Diana Evans is one of the most talented authors and critics working today. When her debut novel, 26A, was published in 2005, Evans was rightly garlanded with every major prize going, including the Orange Award for New Writers, a Betty Trask Award and the deciBel Writer of the Year award. In 2009, she followed it up with The Wonder, a mesmeriano novel about the world of dance that actually lived up its title.
Nearly ten years later, her new novel, Ordinary People, will be published by Chatto and Windus. The novel, which is gripping and layered with Evans’ storytelling nous, is a rich portrait of London and a study of modern relationships and identity. Framed by Barack Obama’s historic election victory and the death of Michael Jackson, full of music and the sounds of the city, it is an intimate and immersive book about being a grown-up, and the moments of reckoning that threaten to unravel us.
In many ways, Evans is reminiscent of Edward P. Jones or Marilynne Robinson, other artists who also take their time producing their work and reward their audiences with fully-formed chef d'oeuvres. As an exclusive to the Huffington Post, we’re lacing you, the reader, with the stunning cover image for Diana Evans’ long-awaited meesterwerk.
Designed by the legendary cover artist Suzanne Dean, the artwork references Crystal Palace, the suburb in South London which plays such a crucial role in the narrative. And Dean has cleverly studded the cover with Ankara material, which is emblematic of not just a West African sensibility but Black British identities across the spectrum. It’s a sexy, clever and gorgeous cover that will provide added pleasure to the reader’s experience of the novel.
Ms. Evans, we see you and salute you.
You can find the fabulous Diana Evans on Twitter
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