The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association has chosen Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan’s Wanting as their very first NAIBA Notable title. The novel, which goes on sale today, is a haunting story set in 1841 that features two titans of Victorian England, Charles Dickens and John Franklin (whose ill-fated Northern expedition was the subject of a recent Dan Simmons novel) while drawing parallels to modern society.
Flanagan is known for complex, thematic works like Gould’s Book of Fish, but he’s not afraid to go commercial—he also co-wrote the screenplay for the Baz Luhrmann film Australia. Grove Publisher Morgan Entrekin says Wanting has the same intellectual depth as his earlier novels “yet may be more approachable for many readers.”
Wanting goes on sale today, but the book has already received a rave review from novelist Jon Fasman in the Los Angeles Times. As a fan of historical and Victorian fiction, I’m looking forward to digging into our copy.
