The Wake (novel)

{{Short description|2014 novel by Paul Kingsnorth}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox book

| name = The Wake

| image = The Wake (novel).jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = First edition

| author = Paul Kingsnorth

| audio_read_by =

| illustrator =

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| country = United Kingdom

| language = Anglish

| series = Buckmaster trilogy

| genre = Historical fiction

| set_in = The Lincolnshire Fens during the Norman Invasion

| publisher = Unbound Digital

| pub_date = {{start date|2015|4|30}}

| media_type =

| pages = 384

| awards = {{Plainlist}}

• Gordon Burn Prize 2014 (won)
• The Bookseller Industry Book of the Year Award 2015 (won)
• Goldsmiths Prize (shortlisted)
• Man Booker Prize 2014 (longlisted)
• Desmond Elliott Prize (longlisted)
• Folio Prize (longlisted)

{{endplainlist}}

| isbn = 978-1-908-71786-3

| followed_by =

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| notes =

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| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

The Wake is a 2014 debut novel by British author Paul Kingsnorth.{{cite news |last1=Wagner |first1=Erica |title=The constant gardener |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2016/06/constant-gardener |accessdate=22 April 2020 |work=New Statesman |date=30 June 2016 |language=en}} Written in an imaginary language, a hybrid of Old English and Modern English,{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-wake-poses-readers-a-novel-challenge-1440602738 |title=The Wake Poses Readers a Novel Challenge |last=Maloney |first=Jennifer |date=27 August 2015 |work=The Wall Street Journal |accessdate=15 September 2015 }} it tells of Buccmaster of Holland, an Anglo-Saxon freeman forced to come to terms with the effects of the Norman Invasion of 1066, during which his wife and sons were killed.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/10/the-wake-review-paul-kingsnorth-innovative-shadow-language-novel-norman-hastings |title=The Wake review – Paul Kingsnorth's innovative, 'shadow language' novel |last=Sethi |first=Anita |author-link=Anita Sethi|date=10 May 2015 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=15 September 2015 }} He begins a guerrilla war against the Norman invaders in the Lincolnshire Fens.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/02/the-wake-paul-kingsnorth-review-literary-triumph |title=The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth review 'A literary triumph' |last=Thorpe |first=Adam |date=2 April 2014 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=15 September 2015 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2014/08/1066-and-all |title=1066 and all that: Eimear McBride on The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth |last=McBride |first=Eimear |date=27 August 2014 |work=New Statesman |accessdate=15 September 2015 }}

Kingsnorth financed the work through crowdfunding on the platform Unbound. After not receiving support through a mainstream publisher, he did not initially expect a large response to his work.{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/08/27/434970724/the-wake-is-an-unlikely-hit-in-an-imaginary-language |title=The Wake is an Unlikely Hit In An Imaginary Language |last=Shapiro |first=Ari |date=27 August 2015 |work=NPR |accessdate=15 September 2015 }} However, the book was longlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize{{cite web |url=http://www.themanbookerprize.com/books/wake |title=The Wake — Paul Kingsnorth |year=2014 |publisher=Man Booker Prize |accessdate=15 September 2015 }} and won the 2014 Gordon Burn Prize.{{cite news |title=Mark Rylance-backed novel wins £5,000 literary prize |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29572691 |work=BBC News Online |accessdate=11 October 2014 |date=30 November 2015}} The film rights were acquired by the actor and director Mark Rylance,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/03/mark-rylance-film-option-is-latest-coup-for-crowd-funded-novel-the-wake |title=Mark Rylance film option is latest coup for crowd-funded novel, The Wake |date=3 November 2014 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=15 September 2015 }} who also read a section of the book in 2014 at the Hay Festival.