Tuesday, September 18, 2012

10 Novels That Deserve a Prequel


by . Posted on Flavorpill -  Monday Sep 17, 2012

Today marks the US release of Skagboys, Irvine Welsh’s long-awaited prequel to his cult classic Trainspotting. Though in general we think the world has way too many prequels and sequels, we have to admit that we’re a little bit psyched to find out the origin stories of our favorite crew of tortured junkies. Welsh’s new book got us thinking about other classic and modern texts that we think could use a prequel — sure, it might be only to answer our own selfish lingering questions, but what else are prequels for? Click through to see the books we chose, and add your own suggestions in the comments — you never know, you just might get your wish.




The Road, Cormac McCarthy
McCarthy’s bleak post-apocalyptic trek never answers the question that was tugging at us the entire time — what happened to the world? Though we’re not sure we exactly want to know, we think a book about the slow destruction of the world written by McCarthy would be terrible and harrowing and perfect.


The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
We hear Gatsby’s origin story — more or less — in the novel, but now that we’re over the reveal, we’d definitely read an entire book about it. All that bootlegging, class struggle and forbidden romance is sure to make for a rip-roaring novel.


The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
Most characters Holden Caulfield’s age don’t need an origin story (they are the origin story), but with this fellow we still have questions we want answered. Maybe it’s just the story of that elusive and departed Allie Caulfield, whose story, not to mention his thoughts, might shine some deliciously satisfying light on his elder brother. Plus, it’d be a tragedy, and we love those.

Read all ten.

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