Category: Book Prizes

Categories
Orange Prize Other

Early Peek at the 2012 Orange Prize Longlist

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

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Grief of Others

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen

Foreign Bodies

Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick

The Submission

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!

Categories
Orange Prize Other

Who will be longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize?

The longlist for the 2012 Orange Prize will be announced on the 8th March.

The prize is awarded to the woman who, in the opinion of the judges, has written the best, eligible full-length novel in English.

Here is my prediction for the 20 novels that will be selected on Thursday:

State of WonderThe Buddha in the AtticSarah ThornhillThe Forgotten Waltz

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

 

Gillespie and IA Cupboard Full of CoatsThere but for theCaleb's Crossing

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

A Cupboard Full of Coats by Yvvette Edwards

There but for the by Ali Smith

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

 

The Land of DecorationPainter of SilenceThe Good MuslimAll is Song

The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen

Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding

The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam

All is Song by Samantha Harvey

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The Roundabout ManAll That I Am22 Britannia RoadThe Snow Child

The Roundabout Man by Clare Morrall

All That I Am by Anna Funder

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

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SolaceThe DovekeepersMr FoxThe Lifeboat

Solace by Belinda McKeon

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

 

Which books do you think will make it onto the Orange longlist?

Have I missed any obvious contenders?

Categories
2010 Non Fiction Other Prizes

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Winner of 2010 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction

Five words from the blurb: North Korea, repressive, secretive, survival, stories

Nothing to Envy is a frightening insight into the lives of ordinary people in North Korea. By interviewing those who managed to escape the oppressive regime Barbara Demick has created a comprehensive picture of what life is like for those living under the thumb of a powerful dictator.

More than 2 million North Koreans died during a famine in the 1990s, but their plight was made harder by the fact they could trust very few people. Under constant fear of being reported to authorities each individual had to find their own food, often by committing a crime that, if caught, could have lead to their execution.

It isn’t necessary to know anything about the country in advance as this book explains the situation perfectly, without a hint sensationalisation. Details of the slow decline in living standards are mesmerising in their horror and I think everyone should read this book so they can understand what occurs at the limits of humanity.

I have always been fascinated by North Korea and so I expected to love this book from the very first page. Unfortunately I initially felt a bit overwhelmed – so many people were introduced that I found it hard to keep track of them all and I longed for a bit of emotion to be injected into the statistics.

Luckily things improved quickly and by page fifty I was hooked. I began to recognise each person as their story was continued and it was impossible to not be moved by their increasingly difficult lives.

I thought I had a reasonable idea of what went on in the country, but I was shocked by some of the details of their existence.

North Koreans learned to swallow their pride and hold their noses. They picked kernels of undigested corn out of the excrement of farm animals. Shipyard workers developed a technique by which they scraped the bottoms of the cargo holds where food had been stored, then spread the foul smelling gunk on rooftops to dry so that they could collect from it tiny grains of uncooked rice and other edibles.

This book is one of the most important pieces of journalism to be written in recent years and it has just become one my favourite nonfiction titles.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

Nothing to Envy is a truly astonishing book. Reading Matters

Readers, even those who don’t often read non-fiction, will find themselves completely absorbed in these stories. Olduvai Reads

The book is fascinating, sad, and frustrating all at the time, which is the best sort of narrative nonfiction. Sophisticated Dorkiness

Categories
Nobel Prize Other

Abandoned: The Twyborn Affair by Patrick White

The Twyborn Affair (Vintage Classics)

Patrick White is an author I’ve wanted to try for a long time. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1973 and I’m sure I’ll love some of his work, but unfortunately I think I started with the wrong one.

The Twyborn Affair was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1979, but the author withdrew it from consideration. The book centres on Eddie Twyborn, a bisexual woman, and is set in the Australian Outback, France and London.

Unfortunately I can’t really tell you what happened because:

  1. I was too confused
  2. I abandoned it after 100 pages
  3. I’m not sure anything actually does happen

The writing quality was immediately obvious and I was initially impressed by the vivid scene setting. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before I lost the plot!

A stream-of-consciousness writing style, reminiscent of Virginia Woolf, began to dominate and I struggled to follow what was going on, let alone its relevance to the plot (if there was one). I can see that this is an intelligently written novel and I’m sure that anyone with the patience unravel this complex novel will be rewarded, but I’m afraid I couldn’t stomach 430 pages of slow confusion.

Have you read anything written by Patrick White?

Are all his books written in a steam-of-consciousness writing style?

Do you think I’d enjoy any of his other books?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Booker Prize

Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall

Astonishing Splashes Of Colour : Shortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize

Five words from the blurb: vivid, child, grief, eccentric, family

Astonishing Splashes of Colour is a vivid account of the grief felt by one woman because of her inability to have children. The central character, Kitty, desperately tries to be happy but every time she sees
a child she is reminded of her pain.

Although much of the book deals with a difficult subject matter there is a lot of humor. Kitty’s failed attempts to entertain her nieces were almost farcical and there were moments when I felt guilty for laughing at her.

Kitty also suffers from synaesthesia so scenes are overlaid with a colour specific to the mood or event taking place. This added another dimension to the book and never felt gimmicky.

I watch her walk miserably away with her two children and wish I could help her, although I know I can’t. She chose the wrong person. The yellow is changing. I can feel it becoming overripe – the sharp smell of dying daffodils, the sting and taste of vomit.

Although it can’t be described as fast-paced the mysteries surrounding Kitty’s past drive the plot forward and I was gripped to the emotional narrative throughout.

This book does a fantastic job of investigating the problems faced by vulnerable members of society and I loved the way it highlighted their problems without being condescending. I also appreciated the inclusion of a character with Asperger’s syndrome (Kitty’s husband). Did anyone else notice this, or am I reading too much into things?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys getting inside the head of beautifully flawed characters. I’ll be thinking about this family for a long time to come.

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This was my first Clare Morrall book, but it definitely won’t be my last. Her new novel, The Roundabout Man, is published next week and I am also keen to read, The Language of Others, which is about a woman with Asperger’s syndrome.

Have you read any of her books?

Which do you recommend?

Categories
2011 Other Prizes

The Wandering Falcon – Jamil Ahmad

The Wandering Falcon Long listed for 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize

Five words from the blurb: Pakistan, remote, tribal, honour, conflict

The Wandering Falcon is set in the remote border region of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan where nomadic tribes travel in order to find food and water. When Partition occurred in 1947 the border controls were tightened, leaving entire communities at risk of drought as they were denied access to the springs they had visited for generations. This book follows a young boy, Tor Baz (meaning the black falcon) as he grows up in this threatened culture.

The book started off really well. The first chapter was a roller-coaster of emotion, ending on a heartbreaking scene which gave me high expectations for the rest of the book. Unfortunately I soon discovered that the story wasn’t continued in a linear fashion, but told through a series of short stories. These showed all the important moments in Tor’s life, but the fragmented approach meant that the reader is just thrown from one life changing moment to the next.

The Wandering Falcon provides a fascinating insight into a little known culture and is packed with period atmosphere. At times it read more like a non-fiction book, but it was always engaging and easy to read.

The Mahsuds, because they always hunt in groups, are known as the wolves of Waziristan. A Wazir hunts alone. He is known as ‘the leopard’ to other men. Despite their differences, the two tribes share more than merely their common heritage of poverty and misery. Nature has bred in both an unusual abundance of anger, enormous resilience, and a total refusal to accept their fate. If nature provides them food for only ten days in a year, they believe in their right to demand the rest of their sustenance from their fellow men who live oily, fat and comfortable lives in the plains. To both tribes, survival is the ultimate virtue.

At less than 200 pages it was a very quick read, but I can’t decide if this is a positive or negative. I’d prefer a longer book, with all those gaps filled in, but I can appreciate the power of this book’s simplicity.

The Wandering Falcon is a very important book, revealing the details of this traditional community and I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about this region of the world.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

A brilliant book.  Highly recommended. ANZ Litlovers Litblog

….a beautiful meditation on the life of a nomad in an increasingly modernizing world. S. Krishna’s Books

….a real portrayal of the tribes men not just our western view of them. Winstonsdad’s Blog