sent to a conversion camp. The book was based on the experience of Zach Stark in 2005 and, with the growing recognition of LGBT experiences in fiction and film, this is set to be very popular.
I definitely need to binge all of these!