News2Novel - Boris Johnson, China and Book-Discovery Apps #2
4 novel suggestions based on news this week
Hello! This is Dhru from Lit Visions. Welcome to all new subscribers and thanks to everyone for being on this literary journey with me.
This is the second issue of News2Novel - the Sunday newsletter that suggests 4 novels to read based on weekly news.
Following some feedback from y’all last week, I’m testing a crisper format today, using bullet points instead of longer-form narrative. Everyone has a busy inbox and lots to read - I’d like to be respectful of this, but in a manner that doesn’t trade-off quality for brevity.
Now let’s dive in.
#BorisJohnson ➡️ House of Cards
During lockdowns, Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson held parties at his residence, breaking social distancing rules
This led to a political fallout, with 40% of his ministers going against him in a snap no-confidence vote
Though he won and can’t be formally challenged for a year, his support has never been weaker
Given this drama and Boris Johnson’s overall rise to power, it could be riveting to pick up House of Cards by Michael Dobbs - the bestselling British political thriller, adapted for television by BBC and Netflix
The novel follows protagonist, Francis Urquhart, the government’s Chief Whip, and his conniving ascent to prime ministership. It’s a tale of strategy, scandal and betrayal, laced in the kind of poisonous ambition that has only one destination: meteoric downfall
Fun fact: during university, I wrote a novella in verse (inspired by Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate), and my early draft received praise from House of Cards author, Baron Michael Dobbs, whom I met serendipitously at the European Parliament!
#ChinaTech ➡️ Cat Country
The Chinese Communist Party has been on a two-year campaign against the country’s big tech companies - like Alibaba and Tencent - to usher in tighter regulation and more government control
Whilst the crackdown is now easing, with tech companies resuming operations and growing once again (albeit slower than before), the collective industry trauma will be long felt
Ironically, it was only a few years ago that Chinese politicians were working hard to promote science education, in the hope to inspire future technological innovation
As part of that push, science fiction was popularised: there are an estimated 80M+ sci-fi readers in China
Considering these cultural undercurrents, political overtones and the internet’s obsession with cats, it feels right to resurrect Cat Country by Lao She - a 1932 satirical novel about a Chinese traveller who crash-lands on Mars, and finds himself in a country populated by Cat People (humans with cat faces)
As the traveller involves himself deeply in cat-life, he realises that the civilisation is in bleak decline (a metaphor for 1930s communist rule) and feels a great despair
“His criticism of China applied not only to the early twentieth century; many points ring true today,” wrote Ian Johnson in the introduction to the book’s English-language translation. “Our narrator is angered by the custom of pulling strings to get ahead – akin to the debilitating practice of guanxi that continues to hobble Chinese society.”
#DrumTherapy ➡️ King Dork
Apparently, drumming can be healing, especially for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties - according to researchers at the Clem Burke Drumming Project (named after Blondie’s drummer)
Their latest work shows that drumming helps kids to control their reactions, focus more effectively and communicate better with others
If such themes of youth and music resonate, then King Dork by Frank Portman, is a novel to consider: a cult classic about 14-year old San Franciscans who just want to rock and roll
The story starts with protagonist Tom Henderson finding his deceased father’s copy of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (which inspired the awesome book cover) and Tom’s universe is turned upside down
What follows are mysteries involving the dead, naked people, fake people, a secret code, girls, heavy metal and finding a drummer for the high school ‘Battle of the Bands’… Fun!
#BookDiscovery ➡️ A Novel Bookstore
The New York Times published an article on book-discovery products: specifically, the launch of Tertulia - a sleek app that generates 5 tailored book recommendations each day (using a mix of AI and human curation)
It works by crunching data on book discussions and relevant online content, to then make personalised suggestions
Tertulia also serves as an online bookstore, with roughly 15 million titles to choose from
Book-discovery is an open problem (which I am not sure we fully understand, let alone know how to articulate and solve); regardless, it can be inspiring for builders and readers, to return to the essence of finding good books to read
In this spirit, you might enjoy A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé - a story about a Parisian bookstore that offers its clientele a selection of literary masterpieces chosen by a top-secret committee of likeminded literary connoisseurs (who rebel against the business of bestsellers)
The store’s unusualness attracts sinister attention, with the owners receiving anonymous threats and committee members being attacked… A dangerous mystery unfolds
Before you go…
Here are some final morsels and thoughts:
This week, I published my first Substack thread on how novels can be used in mental health; there were some amazing ideas suggested - such as “Novel Prescriptions”, Books as “mood-altering substances” and “Back-to-reality” protocols for clinical reading groups to prevent excessive escapism
Episode 2 of the Lit Visions podcast - with novelist, Eliot Peper - drops next week. It was a brilliant conversation that covered: the magic of speculative fiction, Eliot’s latest novel Reap3r, the works of William Gibson and much more
If you end up reading any of the novels mentioned in News2Novel, I’d love to hear about it! Just reply to this email or tweet me @dhrupadkarwa
Do share this newsletter with friends, family members or colleagues who might enjoy the suggestions
Have a beautiful week filled with fiction and possibilities! ✨
Dhru