A new book? By JK Rowling? Under a pseudonym? Yes please!
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| Listen to an interview about the analysis of the text that uncovered the truth about the author! |
Word broke this week that there was a new book in publication by JK Rowling, but we just hadn't been aware about it. It turns out that the Harry Potter author decided to duck out of the limelight and publish again, but under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The book, entitled The Cuckoo's Calling, has been receiving praise for a well written mystery, without the baggage associated with the name "JK Rowling." For Rowling, this must have been refreshing - unbiased reviews, no press tours, and a chance to write for the joy of writing again.
There were two news items I came across that grabbed my interest and prompted me to cave in (along with the masses) and purchase Rowling's new book. The first was this radio interview with Oxford Linguistics expert, Peter Millican, who analyzed the text and found it aligned very closely with the writing style in the Harry Potter series. I thought this was really interesting, and the interview is worth listening to. The second item, was a Globe and Mail article which explores the benefit of writing under a pseudonym following an initial publication success. I'm not quite sure the author of the Globe article can quite relate to the same degree as JK Rowling, who is about as celebrity-status as it comes in the world of living authors. Nevertheless, I agree with his main point - that anonymity offers a fresh place for authors who have met literary fame, and allows for creative freedom that isn't always permitted while under public scrutiny.
I haven't finished The Cuckoo's Calling yet, but given that it's summer, the time is ripe for lying on the beach with a good mystery novel. Now if there were only a few more beaches in Saskatoon...
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