From critically acclaimed and baileys prizenominated author sara taylor comes a dazzling new novel about youth, identity, and family secrets. On the surface, sara taylors radiant new novel, the lauras, is an exhilarating motherchild version of a thelma and louise road trip awash with hitchhiking, greasy truck stop meals. A mother and her child embark on a road trip filled with discovery, about themselves and each other. Booklist sara taylors the laurasjust persuaded me even more that taylor is a writer of real gravitas and potency. The lauras by sara taylor following her debut the shore which was shortlisted for the sunday times young writer of the year award in 2015, sara taylor has been nominated again for the same prize with her second novel the lauras. I didnt realize my mother was a person until i was years old and she pulled me out of bed and put me in the back of her car, and we left home and my dad with no explanations. Shes a writer whose talent, a fusion of surefooted, calm. Taylors impressive debut was shortlisted for last years sunday times young writer of the year and. Shes a writer whose talent, a fusion of surefooted, calm and uncompromising, is both quiet and prodigious ali smith, guardian, best books of 2016.
A profusion of poetic genius, the lauras by sara taylor is a book that could make anyone an emotional wreck. I was thrilled to receive sara taylors new novel the lauras which is a very different kind of book from her last novel the shore but maintains her distinctly engrossing and insightful style of writing. Buy the lauras by taylor, sara from amazons fiction books store. Sara taylors the laurasjust persuaded me even more that taylor is a writer of real gravitas and potency. A guardian best book of 2016 sara taylors the lauras just persuaded me even more that taylor is a writer of real gravitas and potency. The lauras is the new novel from the exceptionally gifted author of. The lauras by sara taylor the owl on the bookshelf.
Ma and her child, alex, head out on a road trip from their home in virginia to california, meeting a colorful cast of characters and experiencing the variety of settings that the united states has to offer. We meet alex at the age of thirteen as ma rips her out of bed running away from alexs rather kind father. The lauras is the new novel from the exceptionally gifted author of the shore. Sara taylor was born in the us state of virginia in 1988. Books to inspire your next road trip read it forward. Sara taylor was born in rural virginia, where she was homeschooled by her evangelical christian parents. The lauras retraces the path of an unstable childhood.
Bustle caught up with taylor a baileys prizenominated author for her 2015 debut novel, the shore in an interview, just before the lauras was. This story, told by the younger half of a runaway motherandchild duo, provides an enigmatic. Sara taylor is a product of virginia and the homeschooling movement, transplanted to the uk in 2012. The lauras is a road movie of a novel, which opens with yearold alex listening to a family row downstairs. Sara taylor, author of the lauras, picks her favorite reads about taking the long way home. Kirkus taylor the shore, 2015 packs vastly observed stories of mothers, children, and memory into her impressive second novel. Mas quest, focused on reconnecting with a series of women friendsthe lauras from her hardscrabble youth, provides both mother and child with myriad opportunities for selfrevelation. Shes a writer whose talent, a fusion of surefooted, calm and uncompromising, is both quiet and prodigious.
Sara taylor is herself a socially anxious product of rural virginia and the homeschooling movement. Taylors second novel follows alex and her journey with ma across the country. I didn t realise my mother was a person until i was thirteen years old. Until the night that opens the laurassara taylors second novelwhen ma pulls alex out of bed and sets the two on the long adventure that unfolds over the course of the novel.
Sara taylors first novel, the shore was a stunning debut, a collection of individual stories which were interweaving, deeply entangled exploring the history and geography of a small group of islands off the coast of virginia, and the families and their. Adam thorpe this is not a novel for the fainthearted but dare to read it for the sinuous fluency of the writing. The lauras, set in modernday north america, evokes the tumult of. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The lauras by sara taylor posted on september 7, 2016 by bookbii i remember there being a flurry of blog activity around the release of the shore by sara taylor last year, and whilst i wanted to read the book i didnt have chance and the moment seemed to pass me by. Sara taylor by adelaide festival published on 20170323t05. One of my favourite books in 2015 was the shore so needless to say i was pretty excited to hear about sara taylors latest novel, the lauras, which is published next month. The lauras by sara taylor overdrive rakuten overdrive. It feels, to read her, uncannya bit reminiscent of reading early atwood three decades ago. In her sophomore novel, the lauras, sara taylor offers a crosscountry journey of selfdiscovery that touches on gender, identity, and family. Helen dunmore, guardian sara taylors tourdeforce debut, the shore, was an intriguing set of interlocked short stories, spanning generations and crossing genres. Sara taylor has a completely natural, unforced feel for language and voice. Its somewhat challenging to write about it because the novels narrator alex, who is thirteen years old at the books beginning, doesnt live as.
Taylors crisply written novel, narrated by an androgynous teen, charts a yearslong motherchild. The lauras by sara taylor the crown publishing group. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. She holds an ma in creative writing prose fiction from the university of east anglia 20, and completed the ph. Sara taylors second novel, charting a road trip and touching on themes of gender, loss and identity, is as evocative as her debut. The lauras is a fine achievement, engrossing, original and eloquent, and taylor has more than fulfilled the promise of the shore. Despite thisread more if you liked this, you might also like. She traded her health for a bfa from randolph college, and her sanity for an ma in prose fiction from the university of east anglia. One night after thirteen year old alexs parents were. Saras novels, published by random house, explore the social construction of identity, sexuality, and family. It feels, to read her, uncanny a bit reminiscent of.
Sara taylor is a phd candidate at the university of east anglia in norwich, england, working on a doublefocus phd in censorship and fiction. She won the 2012 stonybrook southampton fiction prize for a short. After one more fight between her mother and father, alex wakes up to find that alex and alexs mother are going on a trip. Observer sara taylors the lauras just persuaded me even more that taylor is a writer of real gravitas and potency.
Sara taylors 2015 baileys womens prizenominated novel the shore introduced her to the literary scene as a promising new voice in fiction, and her captivating forthcoming novel the lauras hogarth. The lauras by sara taylor english 2016 general fictionclassics epub 2. By sara taylor 3 years ago the idea of hitting the road has captivated people since a time when most of us could expect to be buried no more than a mile or two from where wed been born. No explanations are given to anyone, as they make their trek across the country. Sara taylors debut, the shore, was a gritty and virtuosic novelinstories that imagined 250 years of history on a set of islands off the coast of virginia. Shortlisted for the 2017 sunday times young writer of the year from critically acclaimed and baileys prizenominated author sara taylor.
Taylors quiet, precise prose creates a sense of dreary place after place on the pairs odyssey and never conveys a clue about alexs anatomy. August 1, 2017 cements her rightful place as a remarkable talent on the verge of an avantgarde literary career. Her writing has appeared in the magazines the fog horn, thickjam, digital americana, nibble, the blue route, the jack and hail, as well as the horror anthology deep cuts, pubished by evil jester press. I didnt realise my mother was a person until i was thirteen years old and she pulled me out of bed, put me in the back of her car, and we left home and my dad with no explanations.
It feels, to read her, uncanny a bit reminiscent of reading early atwood three decades ago. The lauras by sara taylor is an epic road trip adventure. Sara taylors the lauras depicts the stories of a mother while she travels across the country with her child. Sara taylors the lauras just persuaded me even more that taylor is a writer of real gravitas and potency. Helen dunmore guardian sara taylors tourdeforce debut, the shore, was an intriguing set of interlocked short stories, spanning generations and crossing genres.