“A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say” – Italo Calvino

Published in July, twenty Vintage Red Spine classics got new designs. Red Spines were first launched 17 years ago in 2007 to bring contemporary designs and introductions from modern authors to much loved books that have stood the test of time. The titles that were published last month include ten new titles never before categorised as modern classics as well as modern redesigns of previously included works.

The Mainstreet staff have enjoyed browsing the list and rereading or remembered their favourites. Here are some of the books that stand out for them on the list:

Disgrace by J. M Coetzee – Chosen by Rosamund

It was fascinating to rediscover this modern classic, 25 years after first reading it.  Set in post-Apartheid South Africa, many types of Disgrace are examined, but what is most striking is how little has changed in the intervening years.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov – Chosen by Sarah

This book is outlandishly fantastical. I found myself continuously smiling – sometimes because of its absolute absurdity and sometimes out of admiration for the cleverness of Bulgakov as writer. You will find fewer novels that are weirder than this. However, if you do pick it up, I encourage you to just roll with it…Joining the devil and his crew in Moscow is something that you will never forget. 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – Chosen by Jen

The themes of social justice, racial prejudice, family life and courage are as relevant today as they were in 1960 when this Pulitzer Prize winning classic novel by Harper Lee was published. During a time of unrest and division in the UK and wars based on prejudice and fear further afield, To Kill a Mockingbird most definitely “has never finished saying what it has to say”…

Pick it up for the first time or reread it – it will touch your heart and make you want to be a better, more compassionate person. It should be compulsory reading for everyone!

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, transl. by Rob Schwartz – Chosen by Nina

40 women are trapped, locked in a cage and watched over by guards. How did they get there? Why are they imprisoned? Though the answers are unclear, you feel compelled to continue. An unsettling read about humanity in a post-apocalyptic world. (Also featured in our Women in Translation blog.)

Beloved by Toni Morrison – Chosen by Sarah 

A novel that on first impressions is an eerie ghost story but is in fact a complex dive into the extensive scars of slavery and the inherited trauma of a nation still coming to terms with its past.  A modern classic that is beautifully intense and leaves you shaken yet deeply moved. 

Alongside Beloved, Vintage have added six new titles from the Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. These include Songs of Solomon and Jazz.

Lucy from our café team did a bit of redesigning herself, creating a window display to celebrate the new titles. This was Lucy’s first window display and she did an absolutely marvellous job at showing  how wonderful these new Red Spines are.

Head over to Bookshop.org to select which of the 20 titles to add to your to be read pile first. You can view the full list of new Vintage Red Spines HERE.