2010 holds mad promise in the reading department. Check out these upcoming works of fiction, two by veterans Levy and McFadden and one by newcomer Shilpi Gowda. For what 2010 books can't you hardly wait?
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UK cover
The Long Song by Andrea Levy

From Amazon-
  Told in the irresistibly willful and intimate voice of Miss July, with some editorial assistance from her son, Thomas, The Long Song is at once defiant, funny, and shocking. The child of a field slave on the Amity sugar plantation, July lives with her mother until Mrs. Caroline Mortimer, a recently transplanted English widow, decides to move her into the great house and rename her “Marguerite.”

Resourceful and mischievous, July soon becomes indispensable to her mistress. Together they live through the bloody Baptist war, followed by the violent and chaotic end of slavery. Taught to read and write so that she can help her mistress run the business, July remains bound to the plantation despite her “freedom.” It is the arrival of a young English overseer, Robert Goodwin, that will dramatically change life in the great house for both July and her mistress. Prompted and provoked by her son’s persistent questioning, July’s resilience and heartbreak are gradually revealed in this extraordinarily powerful story of slavery, revolution, freedom, and love.

Amazon shows a US release date of April 27,2010 and Levy's website shows a UK release scheduled for February 2010.
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Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden

From Amazon-
 
Glorious is set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights era. Blending the truth of American history with the fruits of Bernice L. McFadden’s rich imagination, this is the story of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path to success, ruin, and revival offers a candid portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty.

Glorious is ultimately an audacious exploration into the nature of self-hatred, love, possession, ego, betrayal, and, finally, redemption.

Harlem Renaissance...enough said. Amazon shows a release date of May 1, 2010.
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Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

From the author's website-
  A stunning debut novel that explores the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity and culture, witnessed through the lives of two families, one Indian, one American, and the daughter who indelibly binds them. On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favors sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter’s life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son.

Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband Krishnan see a photo of the baby with the gold-flecked eyes from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion for her. Somer knows life will change with the adoption, but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles.

Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds their destinies, Secret Daughter poignantly explores issues of culture and belonging. Moving between two worlds and two families, one struggling to survive the fetid slums of Mumbai, the other grappling to forge a cohesive family despite diverging cultural identities, this powerful debut novel marks the arrival of a fresh talent poised for great success.

Author's website and Amazon show a release date of March 1, 2010.
 


Comments

Eva link
12/17/2009 1:30pm

That new McFadden sounds wonderful! I love the 20s, and I especially perk up when I hear Harlem Renaissance! The cover of The Love Song is beautiful. :)

Reply
Judy Rosenberg
05/12/2010 4:55pm

Just finished reading Secret Daughter. Enjoyed every page, story, short chapters,glossary of words and most of all insight into Indian life. Look forward to reading more by Shilpi. Judy Rosenberg, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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