WORDS LOLA BOORMAN

The Haunted Life by Jack Kerouac (March): Almost 70 years after it was written a lost manuscript by On the Road author Jack Kerouac has been recovered and is set for publication in March 2014. Kerouac wrote the novella at the age of 22 while still a student at Columbia University. The existing manuscript was intended to be the first instalment in a three-part novel called An American Passed Here, of which only the first section was in a publishable condition. Kerouac lost his only hand written copy in a taxi in New York and the work has only recently been rediscovered.

Bark by Lorrie Moore (March): After a 15 year hiatus, the short story writer Lorrie Moore publishes her new collection. Moore is something of a quiet genius, slowly accumulating a body of work on par with Alice Munro, Raymond Carver and other giants of short fiction. What is so deeply engaging about Moore’s writing is its subtle negotiation of the most painful experiences translated into clear, effective, profoundly moving prose. Almost every working writer in America will cite Lorrie Moore as a formative influence and a much-admired writer.

See also: A new collection from Lydia Davis, her first since winning the International Man Booker. Can’t and Won’t comes out in April.

 

Dylan Thomas Centenary (October): Swansea prepares for the celebration of its most reputable son, the poet Dylan Thomas. Launching a year-long programme of festivals, poetry competitions and other events, South Wales hopes that ‘death shall have no dominion’ for Thomas. While popular in his lifetime, Thomas was defined as the stereotypical starving poet, no stranger to alcoholism and womanizing. His move to America solidified his fame, influencing many, including one Robert Zimmerman who would later take the stage name Bob Dylan as an homage to the poet. Thomas’ tempestuous behaviour and tumultuous lifestyle secured him an early death after falling into a coma at the age of 39.

Gone Girl Film Adaptation (October): David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s international bestseller, Gone Girl is set to be one of the most anticipated literary and cinematic events of the year. Starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne, the thrilling tale of conspiracy and intrigue will no doubt translate well onto the big screen. Undoubtedly the audience for this genre is alive and kicking and one expects Gone Girl to nestle safely into the category The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo carved out before it. Whether Fincher pulls it off is another question, but it’s safe to say he’ll be guaranteed hoards of Flynn’s fans singing praises or seeking revenge.

See also: Thomas Vinterberg’s adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Maddening Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan, Juno Temple and Michael Sheen. The screenplay is written by David Nicholls, author of One Day.

 

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: Haruki Murakami (October): Fans queued at midnight outside bookshops when this book was released in Japan last April, and it sold a million copies in under a week. A perennial contender for the Nobel Prize, Murakami’s international following is impressively wide, and this novel – translated by Philip Gabriel – will undoubtedly attract attention. Admirers of his fantastic, metaphysical novels will be happy to hear that his latest offering is in a similar style, laden with flashbacks and stories within stories. It also begins, apparently, with this promising opening line: “From July of his sophomore year of college to the following January, Tazaki Tsukuru lived his life thinking almost exclusively about death.”