A tale as old as a typewriter, a macabre manuscript, the cult of Moriarty, and a peaceable pachyderm. Plus–buckle up–the Onyx Storm is coming! The book world went easy on us this week and we can’t help but be a little thankful. Let’s get to it:
Peaceable Pachyderm: This week author Laurent de Brunhoff died at the age of 98 leaving his legacy of the loveable elephant king Babar. Babar originated from a simple tale Laurent’s mother told him when he was a child. Taken by the story, Laurent’s father, Jean, began writing and illustrating the books which became immensely popular prior to his death six years later. Laurent later took up the Babar mantle and added nearly 50 more books to the collection. Generations of children have enjoyed the stories which have sold millions of copies and been adapted to TV. The King of The Elephants will live on forever thanks to the De Brunhoff’s dedication to Babar’s legacy. So go on, make up those silly bedtime stories for your kids. You never know when they’ll turn into a literary empire.
Cult of Moriarty: Liane Moriarty has written nine novels and all have been optioned for tv or movie adaptations; although only three have made it to the screen so far. Most famous for the roaring success of Big Little Lies, Moriarty is the reigning queen of sprawling interpersonal dramas with complex character webs–all of which are perfect for today’s streaming juggernauts. The most recent book-to-screen adaptation, Apples Never Fall, hasn’t had quite the same glowing reviews as Big Little Lies, however. This doesn’t bother me in the least. You can’t expect lightning to strike twice. You can, however, revisit my favorite conversation topic: which is better–the book or the show? With the rest of Moriarty’s novels in the works by big names such as Nicole Kidman, Blake Lively, and Heather Graham there’s so much juicy tv drama to look forward to. I’ll have my popcorn and #CultOfMoriarty t-shirt ready.
Speaking of Moriarty: THE Moriarty–as in the villain of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic Sherlock Holmes book –can now be viewed in all of his British glory on Hulu. The BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbath (which is the only acceptable adaptation–I will fight you on this) is now available for binge-watching. Again. Time for a rewatch? Silly question. It is always time. The game is afoot!
Taking Ownership Of Language: Percival Everett–most well known for his novel Erasure, which was adapted into the movie, American Fiction–released his new novel James last week. It’s a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim–Huck’s enslaved companion. Everett spoke with CBS about his ownership of politically incorrect language and how he uses humor to disarm the reader so he can talk about serious matters. Kudos to Everett. When book awards season rolls around, I hope he takes it all!
We Were The Lucky Ones: Georgia Hunter’s 2018 novel We Were The Lucky Ones became a NYT bestseller and went on to sell over one million copies worldwide. Now it is a Hulu show releasing on Thursday that stars Joey King and Logan Lerman. The novel is based on Hunter’s own grandfather and his harrowing experiences as a Jew during WWII. The creators of the show were very careful to cast Jewish actors for all Jewish roles, and Logan Lerman used his own grandfather’s experience in WWII as inspiration for his role. As far as I’m concerned, we are the lucky ones. Because we get to experience this beautiful story in an entirely new way.
Carrie Turns 50: Margaret Atwood wrote about the enduring appeal of Stephen King’s Carrie for the New York Times on its 50th anniversary. The horror novel first came on the scene in 1974 and has sold millions of copies and inspired multiple adaptations. All hail Uncle Stevie for having a singular (if not terrifying) mind! The mental image of that pig’s blood will be forever seared in my brain. I’m not saying that I want to unsee it. I’m just saying that I can’t.
Macabre Manuscript A 19th century French book is making news this week, and for a particularly unsavory reason. Des Destinées de l'Ame, or Destinies of the Soul, has been stored by Harvard since the 1930s. This week Harvard decided to remove and dispose of its original binding of human skin. The book contains Arsène Houssaye’s thoughts on the afterlife. But it was his friend, Dr Ludovic Bouland, who gave the book its unusual cover after Houssaye’s death. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only book bound in such a manner. It was a macabre fad during the 1800s to bind books–usually about a murderer–in human skin. Houssaye’s book, however, is purported to be from a woman who died of natural causes. Either way, it's gross. And why has Harvard taken this long to remove the binding? And who was tasked with that unfortunate job? Honestly, the whole thing is giving me Silence of the Lambs vibes. *shudder*
A Typewriter Tale: When Allie Millington was writing her debut middle grade novel, Olivetti, she had a big dream–that Tom Hanks would eventually read the story. The novel about a sentient typewriter was right up the famous actor’s typewriter-enthusiasm alley. Indeed, last week, Millington woke up to the news that not only had Tom Hanks read the book but also gave her a glowing review in The New York Times. Not only is this a tale told by a typewriter, but written on a typewriter as well. Then read and reviewed by the typewriter king. I couldn’t put a better ink-ribbon bow on this thing if I tried.
Three Body Problem: Netflix is tapping into the sci-fi trend coming out of China with their adaptation of Liu Cixin’s Three Body Problem. Growing up in China, where western books were banned, Liu happened upon an illicit copy of Jules Verne’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth. His love for science fiction was cemented. At the time, China did not have many science fiction stories but in the 70s that began to change. But it wasn’t till the early 2000s that Liu wrote his bestselling series Three Body Problem. It became a hit in China and has since sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. It’s a perfect example of what happens when you try to ban books.
The Osman Brothers: Both Richard Osman, the bestselling author of the Thursday Murder Club, and his brother Mat are authors. Mat Osman spoke to The Guardian about his novel The Ghost Theatre and how his writing is the mirror opposite of his brother’s. Both Osmans also have successful entertainment careers–with Richard in television and Mat in music. There’s obviously a deep undercurrent of creativity in that gene pool. Or maybe just good old fashioned sibling rivalry. As a rivalrous sibling, I am 100% here for it.
Deep Dive: See below for all the extra deep cuts of this week’s book news.
The Dry 2: a movie adaptation of Australian mystery Force of Nature by Jane Harper.
Jimmy Fallon’s Book Club returns with a March-madness style bracket.
Instagram of the Week: Rebecca Yarros announced the release date of her third book in the Empyrian series: Onyx Storm.
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