June 4, 2015
Sorting Through Series With Tana French
One of the main questions that the Morning Edition book club selection — Kate Atkinson’s A God In Ruins — has prompted from would-be readers is “Do I have to have read the last one?” The “last one” is Atkinson’s novel Life After Life and the answer, simply put, is no.
Having read both, I’ll say this novel is very much tied to that one, and you’ll perhaps have a richer experience having read the first, but you won’t be lost by any means. Life After Life focuses on the lives — not a typo, she’s born and dies repeatedly throughout — of Ursula Todd and A God In Ruins on the life of her brother Teddy.
Author Tana French pictured in Dublin’s Grafton St. Photo by Kyran O’Brien.
But this question has us thinking about series in general: why we read them, the best ways to read them and innovative approaches some authors, Atkinson included, take in putting them together. On that last front, one of the best in the game is Tana French.
Her novels, which number five so far, are tied together under the mantle of the “Dublin Murder Squad.” While they are of a piece, each stands easily on its own, with a different character front and center.
We connected with French and asked her about the ways in which series can build on one another without having to be read sequentially:
We, as you hear, take off from there. Each of us has our own preferences and approach.
I’m awaiting the next Tana French novel myself, and I am addicted to several other mystery series by authors such as Camilla Läckberg. Meanwhile, French’s most recent, The Secret Place, will be out in paperback Aug. 4, perfect for tossing in your beach bag, which I highly recommend.
My book club partners Chris and Jonathan are more into genre fiction when it comes to series, primarily fantasy. Chris mentioned someone named George R.R. Martin, whose books have been, I’m reliably informed, turned into a TV series called Game of Thrones.
We also ponder the conundrum of falling out of love with an author whose work you once devoured — whether their writing is serial or simply prolific. Jonathan, for one, is still hoping to reconcile his feelings about Salman Rushdie.
Chris also has found a new author whose books might be a series “must read” for him if it continues: Kate Atkinson. He’s such an overachiever he’s already done with A God In Ruins AND Life After Life since we started this project.
How about you? Are you reading along with us and thinking you’d like to read more of Atkinson’s work?
Do you already have a lot of series — or authors — you read faithfully? Tell us which ones. We’d love to hear from you here, or on Twitter. Reach us with #MorningEditionBookClub or directly: @taylakaye, @jwilson885 and @chrisbchester.
We’ll be back next week with a look at historic fiction.
Week 1: Join Us For The ‘Morning Edition Book Club’
Week 2: What’s So Great About Book Clubs, Anyway?