Independent Foreign Fiction Prize--We've Got a Winner!

Congratulations to Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker for winning the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for his novel The Detour.  Bakker has won prizes before; indeed, his novel The Twin is one of my favorites--you'll remember how I gushed about it in an earlier blog post (click here) as a quiet book that just stayed with me for the longest time after I finished it.

I can't wait to get my hands on The Detour--race you to the library!

The Ondaatje Prize--a Winner!

Congratulations to Philip Hensher for winning the 2013 Ondaatje Prize for his novel Scenes from Early Life.  For more info on this prize, click here.

2013 Best Translated Book Award: And the Winner is:

Satantango by László Krasznahorkai, translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes (New Directions; Hungary)

Let me know if you read it!  

2013 Best Translated Book Award--the Finalists for Fiction

Save the date!!!  Tomorrow the winner of the 2013 Best Translated Book Award will be announced.  Here are the finalists for the fiction category:

The Planets by Sergio Chejfec, translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary (Open Letter Books; Argentina)

Prehistoric Times by Eric Chevillard, translated from the French by Alyson Waters (Archipelago Books; France)

The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, translated from the Persian by Tom Patterdale (Melville House; Iran)

Satantango by László Krasznahorkai, translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes (New Directions; Hungary)

Autoportrait by Edouard Levé, translated from the French by Lorin Stein (Dalkey Archive Press; France)

A Breath of Life: Pulsations by Clarice Lispector, translated from the Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz (New Directions; Brazil)

The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller, translated from the German by Philip Boehm (Metropolitan Books; Romania)

Maidenhair by Mikhail Shishkin, translated from the Russian by Marian Schwartz (Open Letter Books; Russia)

Transit by Abdourahman A. Waberi, translated from the French by David Ball and Nicole Ball (Indiana University Press; Djibouti)

My Father’s Book by Urs Widmer, translated from the German by Donal McLaughlin (Seagull Books; Switzerland)

I haven't read even one of these books--and I read a lot!  How about you?  For more on each book, click here.  And don't forget to check in tomorrow and I'll let you know which title won!

Women's Prize for Fiction: the Short List!

Save the date!  We will have a winner for the Women's Prize for Fiction, formally the Orange Prize, on June 5th.  Until then, you have some reading to do!  Here's the list:

• Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
• NW by Zadie Smith
• Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
• May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Clearly, we are spoiled for choice.  Congratulations to the women whose works have made it thus far!

Pulitzer Prizes Announced Today!

And this time they actually awarded the prize for fiction!  Click here for all the news.

Should Your Book Club Read Schroder by Amity Gaige?

Hmm...well, this is a quick read, and it's one that book clubs will enjoy.  I will not be choosing it for my Literary Masters book groups, however.    I would recommend taking this novel to the beach or on an airplane, though--it's a compelling read.  The story is narrated by Schroder, aka Kennedy, who is writing some sort of apologia to his ex-wife (for one) because he kidnapped their daughter.

Here's what I liked about it: it was, as I said, a quick read, one I didn't have to exert too much brain power for, and I was in the mood for just that.  Yes, it's definitely a page-turner.  I wanted to find out how reliable the narrator Schroder/Kennedy is.  I wondered if we had a Humbert Humbert on our hands.  The narrator in this instance admits to his duplicity up front.  Hmm...is he believable?  Is he forgivable? 

I liked that I really entered the head of Schroder/Kennedy.  I think the author does a good job there.  And I felt his love for his daughter, and hers for him.

Here's what I would have liked more of: the bit about silences and pauses, and poetic reversals.  I think she could have fleshed this out much, much more and developed a much more literary novel.

I wish I knew more about Schroder's childhood and relationship with his parents.  Although the author touches on the narrator's background, she doesn't give enough information to fully or convincingly explain the psychological reasons for what he is doing. 

I wish I knew more about Schroder/Kennedy's relationship with his ex-wife.  Again, we get a bit of that, but much more would have illuminated the motives of the narrator/kidnapper and would have gotten this reader, at least, more invested in the story.  We don't get her perspective at all--or minimally, anyway--so the story feels rather flat.

I think the author has the bones of a great novel here, but I don't think she layered those bones with enough muscle, sinew, and flesh to make it a literary book.  I feel like when I try to "dig deep," I hit the skeleton pretty quickly, and that is that--on to the next book.

I do love the name Amity Gaige, though.