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Things which have caught my eye this week…..

The winner of the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize was announced yesterday. The winning book is The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas of Australia.

 

 Chair of the judging panel the Hon Justice Nicholas Hasluck commented on the  winning book:

“A controversial and daring novel, The Slap uses the iconic scene of a suburban Australian barbecue to examine identities and personal relationships in a multicultural society. Offering points of view from eight different characters, it taps into universal tensions and dilemmas around family life and child-rearing. This book is sure to challenge readers and provoke debate.

It sounds really interesting, so I actually attempted to buy a copy, but it’s price and rarity put me off. I’ll have to wait until it’s inevitable reprint.

The winner of the best first book was A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif. This was short listed for the Booker prize last year, and has been on my wish-list ever since then – I’m still on the look out for a bargain copy! 

Other books which have caught my eye this week include:

The Rooftops of Tehran as reviewed by Gautami Tripathy. I don’t think I have read many books set in Iran, and this one really stood out for me. It’s gone straight on the wish-list.

Matthew’s continual repetition of his love for The Master and Margarita managed to persuade me to part with my cash, and I now have a copy winging it’s way to me – I hope it lives up to his claims!!

Jo wrote a great review of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. She has really inspired me to read it –  I didn’t realise how short it was! I’ll have to try and get hold of a copy soon.

On a lighter note……

I smiled quite a few times when I found this blog dedicated to finding things that are wrong!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an interview with a stick of butter before!

Has anything special caught your eye this week?

Have you read any of the books I highlighted?

14 replies on “Things which have caught my eye this week…..”

I tell you what. I’ll send you my copy of Exploding Mangoes. Seriously. Give me your address. I hated that book. It was stupid, boring and I couldn’t make myself finish it. I have a hard cover copy and it’s all yours.

I suppose I should read the whole post before I comment. I am reading The Master and Margarita side by side with The Satanic Verses as Rushdie said he was reading it at the time and you can sense the influence. Both are wonderful books.

Candy – You’re selling it to me really well!! Why didn’t you like it? I’d love to have your copy so I could see why it so highly regarded, but it costs a lot to send hardbacks across the world, so I’m happy for you to change your mind. Thank you for the offer!

I’m really looking forward to reading M&M. I think I’ll start it as soon as it arrives. I’m not sure I want to read another Rushdie book so soon though!

My Scholastic rep is reading the Mangoes book on audio. She said it has been slow getting into it. I’ll be interested in what you think of it. And that Matt! If he has mentioned that book once, he has mentioned it a dozen times! I’m going to have to break down and give it a try! I sure wish I could get it free for my Kindle!

Candy – I’ve given in! Thank you so much for your generous offer. I’ve emailed you, and look forward to reading it. I really hope that I enjoy it more than you!

Sandy – I’ve since found out that The Master and Margarita is full of ‘magical realism’ so I’m not sure whether it is for me. I still plan to read it very soon, so I’ll let you know if it is worth getting!

It does show that persistence pays off – have I ever mentioned how good ‘A Fine Balance’ is?!!

Violet – Thank you. I do try to keep up to date with all the prize winners, so I’m really pleased you appreciate it!

Karen – I hope you manage to get a copy soon, as I’d be interested to hear your opinion of it. Hopefully it will be released here soon.

Matthew – Good luck in your hunt!

Jackie,

I hope you enjoyed the interview with a stick of butter. John’s Whatever is one of my favorite blogs and I love John’s books! I have read them all and depending on what you like, I can recommend them all!

Thanks for your candid thoughts on books!

DianeG – Whatever is such a funny blog – I only subscribed to it a few days ago, but it really makes me smile. It is the only non-book blog I look at, and it is making me think I should broaden my blogging horizons a bit more.

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