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2021 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2021. Events *January 1 – British writer and illustrator Anthony Browne is appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to literature. *September 7 – A Radio-Canada article reveals that 5,000 books from 30 French-language school libraries in Southwestern Ontario were destroyed by the Conseil scolaire catholique Providence because they included racial stereotypes relating to Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Although intended as a "gesture of reconciliation", the action meets with widespread condemnation. *October 6 – The National Assembly of France adopts new legislation mandating a minimum price on book deliveries to protect independent bookstores from e-commerce giants including Amazon and Fnac Fnac () is a French multinational retail chain specializing in the sale of entertainment Media (communication), media and consumer ele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has a national audience. As of 2023, the ''Post'' had 130,000 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which were the List of newspapers in the United States, third-largest among U.S. newspapers after ''The New York Times'' and ''The Wall Street Journal''. The ''Post'' was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer (financier), Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy and revived its health and reputation; this work was continued by his successors Katharine Graham, Katharine and Phil Graham, Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, respectively, who bought out several rival publications. The ''Post ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Love Me (novel)
''You Love Me'' is a thriller novel by Caroline Kepnes, published in April 2021. It is the sequel to her 2016 novel, '' Hidden Bodies'', and third installment of the ''You'' series. The novel debuted at number fifteen on ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list for the week ending April 10, 2021. Kepnes published another sequel, ''For You and Only You'', in 2023. Synopsis After serving time in jail, Joe is released and paid off by the wealthy Quinn family to stay away from Love and their baby. Taking the money, Joe leaves Los Angeles and relocates to the quiet Bainbridge Island in Washington State, determined to live a better, less violent life and prove he can love someone the “right” way. He starts working at the local library, where he meets Mary Kay DiMarco, a well-liked librarian with a teenage daughter, Nomi. Joe becomes obsessed with Mary Kay but convinces himself he will win her over by being honest, patient, and good. However, when he learns she is stil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Heart Is A Chainsaw
''My Heart Is a Chainsaw'' is a 2021 horror novel by Stephen Graham Jones and the first book in ''The Indian Lake Trilogy''. The book is the winner of the 2021 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel. It received critical praise for its references to, and deconstruction of, the slasher film genre. Plot Two Dutch tourists are murdered while skinny-dipping in Indian Lake near the small town of Proofrock, Idaho. One of their phones remains in their canoe, unnoticed. Indian Lake is an artificial reservoir; the remains of a Christian settlement, including a church, lie beneath its surface. Local legend tells the story of Stacey Graves, a young Indian girl who was accused of witchcraft. Stacey cannot enter the waters of the lake because it is a Christian burial ground. Indian Lake abuts a national forest, which is being developed into a new neighborhood called Terra Nova by a group of wealthy businesspeople. High school senior Jennifer “Jade” Daniels lives with her alcoholic father and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klara And The Sun
''Klara and the Sun'' is the eighth novel by the British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published on 2 March 2021. It is a dystopian science fiction story. Set in the U.S. in an unspecified future, the book is told from the point of view of Klara, a solar-powered AF (Artificial Friend), who is chosen by Josie, a sickly child, to be her companion. The novel was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Plot The novel is set in a dystopian future in which some children are genetically engineered ("lifted") for enhanced academic ability. As schooling is provided entirely at home by on-screen tutors, opportunities for socialization are limited and parents who can afford it often buy their children androids as companions. The book is narrated by one such Artificial Friend (AF) called Klara. Although Klara is exceptionally intelligent and observant, her knowledge of the world is limited. From the window of the store in which she is for sale, Klara learns about the world outside and watches t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Other Black Girl
''The Other Black Girl'' is a 2021 novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris. The debut novel follows a woman who is the only Black person working at a publishing company. It was sold at auction to Atria Publishing Group for over $1 million. A television series based on the novel premiered on Hulu on September 13, 2023. Plot Nella Rogers is an editorial assistant and the only Black employee at Wagner Books, a publishing house in New York City. When Hazel-May McCall, another Black woman, is hired as an editorial assistant, Nella initially believes she will be an ally. While Hazel seems supportive in their personal interactions, Nella soon finds herself sidelined and her relationships at Wagner strained due to Hazel's advice and interference. Nella receives anonymous notes ordering her to leave Wagner. Nella begins to suspect that Hazel is not what she seems, and searches for answers about both Hazel's and Wagner Books's dark pasts. Background Harris cites '' Passing'' by Nella Larsen, Octavi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sweetness Of Water
''The Sweetness of Water'' is the debut novel by American novelist Nathan Harris. It was published by Little, Brown and Company on June 15, 2021. It won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Summary ''The Sweetness of Water'' is set in the fictional town of Old Ox, Georgia, during the final period of the Civil War. The story follows two Black brothers, Prentiss and Landry, freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, as they try to make money for their trek north to reunite with their mother. The novel also features a parallel narrative following the taboo romance between two gay male Confederate soldiers. Background After graduating from the University of Oregon, Nathan Harris moved to San Francisco. He worked a number of jobs, including food delivery for Postmates and legal assistant work for his mother who is an attorney. Between 2013 and 2015, Harris worked on writing a novel in the mornings and evenings between his af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abundance (novel)
''Abundance'' is a 2021 novel by Jakob Guanzon about Wealth inequality in the United States, wealth inequality and human worth. It was published by Graywolf Press, Greywolf Press and is Guanzon's first novel. It covers concepts including inherited medical debt, poverty, food security, criminal justice system, and illegal drug trade. In 2021, the novel was longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction and the Aspen Words Literary Prize. References 2021 American novels 2021 debut novels Graywolf Press books Works about economic inequality Novels set in the United States Novels about poverty Novels about social issues English-language novels {{2020s-novel-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matrix (Groff Novel)
''Matrix'' is a Historical fiction, historical novel by American author Lauren Groff, published by Riverhead Books on September 7, 2021. Premise Groff's fourth novel, ''Matrix'' is about a "seventeen-year-old Marie de France... sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease." Alex Preston (author), Alex Preston, writing in ''The Observer'', described it as "a strange and poetic piece of historical fiction set in a dreamlike abbey, the fictional biography of a 12th-century mystic." Within the novel, Marie, whom Groff writes as a lesbian, turns around the abbey's fortunes and treats it as a quasi-mystical female separatist "utopia". Reception ''Matrix'' received very favorable reviews, with a cumulative "Rave" rating at the review aggregator website Literary Hub, Book Marks, based on 31 book reviews from mainstream literary critics. The novel debuted at number eleven on The New York Times Best Seller list, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Promise (Galgut Novel)
''The Promise'' is a 2021 novel by South African novelist Damon Galgut, published in May 2021, by Umuzi, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa. It was published by Europa Editions in the US and by Chatto & Windus in the UK. The novel was awarded the 2021 Booker Prize, making Galgut the third South African to win the Prize. Plot ''The Promise'' is a family saga spanning four decades, each of which features a death in the family. It concerns the Afrikaner Swart family and their farm located outside Pretoria. The family consists of Manie, his wife Rachel, and their children Anton, Astrid, and Amor. In 1986, Rachel dies after a long battle with cancer. Before dying, she expresses her dying wish to Manie that their black domestic servant, Salome, be given ownership of the house and plot of land on which she resides on the family's property. This promise, overheard by a young Amor, is made by Manie, but he claims no memory of having made it at the wake, and shows no i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unsettled Ground
''Unsettled Ground'' is a novel by Claire Fuller, published May 18, 2021 by Tin House Books. Reception ''Unsettled Ground'' received starred reviews from ''Library Journal'' and ''Booklist'', as well as positive reviews from ''Publishers Weekly'', NPR, ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Times Literary Supplement'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Guardian'', and ''Shelf Awareness''. Writing for ''Booklist'', Poornima Apte wrote, "Fuller ... paints a devastatingly haunting picture of abject poverty, especially in her descriptions of the houses they dwell in, each of which becomes a character in its own right. This tale offers a remarkable peek into how the embrace of family can completely smother other aspects of life. Nevertheless, human ingenuity persists." ''Shelf Awareness'''s Alice Martin echoed Apte's sentiment, stating, "Fuller's ability to craft nuanced and affecting characters." NPR's Ilana Masad called ''Unsettled Ground'' "a terribly beautiful book," noting that "althou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Place (novel)
''Second Place'' is a 2021 novel by Rachel Cusk. Premise A female narrator, M, invites a famous painter, L, to use her guesthouse on the English coast marshlands where she lives with her family. It is inspired by Mabel Dodge Luhan's 1932 memoir ''Lorenzo in Taos'', about the writer D. H. Lawrence's early 1920s sojourn in Taos, New Mexico. Reception In its starred review, ''Kirkus Reviews'' wrote that Cusk's "brilliant prose and piercing insights convey a dark but compelling view of human nature." ''Publishers Weekly'', in its starred review, wrote, "There is the erudition of the author's ''Outline'' trilogy here, but with a tightly contained dramatic narrative." The novel was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2021 Governor General's Awards. Blandine Longre's French translation was awarded the 2022 Prix Femina étranger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
