Author:Val Emmich,Justin Paul,Steven Levenson,Benj Pasek
*Read before you see the film - in cinemas this October!!*
Dear Evan Hansen,
Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why...
When a letter that was never meant to be seen draws high school senior Evan Hansen into the Murphy family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong.
He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell.
That the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.
Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore. And Connor's wealthy parents have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his 'closest friend'.
As Evan gets pulled deeper into their family, he knows that what he's doing may not be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be?
No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose.
He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. But when everything is in danger of unravelling, he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.
A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.
__________
Praise for Dear Evan Hansen:
'Even in book form, Evan Hansen's story sings. Required reading, especially for anyone who's ever needed to be found' - Becky Albertalli, author of Love Simon
'Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel is a terrific reinvention of an already brilliant piece of art.' -Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister's Keeper
'Today's going to be an amazing day, and here's why: because you're holding this book.'- David Arnold, author of Mosquitoland
'The writers of Dear Evan Hansen have given fans a rare gift' - Teen Vogue
'Yep, the hit musical will make you cry just as much in book form' - Entertainment Weekly
Even in book form, Evan Hansen's story sings. Required reading, especially for anyone who's ever needed to be found
—— Becky Albertalli, author of Love SimonDear Evan Hansen: The Novel is a terrific reinvention of an already brilliant piece of art
—— Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister's KeeperYep, the hit musical will make you cry just as much in book form
—— Entertainment WeeklyA must-read for teens and those who care about them
—— Publishers WeeklyThe writers of Dear Evan Hansen have given fans a rare gift
—— Teen VogueIt's a rich and complex tale, beautifully told. Historic detail and dog-like thinking are vividly conveyed, carrying the reader along. It is a joy to read. It raises deep questions about what it means to be human
—— Sussex LifeA tale of love and unbreakable bonds
—— New York PostA grand sweep of adventure and travel, war and romance, and a rich exploration of love, life and loyalty
—— National Public RadioDog lovers will want to have this heartbreaking, century spanning novel for their next discovery
—— Entertainment WeeklyBeautiful. Rich in perseverance, love and the sweetness of life
—— Kirkus ReviewsA lyrical commentary on war, rivalry, sacrifice, and above all else, loyalty
—— Publishers WeeklyTimeless. Humanity's foibles and failings are on full display. This soulful debut is a charmer
—— BooklistWith a hint of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Tomorrow confronts big questions about life's purpose and celebrates life's pleasures
—— BookpageDamian Dibben's novel is guaranteed to make you shed a tear . . . sure to appeal to readers who enjoy fiction embedded in history
—— HeartThe story of a dog that doesn't die, of the wonders he'd seen, and the horrors, who lost his master a hundred years ago and has been searching for him ever since, Tomorrow is an epic tale of love, of courage, of hope
—— London Evening StandardWhat a novel! Ambitious and wonderfully achieved. A book to read again and again
—— Michael Morpurgo, bestselling author of War HorseDefinitely - HIGHLY - worth the read!
—— Seth MeyersStaggeringly ambitious, innovative, beautifully written... The Porpoise has the pace of a really good thriller, but combined with a subtlety and depth that few thrillers possess
—— Pat BarkerA full-throttle blast of storytelling mastery. I read it on the plane in a single sitting at 30,000 feet and enjoyed every second. Gorgeously written and very clever, but also such fun! Ancient and modern overlap and tangle in exhilarating ways, it’s like romping through a Literary Netflix: an episode of something historical and bloody, then something slick and contemporary, then something really weird and unnerving. So many pleasures in one book. The Porpoise is a joy to read
—— Max PorterThere is storytelling of such primacy in Mark Haddon’s The Porpoise, that when I turned the last page, I was left completely elated. A gorgeous, enlivening experience. It is also one that insistently asks: how? How did all this add up to something so sublime? How, with all its subtle slips, and stunningly weird passages, could this strange, beautiful book feel so finely composed? It is disarmingly wild. And the story itself, in which the myth of Appolonius, remixed as Pericles by Shakespeare and George Wilkins, is again turned inside out, thrown backward and forward, and hurled against oceans (in an act of imaginative heroism by the author), invites us to understand something Haddon always has, which is that even stories as old as this one can remain relevant to our current moment. Especially if they are told with this much originality and conviction
—— Guy Gunaratne , Goldsmiths PrizeMark Haddon cuts right down to the grittiness of humanity every time he writes. The Porpoise is a beautiful, unputdownable, ancient tangle with its own sweeping tides and dangerous depths
—— Daisy JohnsonIt's hard to describe just how much tremendous joy and pleasure there is on every page
—— Charlotte HigginsHaddon deftly adapts this ancient myth for the 21st century to illuminate a timeless, ugly truth about how the violent appetites of men strip women of their agency
—— EsquireBeguiling yet unsettling
—— Eithne Farry , Daily MailA fantastical narrative that involves rampaging pirates, ghost women and princesses...Bold
—— Andrea Martin , HeatThis gripping and evocative novel questions the nature of the stories we tell ourselves and others
—— UK Press SyndicationA rollicking fantastical narrative
—— iA wild adventure...full of splendid incident... There is much to enjoy in this novel -- the liveliness of Haddon's imagination and the virtuosity of his style
—— Allan Massie , The Scotsman[The Porpoise] achieve[s] the truly Shakespearean feat of simultaneously conveying disgust at the darkest aspects of human behaviour and relishing them, making the reader feel horribly – and deliciously – complicit
—— Jake Kerridge , Sunday ExpressStamped with the same bold and original imagination… Haddon’s mash-up of myth and history may have a fantastical feel, but once the reader has adjusted to his exuberant originality they will find prose on every page that is pure joy
—— Jane Thynne , Tablet, *Novel of the Week*Haddon writes with wrenching beauty about how the world inflicts itself on the disadvantaged... It's a testament to Haddon's prodigious gifts as a storyteller that this strange, epic adventure is so compulsively readable
—— Nicholas Mancusi , Time MagazineA strange, tangled web of a story, drawing on ancient mythology and expanding into time travel… this innovative novel offers escapes into multiple worlds
—— Culture WhisperIrresistible storytelling that slides between the present day and a mythic realm… A heady delight
—— Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2019*The novel draws on Shakespeare and Greek legend, and is the sort of mile-a-minute adventure you can get lost in for hours without realising
—— ShortList, *Summer Reads of 2019*[The Porpoise] confirms the sense of a gifted writer letting his talent off the leash at last… Mind-bending yet marvellously readable, it stakes Haddon’s claim to be one of the best writers in Britain right now
—— Daily Mail, *Summer reads of 2019*Haddon conveys all this with startling granularity: the stinking, seething Jacobean London traversed by the ghosts of Wilkins and Shakespeare… Haddon's novel creates, throughout, a looming sense that something very bad but not quite perceptible is in the process of unfolding: a terrible half-glimpsed fate that the characters are powerless to resist
—— Adam Smyth , London Review of BooksThe Porpoise begins as a page-turning thriller and soon shifts into something slippery and strange – but remains propulsive throughout
—— New StatesmanMark Haddon’s best novel yet. The Porpoise begins as a propulsive thriller…and segues into a classical-world adventure that reinvents the story of Pericles in prose of a hallucinatory vividness
—— Justine Jordan , Guardian, *Books of the Year*The Porpoise reworks legend with the compelling force of a thriller
—— Lindsey Hilsum , Observer, *Books of the Year*[An] exquisite retelling of Shakespeare’s Pericles
—— Claire Allfree , Daily Mail, *Books of the Year*Thrilling, dramatic and exquisitely written, The Porpoise combines myth and reality to enthralling effect
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailVuong…[is] a keen anthropologist of the contemporary American experience.
—— Jessica Loudis , Times Literary SupplementA beautiful novel full of raw feelings.
—— Laura Waddell , Scotsman[A] phosphorescent debut novel… Vuong layers past and present brilliantly in a shifting series of brief episodes and striking mood-musings from within the mind of his protagonist… the hyperreality of Little Dog’s self-awareness is always a delight.
—— Mark Hudson , TabletStaggering, sensual and poetic
—— Pandora Sykes[A] stunning debut… Ocean Vuong crafts lyrical, masterful prose in this emotionally-powerful piece of story telling. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is sure to stay with readers long after they have put the novel down.
—— Eastern Daily PressA brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity.
—— Asian Art Newspaper, *Books of the Year*A tender exploration of violence, migration and language.
—— Justine Jordan , Guardian, *Books of the Year*This romantic, lusciously written debut lingers over kisses.
—— Robbie Millen and James Marriot , The Times, *Books of the Year*A magical synthesis of memoir, fiction and poetry.
—— Joyce Carol Oates , Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*So very full of beauty and power. Also, grace.
—— Tommy Orange , Observer, *Books of the Year*On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is a stunning, relentless work of pure passion and I was captivated from the go.
—— Úna-Minh Kavanagh , Sunday Independent *Books of the Year*A story that is deeply relatable, understandable and can find common currency with us all. He uses his differences to connect us, to show the links that bind us, to explore violence, masculinity, poverty and yearning… you’ll quickly get carried away by his undercurrents into spaces and places you’d perhaps never thought of exploring or even realised existed.
—— GsceneVuong’s gift lies in his ability to write with beautiful specificity while digging into the wounds of immigration, culture, queerness and memory. I’ve read many very good books in 2019 but none have obliterated me like On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.
—— Katie Goh , Skinny, *Books of the Year*Ocean Vuong is a magician with words. When he writes, it's as if language itself is dancing. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is… a brutally honest exploration of race, class and masculinity. This debut novel is a luminous, mesmerising gift.
—— attitude, *Books of the Year*Astounding.
—— Malin Hay , UpcomingVuong jettisons the prose for poetic verse, with Roland Barthes, Duchamp’s Fountain and queer love all collapsing into splintering lines of verse. Vuong’s sentences are so beautiful, sometimes I would say them over and over again in my head, hoping I might be able to trap them in there.
—— Annie Lord , Independent[Vuong is] brilliant and so flexible with language and has such an understanding of what an emotion incarnate is, he is able to not condense it but to heighten it across languages, across countries, across codes as characters speak to one another. He's peerless.
—— Bryan Washington , Observer[A] triumphant debut novel... On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous felt like a true masterpiece being crafted before my eyes, and I was devastated to see the novel draw to a close. I truly can't recommend this book highly enough - I don't remember the last time I was so floored after reading something that I had to take the rest of the day off speaking to family... a passionate, eye-opening journey, and is most certainly one to be added to your lockdown reading list.
—— Rebecca Scott , Glasgow GuardianBeautifully written... Unlike anything I have read before
—— Ellie Down , ExeposéAn engrossing coming-of-age story.
—— Mariella Frostrup , Sunday Times[Vuong] is an author of incredible and magical talent, with many of his paragraphs reading like the most beautiful poetry... An absolute must-read
—— GlamourRaw, lyrical and at times hearth-wrenching, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a book of real beauty
—— iFor a long time after I read this, I could still feel the impact of his story. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is an experience that you need to have.
—— DIVAI read the novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong while on tour and the language often stopped me in my tracks... powerful.
—— Dua Lipa , Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2023*Inventive... [On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous] just stops you as a reader to marvel at the beautifully constructed narrative
—— Art Newspaper