I read about a new book by a new author in the WSJ today (here). At first I was not intrigued, seriously, who wants to read about a woman who’s losing her mind. I don’t need to read about it, I’m living with it (just kidding sweety). But the more I read about the book, the more inspired I was to read it. As I have so many books on my plate that I want to read, and as I already have a series of posts on books I’ve read, I can’t imagine a better place to compile a list of books I want to read than here.
To begin with, Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson.
Why do I want to read this? Firstly because so many have said it is a good, well written thriller. Secondly though, I want to read this, because so many people thought for so long that the author of the book had to be a female, when in fact it was a dude.
Miss Alter says in her article about the book, A Daily Breakfast of Amnesia:
"The author's agent and publisher have been cultivating an air of mystery around the book by forgoing a book-jacket photo and using the initials "S.J." Many early readers of the novel found the female narrator so convincing that they assumed Mr. Watson (S stands for Steve) was a woman, says Clare Conville, Mr. Watson's literary agent. Some foreign publishers even demanded photographic proof once they learned his identity, Mr. Watson says."
""Ninety percent of the publishers and 90% of the people who read it think he's a woman," Ms. Conville says."
For so long people have told me, don’t try and write from the point of view of a female, and I’ve heeded that advice. I want to see how Watson handles it and does it so convincingly.
1 comment:
I've tried and tried to read this. It just goes on and on about "if only I can remember who I am" ad nauseum. Gets old after a while. Maybe it gets better, but I'm not hopeful. I must be the minority, due to the many positive reviews.
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