The shortlist for the 2012 Orange Prize will be announced at 9.30am GMT tomorrow. I have tried all the books on the longlist and so, as usual, I will try to predict the judge’s choices.

A Year of Happy Books

This year the judges seem to favour happy books. Darker subject matters were occasionally approached, but when done so it was always at a tangent or through emotionally distanced writing. I didn’t need to get the tissues out at all and never had to confront a disturbing scene. This led to my general apathy towards the longlist as I tend to prefer darker reads.

Decisions, Decisions

I found narrowing down the 20 books to 6 a reasonably easy process. The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright, There but for the by Ali Smith and Gillespie and I by Jane Harris cruised through to the final six and I’d be very surprised if any of these were missing tomorrow.

My only dilemma came between State of Wonder by Ann Patchett and Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan. I wasn’t a big fan of either, but both have the writing quality to justify a shortlisting. In the end I decided to include State of Wonder, because those who love it are very passionate and it seemed to dominate the top of many “Best of 2011” lists. In many ways Half Blood Blues deserves the place more because it has such an original tone and if I was on the judging panel I’d put it through. I could also see them both being included at the expense of either The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern or Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg, but as I don’t know the individual tastes of the judges I’ll avoid spending too long debating this with myself!

I also think that The Blue Book by A.L. Kennedy is worthy of a space on the shortlist, but I can’t see them choosing two experimental novels and There but for the by Ali Smith is easily the superior of the two.

This means my prediction for the 2012 Orange shortlist is:

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Who Will Win?

The winner of the Orange prize will be revealed on 30th May. I’d love to see Anne Enright take the prize, but I suspect that Ali Smith will be triumphant this year.

Who do you think will make it onto the Orange shortlist tomorrow?

The Pink Hotel by Anna Stothard

Five words from the blurb: girl, Los Angeles, mother, photographs, men

The Pink Hotel is the story of a seventeen-year-old English girl who flies to Los Angeles for her mother’s funeral. Abandoned as a toddler, she knows little about her mother and so takes the opportunity to discover as much as she can about her life. She achieves this by finding the men her mother was close to and forming her own relationships with them.

The book started really well and was packed with vivid descriptions that gave an immediate sense of place:

Her bedroom reeked of cigarette ash and stale perfume. Two ashtrays were packed with lipstick-stained filters as if she’d just popped out for another pack. A suspender belt hung from a chest of drawers, a mink scarf was curled like roadkill at the floor next to her bed.

I connected with her and felt immense sympathy for her isolated position.

Unfortunately everything went down-hill after about 50 pages. She formed intimate relationships with one man after another – it was seedy and I became bored by the repetitive nature of the plot. It symbolised important things about personal discovery and growing up to be like your mother, but this storyline held no interest to me and I skimmed about 100 pages.

The ending was well done, but I’m afraid that books with this type of storyline rarely appeal to me.

The Blue Book by A.L. Kennedy

Five words from the blurb: Atlantic, liner, fake, affection, deceiving

The Blue Book is set on a liner that is heading towards America. On board are a varied group of people, including Elizabeth and her boyfriend Derek, and by coincidence, Elizabeth’s ex-boyfriend, Arthur. Arthur is a magician and con-man and throughout the book it is difficult to establish exactly who is telling the truth and who is being conned….

I initially loved the structure of the book and the way the narrator directly addresses the reader:

And you’re a reader – clearly – here you are reading your book, which it was made for. It loves when you look, wakes when you look, and then it listens and it speaks. It was built to welcome your attention and reciprocate with this: the sound it lifts inside you. It gives you the signs for the shapes of the names of your thoughts in your mouth and in your mind and this is where they sing, here at the point where you both meet.

Unfortunately things degenerated quickly and I became frustrated by the experimental structure. I couldn’t work out what was happening and the long stream-of-consciousness sections only deepened this problem.

I found it impossible to bond with any of the characters and so I began to skim read – especially the stream-of-consciousness sections. I know this means I’ll have missed some of the more subtle aspects of the story, but it was the only way I made it to the end, which was as clever as I expected it to be.

If you enjoy puzzling over complicated books then you’ll find a lot of rewards in this book, but it was all too much for me.

The Orange longlist was recently announced and I’m making an effort to try every book in the hope I’ll discover a few gems. I’m aware that many of the books won’t be to my taste and so am abandoning any that fail to excite me.

These are the books that I’ve abandoned so far:

The Flying Man by Roopa Farooki

Five words from the blurb: man, charm, Pakistan, escapes, game

I haven’t had much success with books written by Roopa Farooki in the past and so I didn’t hold out much hope for this one. I tried the first 20 pages and discovered that her writing style is as light as usual. I’m sure this will be a reasonably entertaining read (as confirmed by cardigangirlverity), but I’m afraid I’m looking for books that really sparkle.

 

The Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay

Five words from the blurb: motherhood, faith, love, emotional, London

I can’t fault this one – the writing was excellent and the characters sprung to life. But after 40 pages I realised that I wasn’t excited about picking it up and carrying on, so I didn’t. Tiny Library describes this as a: Quiet, understated read about faith and family.

Her review confirms that I made the right choice in abandoning this book – quiet and understated rarely work for me.

There but for the by Ali Smith

Five words from the blurb: dinner party, stranger, satirical, perspective, memory

I’ve been avoiding this book for a while. Lots of people love it, but I know that I don’t normally enjoy Ali Smith’s experimental style. In an effort to give her the benefit of the doubt I got a copy of the audio book from the library and took it with me on a long car journey. Unfortunately I discovered that I dislike her style on audio as much as I do in print. It felt pretentious and I just didn’t get it. I forced myself to listen to all of disc one, but Ali Smith will never be for me – I prefer more conventional narration. This book divides opinion. If you want to know why others love it I suggest you read Simon’s review.

 

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

Five words from the blurb: horses, racing, steal, fast, winners

I’m not a big fan of horse racing and so was nervous about starting this one. Luckily I was quickly bowled over by the impressive writing. Unfortunately my enthusiasm was short lived. Beautiful, profound statements were scattered throughout the text, but I failed to connect to any of the characters. Reading became a real chore and so I abandoned it after 60 pages. This is another book that divides opinion. The Mookse and the Gripes describes this as: a remarkably unique novel.

 

Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick

Five words from the blurb: teacher, New York, divorce, family, love

This book has a very strange beginning involving a series of letters in which one character abuses and rants at another. The story progresses to include an annoying woman travelling to Europe to look for her nephew. It’s safe to say that this story will never be for me, but as it is a satire of The Ambassadors by Henry James (a book I haven’t read) I suspect that fans (or enemies!) of that book would find a lot to enjoy. Unabridged Chick enjoyed the book, despite disliking the characters. Perhaps you will too?

Remaining Oranges

I’ve nearly finished my trial of this year’s Orange longlist. I’m currently half way through Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg, and hope to post a review in the next week. I then just have On the Floor by Aifric Campbell, The Pink Hotel by Anna Stothard, and The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen left. I hope to finish in time to predict the shortlist, but I admit that I’m distracted by books (like Salvage the Bones and Running the Rift) that commenters on my Orange longlist prediction post were especially passionate about.

Did you love any of these books?

Was I wrong to abandon any of them?

The Ones I’ve Already Read

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

Five words from the blurb: powerful, people, moving, love, adultery

My review: The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

One of the few authors able to engage me without the use of a plot. This character study is packed with emotion.

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Five words from the blurb: circus, dark, dazzling, world, imaginative

My review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Unforgettable, vivid setting, but plot is a bit weak.

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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Five words from the blurb: Greece, Heroes, King, war, immortal

My review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Light, but enjoyable read that will suit anyone interested in Greek mythology.

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Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

Five words from the blurb: Glasgow, encounter, tragedy, mystery, humour

My review: Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

An entertaining Victorian mystery.

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Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Five words from the blurb: cabaret, black, Berlin, betrayal, secrets

My review: Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan

Fantastic atmosphere, but too much jazz for me.

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The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

Five words from the blurb: Victorian, women’s movement, marriage, affair, divorce

My review: The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

Some great descriptions of Victorian London, but court case was too slow for me.

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State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Five words from the blurb: Brazilian, river, researcher, mystery, secrets

This book had some great sections, but they were interspersed by long dull bits. I abandoned it at the half way point.

Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding

Five words from the blurb: Romania, hospital, memories, society, war, victim

Beautiful poetic writing, but plot was too gentle for me. I abandoned it after 50 pages.

The Ones I Haven’t Read

Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg

Five words from the blurb: islands, family, love, madness, hardship

On the Floor by Aifric Campbell

Five words from the blurb: city, bank, success, trouble, risk

The Flying Man by Roopa Farooki

Five words from the blurb: man, charm, Pakistan, escapes, game

The Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay

Five words from the blurb: motherhood, faith, love, emotional, London

The Blue Book by A.L. Kennedy

Five words from the blurb: voyage, deceived, super-rich, false, hearts

There but for the by Ali Smith

Five words from the blurb: dinner party, stranger, satirical, perspective, memory

The Pink Hotel by Anna Stothard

Five words from the blurb: Los Angeles, funeral, mother, letters, photographs

Tides of War by Stella Tillyard

Five words from the blurb: Regency England, Spain, Peninsular War, freedom, women

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

Five words from the blurb: horses, racing, steal, fast, winners

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen

Five words from the blurb: family, secret, past, grief, tenderness

Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick

Five words from the blurb: teacher, New York, divorce, family, love

The Submission by Amy Waldman

Five words from the blurb: 9/11, memorial, grief, Muslim, conflicts

My Plans

This is an interesting list, containing several books that are new to me. So far I’ve tried 8 books and whilst several have been enjoyable, none have bowled me over with their brilliance. I would like to try all the books at some point, but make no promises about finishing them.  

The Submission has been on my radar for a while so this gives me the perfect excuse to read it soon. I’ll read the others over the coming weeks, but try to spread the reviews out a little bit so that this blog doesn’t become overly Orange.

What do you make of the list?

Which book do you think I’ll enjoy the most? 

The Jewish Chronicle has leaked 5 titles from the Orange longlist. The paper reports that:

“Cynthia Ozick is one of five American Jewish writers on this year’s Orange Prize longlist”

Further investigation led to the discovery of all five titles written by Jewish writers:

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen

Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick

The Submission by Amy Waldman

I was on Twitter discussing prize list leaks from previous years and so decided to search google for the terms “orange prize longlist 2012”. I couldn’t believe it when I was rewarded with this sneak peek at the longlist.

The remaining 15 titles will be revealed at 12.30am GMT tomorrow…..unless there is another leak!