The Boar is 40 Years Old, But What will you be reading over the coming decade?

The next few years promise to be hectic in the literary world; the well-publicised release of several continuations of literary favourites is expected to divide critics. Indeed the novelty of celebrity authors imitating the style of deceased writers is beginning to wane. There are also a few surprises in store for fans of America’s cult classic Catcher in the Rye. Here are just a few highlights that we anticipate will usher us into the next decade with great excitement and controversy!

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Sophie Hannah – Poirot Series

The decision to allow popular crime novelist Hannah to continue Agatha Christie’s legacy was a revelation. Due to be published September 2014, the media coverage will attract a legion of fledgling fans to Christie’s work. With the final installment of the ITV adaptation of Elephants Never Forget coming to our screens next year, if Hannah’s work is a success, evidently David Suchet will be sporting the infamous ‘tache for a few more years.

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Helen Fielding – Mad About The Boy

Hardly worth mentioning, the latest installment of the Bridget Jones franchise has caused a ruckus on Mumsnet as author Fielding divulged her decision to kill off the one-dimensional character of Mark Darcy. Anyone immoderately distressed by this exposé may find solace in the fact that Colin Firth ‘had to process’ Fielding’s disturbing plot disclosure.

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William Boyd – Solo 

Still in hardback and thus not for Student purses, the latest addition to the post-Fleming James Bond family has received largely positive feedback. Unlike his predecessor Faulks, Boyd has successfully navigated the fine line of imitation without restricting himself to Fleming’s limited scope in style. Although a compelling read, Boyd’s inclusion of a fictional African country of Zanzanim is slightly dubious…

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Sebastian Faulkes – Jeeves & the Wedding Bells  Released next month, this continuation of the much lovable farce between a plummy toff and his valet is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated book for 2013. Expectation has been heightened by Faulkes’ speech at the British Library where he expressed his apprehension; “I will probably fall flat on my face”. This does provoke the question whether an imitation of Wodehouse, our national treasure, is really necessary? Considering the man with irony wrote in the Preface to Blandings Castle “there is nothing an author today has to guard himself against more carefully than the saga habit…” Wodehouse doesn’t exactly impress the view that a posthumous installation of his work was required.

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J D Salinger – The Last and Best of the Peter Pans

As a consequence of Salinger’s compulsive need for privacy, his huge body of unpublished works is relatively unknown. Salinger’s desire to have his work posthumously published has elicited much speculation about The Last and Best of the Peter Pans (1961), which features Catcher in the Rye’s protagonist Holden Caulfield. The opportunity to ascertain a greater understanding of the literary enigma of Caulfield is set to rouse huge renewed interest in Salinger’s work. Four other titles are to be released between 2015 and 2020: A Counterintelligence Agent’s Diary, A World War II Love Story, A Religious Manual, and The Complete Chronicle of the Glass Family.

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Haruki Murakami – His Years of Pilgrimage

Ever increasing in popularity, Murakami’s latest novel has been well received by critics in Japan. Owing to the success of Norwegian Wood, Wind Up Bird Chronicle and 1Q84, Murakami has consolidated an extensive English language fan base. The translation of His Years of Pilgrimage is still being composed, but the release date is anticipated for September 2014.

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Margaret Atwood and Howard Jacobson – Hogarth’s Shakespeare Project

In line with the seemingly fanatic trend in a continuation of works by much loved literary figures; Shakespeare is naturally the next victim. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the sonneteer’s death, 2016 will see the release of a compilation of modern adaptations of his best-loved plays.  Margaret Atwood and Howard Jacobson have taken on the task of respectively adapting The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice for ‘modern times’. Jeanette Winterson and Ann Tyler have also been attributed to the project launched by Hogarth publishing house.