As is usually the case when a book is adapted, a few of us wondered, in the 4th Estate office, how true to the book The Leftovers HBO adaptation would be. The first question was, ‘who will be cast?’ An all-star cast was delivered to us. Second question: ‘do you think the disappearances will be limited to Mapleton, like in Tom Perrotta’s novel, or would the rapture be worldwide?’ The latter is true, and, to our delight, this aspect of the novel, like many others, is done so well that there were no grumbles the following day that ‘the book is so much better, they shouldn’t have bloody touched it’. Read more…
Here are the five online things that are essential reading, watching and sharing this week. Chosen for you by us at 4th Estate.
I’m dumbstruck by the news that Communion Town has been longlisted for the Man Booker prize. What can you say about such an improbable stroke of good fortune for a first novel, other than repeating words like ‘thrilled’, ‘incredulous’, ‘bamboozled’ and ‘er… what?’ That’s what I’ve been doing since they announced the list. Getting a first book published at all feels like hitting the jackpot, so also catching the eyes of judges in a competition like the Booker is ridiculous, embarrassing bounty – more than any first-time writer could sensibly hope for.
Yesterday’s release of Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up The Bodies was frenzied and wonderful, sparking a kind of unbridled enthusiasm that is impossible to capture in text. High streets across the country sparkled with red and gold, and twitter and Facebook hummed to the din of devoted fans. We’ve compiled a collage of photos and review extracts to give a little taster of this spectacular publishing event…
