Top 5 Releases of 2020
There’s been a lot of delayed new releases this year due to the pandemic, however, the first half of the year has included some top reads.
Here’s the Top 3 I’ve read that were released this year, and a couple that I’m very keen to get stuck into:
Top 3 Reads Released in 2020 (so far)
American Dirt — Jeanine Cummins (Female, USA)
Published January 2020 / 387 pages
The noise and controversy around this initially put me off this book. But then I changed my mind when a friend lent me a copy and raved about it. And it is a rave-worthy book. Forgetting about whether or not the author had the ‘right’ to write this story of a Mexican woman escaping for America — the end result is something that is so gripping, exciting and terrifying that it is extremely hard to put down. This has got to be a movie soon too.
A Long Petal of the Sea — Isabel Allende (Female, Peru)
Published January 2020 / 314 pages
I’m still amazed that I’ve only just discovered the brilliance that is Allende. Since popping my cherry with her on this release, I’ve since devoured The House of the Spirits and The Japanese Lover and ready to declare her the most beautiful writer in the whole world forever.
Like her other books, this novel is set against an historical backdrop — both the Spanish Civil War and the Chilean Revolution. In this love entwined adventure, we follow a (then) pregnant Roser and her unwanted (but not unwelcome) husband Victor and the journey of their forced unity. As I wrote in my notes for this one “Just Perfect”.
The Girl with the Louding Voice — Abi Dare (Female, Nigeria)
Published February 2020 / 317 pages
It will take something amazing to knock this off my Top 5 Reads for 2020 — and I’m thrilled that it’s getting rave reviews from everywhere. An incredible debut, it is the story of Adunni, a 14 year old Nigerian girl who wants her ‘lauding voice’ (ie to be educated), and what follows is an adventure that takes her from slave to runaway to wife. Narrated in Nigerian patois, this is a fierce book that will grab you from the start. For those (like me) who want more of a Nigerian fix after Americanah — this is for you. As an aside, it also wins my unofficial best cover art of the list.
Top 2 Anticipated Releases for 2020
All Our Shimmering Skies — Trent Dalton (Male, Australia)
To be released September 2020 / 448 pages
Dalton’s debut ‘Boy Swallows Universe’ ended up being one of those books that everyone enjoyed and/or had a strong opinion about. That means there’s a lot of expectation on the follow-up. Blurbs available tell us that Dalton’s next narrative is in “Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain down, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, turns once again to the sky for guidance”. So far the advanced reviews on Goodreads are generally positive, with a hint of the magic still there that we all loved in his first novel.
The Lying Life of Adults — Elena Ferrante (Female, Italian)
To be released September 2020 / 324 pages
Many of us fell in love with the mysterious Ferrante with ‘My Brilliant Friend’ and her subsequent Neapolitan novels in the series. Then there was the scandalous unmasking of the reclusive author in 2016 — concerning many that there might not be a new book to come.
But then last September, the surprise announcement of a new novel that was released last year in Italian and will come to English speaking eyes and ears this September. What we know is that this narrative starts with Giovanna, a meek 12-year-old growing up in a middle-class part of Naples. From there it’s a gritty coming of age novel where this teen must save herself from coming a spiteful and ugly adolescent. On the most anticipated list of about a gazillion publications — this is destined to be a cracker.
