Latest news with #HarperLee
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
John Boyne on the art of book reviews: Never lie to readers, but deliver truth in a way that respects the writer
In May 2004, three novels into my career, I published my first book review in The Irish Times, a short piece on Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner . The piece was commissioned by the late Caroline Walsh, the much-loved and much-missed former editor of these pages. This month, as my 28th book, Air, arrives in shops, I publish my 150th book review. Of those, I've never met 97 of the authors, 32 are casual acquaintances, 13 I consider friends, while only eight are people I hope would show up at my funeral (even if they have to fly in from Australia). For many years, I've had a fruitful arrangement with Martin Doyle, the current books editor of The Irish Times. A few months ahead of publication date, I suggest a few books and he tells me which, if any, he would like me to take on. (To the conspiracy theorists out there, not once have I been given even the hint of an instruction on the tone my review should take.) I base my choices on three criteria: either I've read the writer's previous work and enjoyed it, the subject matter appeals to me or I've heard good things on the grapevine. READ MORE There are reviews I'm proud of. In 2012, I appraised JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and was probably the only person on the planet not to reference a certain boy wizard. I wrote about Roddy Doyle's Two Pints in the voices of the characters, and having read Belinda McKeon's Tender across a single day, wanted everyone to do the same. I got a good line in about Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman in protest at it being published at all. ('This novel is Boo Radley. It was meant to stay inside, locked away, hidden from the world.') I helped bring Garth Greenwell and Édouard Louis, two of the finest writers at work today, to attention . When Graham Norton published Holding, I advised people to set aside their scepticism about celebrity-written books, and he's more than proved me right ever since. Reviewing How to Be Invisible, Kate Bush's collection of song lyrics, led to a lunch date, and as her All-Time Greatest Fan I still feel thrilled that my assessment led to a real-world friendship. I stand by my 2023 piece on Joe Gibson's Seventeen, a powerful nonfiction book about the effect of sexual grooming on a teenage boy, which, somehow, has yet to find its way into paperback, despite universal praise. There have been negative reviews too, although as everyone in the writing world knows, there are sacred cows that people are afraid to criticise, either because the author holds a powerful position within the industry or because detractors will be accused of envy should they call a spade a spade. It's why so much mediocre work goes unchallenged and why there are writers who could publish their weekly shopping list and they'd still receive universal hosannas. Kevin Power was spot on when he wrote in a 2021 essay: 'Most books are bad. We all know this, but we seldom say it.' For that reason, I avoid reviewing authors I consider overrated or, frankly, no good. One of my most chilling experiences is of a writer who provided an effusive blurb for a first novel, describing it to me privately as 'the worst piece of hackneyed chick-lit I've ever read in my life'. Recoiling from his use of such a pejorative and misogynist term, I asked why he'd praised it if he felt this way. 'Because it was obvious it was going to be a hit,' he said with a shrug. 'And I wanted to be associated with it.' Personally, I prefer silence to craven opportunism or outright dishonesty. [ Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin: Inventive exploration of identity, faith and family Opens in new window ] [ John Boyne on Fair Play by Louise Hegarty: A witty debut that celebrates the golden age of crime novels Opens in new window ] I remain ashamed, however, of a deeply unkind review I wrote some years ago that ignored the fact that the writer was new to the game. A review should never be about the reviewer but, for reasons rooted in my unhealthy state of mind at the time, I forgot there was a real person on the other side of those 700 words and revelled in my own supposedly clever sentences instead of concentrating on the author's. I subsequently apologised on Twitter to the writer in question – publicly, not by private message – who was far more gracious in reply than I might have been had our positions been reversed. In my day job, of course, I get reviewed too, and my rule is: don't believe them when they're good, don't believe them when they're bad. I know the value of my own work and could line up all my books on a shelf, the order determined by whether I feel I achieved artistically what I set out to. The Heart's Invisible Furies would be in pole position, followed by A Ladder to the Sky, The Elements and All the Broken Places. (I won't say what would be at the other end!) While I've generally done pretty well on the review front, the best I ever got was for The Echo Chamber, an unusual book for me in that it's a comedy and no one dies at the end. My methodology for reviewing hasn't changed much. I make a note of anything that occurs to me as I'm reading, take photos of lines that impress me (or otherwise), then write my first draft as soon as I finish the final page, simply throwing down everything that occurs to me. I leave it to bake, so to speak, for a week or so, then return to it when the novel has fully settled in my mind. At that point I rewrite, edit, cut and shape it into something that hopefully respects the work, while giving readers an honest assessment of my personal response to it. And remember, that's all a review is: one person's reaction to a book. It's not definitive; it's just an opinion. A word to the wise. Here are some phrases that should never be used in a review: 'An instant classic': there's no such thing and it's lazy writing. It takes decades, maybe even a century, for a book to achieve that status. I genuinely enjoy writing about books and want to use whatever authority I've earned over a 33-year career for positive ends 'Whip-smart': reviewers, please stop referring to young women writers as 'whip-smart' as if it's a shock to discover they might have a brain in their pretty little heads. (The phrase is never used for men, of course.) 'Meets': as in 'American Psycho meets Rachel's Holiday " . No one is 'the voice of a generation' because no generation speaks with one voice. If they do, God help them. Consulting writer friends for phrases they loathe, I was told that 'fiercely intelligent is annoying', while 'a moving exploration of trauma and identity', and 'compelling' were also poorly regarded. You might ask why I do it. I don't need the exposure, there's always the risk of upsetting someone and – no offence, Martin – it doesn't pay very well. The answer is, I genuinely enjoy writing about books and want to use whatever authority I've earned over a 33-year career for positive ends. Conscious that the publishing world can be difficult at times, reviewers, in my view, should support the endeavour, offering readers reasons to buy books, not to ignore them. Never to lie, but also never to shame, ridicule or humiliate. And if talented newcomers can be given a leg up by those of us with an audience, then all the better. So I guess I'll keep reviewing for as long as I'm allowed. While it's a privilege to have the platform to do so, the best part is occasionally discovering a book so amazing that I want to share it with the world. John Boyne's latest novel, Air, is published by Doubleday
South China Morning Post
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee's short stories and essays to be published
Essays and early short stories by To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee will be published this autumn. Advertisement The Land of Sweet Forever is a compilation of short fiction Lee wrote in the years before the 1960 release of her classic novel, and includes essays completed between 1961 and 2006. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will release the book on October 21. It will include an introduction by Lee's authorised biographer, Casey Cep. 'As a member of Harper Lee's surviving family, I know I speak for all of us in saying that we're delighted that these essays, and especially the short stories, which we knew existed but were only recently discovered, have been found and are being published,' the late author's nephew, Dr Edwin Conner, said. 'She was not just our beloved aunt, but a great American writer, and we can never know too much about how she came to that pinnacle,' he said. The cover of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the only book-length fiction she wrote that was published. An early draft of the novel was published a year before her death in 2016. Photo: Handout
Chicago Tribune
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Short fiction, essays by ‘To Kill a Mockingbird' author Harper Lee to be published in October
NEW YORK — Essays and early short stories by 'To Kill a Mockingbird' author Harper Lee will be published this fall. 'The Land of Sweet Forever' compiles short fiction Lee wrote in the years before the 1960 release of her classic novel and includes essays completed between 1961 and 2006. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will release the book Oct. 21. 'The Land of Sweet Forever' will include an introduction by Lee's authorized biographer, Casey Cep. 'As a member of Harper Lee's surviving family, I know I speak for all of us in saying that we're delighted that these essays, and especially the short stories, which we knew existed but were only recently discovered, have been found and are being published,' the late author's nephew, Dr. Edwin Conner, said in a statement Tuesday. 'She was not just our beloved aunt, but a great American writer, and we can never know too much about how she came to that pinnacle,' he said. Lee, who died in 2016 at age 89, published no new, full-length books after 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' In 2015, she approved the release of 'Go Set a Watchman,' an early draft of 'Mockingbird.'
Nahar Net
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Nahar Net
Short fiction and essays by 'To Kill a Mockingbird' author to be published in October
by Naharnet Newsdesk 04 March 2025, 17:11 Essays and early short stories by "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee will be published this fall. "The Land of Sweet Forever" compiles short fiction Lee wrote in the years before the 1960 release of her classic novel and includes essays completed between 1961 and 2006. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will release the book Oct. 21. "The Land of Sweet Forever" will include an introduction by Lee's authorized biographer, Casey Cep. "As a member of Harper Lee's surviving family, I know I speak for all of us in saying that we're delighted that these essays, and especially the short stories, which we knew existed but were only recently discovered, have been found and are being published," the late author's nephew, Dr. Edwin Conner, said in a statement Tuesday. "She was not just our beloved aunt, but a great American writer, and we can never know too much about how she came to that pinnacle," he said. Lee, who died in 2016 at age 89, published no new, full-length books after "To Kill a Mockingbird." In 2015, she approved the release of "Go Set a Watchman," an early draft of "Mockingbird."
The Guardian
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Unseen Harper Lee stories set in New York and Alabama to be published
Never-before-seen short stories by Harper Lee will be published later this year, it has been announced. Eight short stories written before the author started the novel that would become To Kill a Mockingbird were found in Lee's New York City apartment after she died in 2016. They will be published in a collection titled The Land of Sweet Forever, alongside eight previously published non-fiction pieces by Lee, and an introduction by Casey Cep, author of Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee. Dr Edwin Conner, Lee's nephew, said he and his family are 'delighted that these essays, and especially the short stories, which we knew existed but were only recently discovered, have been found and are being published. She was not just our beloved aunt, but a great American writer, and we can never know too much about how she came to that pinnacle.' The Land of Sweet Forever 'broadens our understanding of Lee's remarkable talent' and 'will prove an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Lee's development as a writer', according to the book's UK publisher Hutchinson Heinemann, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The stories contain Lee's 'signature wit, that splash of darkness and those heartwarming characters for which she is beloved,' said Ailah Ahmed, Hutchinson Heinemann publishing director. 'The pieces take us from Alabama to less familiar territory for Lee in Manhattan.' Just two books by Lee were published in her lifetime, 1961 Pulitzer prize winner To Kill a Mockingbird, and Go Set a Watchman, which began life as an earlier draft of Mockingbird. There was controversy when that was published in 2015, with some raising questions about the extent of Lee's involvement in the decision. At the time the author was 88 years old and profoundly deaf and blind. Born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, Lee was 34 years old when To Kill a Mockingbird, loosely based on observations of her family and neighbours in Monroeville was published. Since then, it has been translated into more than 40 languages and more than 46m copies have been sold worldwide. Lee won numerous awards throughout her lifetime, including the Presidential medal of freedom. She died on February 19, 2016. Michael Dean, a representative of the Lee Estate, said The Land of Sweet Forever will 'bring us closer than ever before to the life and work of one of the 20th century's greatest authors.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion The Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee (Cornerstone, £22). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
