Never judge a book by its cover. Good advice. But I think it’s fair to judge a book by its prize.
Give me any Booker Prize winner and I’ll enjoy it. The Bone People, Possession, True History of the Kelly Gang. You really can’t go wrong with this list. These novels all have a very strong and individual voice. Quirky British books.
I’ve read the highest percentage of Nebula Award winners. A precocious child reader, I read all the kids’ books in our small town library before I finished grade school. My parents turned me on to Agatha Christie and classic SF. I outgrew the mysteries, but still love science fiction.
So the Hugo award winners are also dear to my heart. These are the cream of the science fiction crop. Neal Stephenson’s 1996 novel, The Diamond Age, ranks as one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve read it almost as often as I’ve read Alice in Wonderland (and I first read Alice when I was 8).
Pulitzer Prize novels are a mixed bag. With prizes given since 1918, thit’s a very long list with a broad sweep—“fiction in book form by an American author and preferably dealing with American life.” I hated The Shipping News, but it dominated the prize lists in 1993-94. On the other hand, who doesn’t love A Confederacy of Dunces?
I’ve not read many of the titles awarded by PEN/Faulkner or the National Book Awards. Ha Jin’s 1999 novel, Waiting, is on both and I found it a tiny bit slow but a worthwhile read.
On the other hand, I’ve never read a Nobel Prize novel that I liked but I’m sure that’s my own fault. The prize is awarded to “the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency” and I ought to know that I prefer adventure to idealism.
I’m slogging my way through 2000 Nobel winner Gao Xingjian’s “One Man’s Bible” right now. It’s really tedious, though I’ve read other novels about the Chinese cultural revolution that I’ve enjoyed very much so I suspect it isn’t the topic but the approach.
As soon as I’m done with this stinker, I will reward myself with another Booker novel.
Posted by kuri at October 01, 2003 11:23 PMI agree. That was a painful read.
Posted by: Fran on October 2, 2003 12:19 AMI tried to read Gao’s “Soul Mountain” and gave up on it. A combination of not in the mood and not being able to figure out if my annoyance with it was due to him or his translator.
By the way, maybe “Quirky British books” should be “Quirky Commonwealth books” since the authors of “The Bone People” and “True History” are antipodean. ;-)
Watch out for Carey’s new one, “My Life As a Fake” — it’s a ripper!
We find out this year’s Nobel laureate tomorrow. I’m kind of hoping it’s someone I’ve heard of this time.
Posted by: jh on October 2, 2003 12:38 AMI do that Booker prize thing too, always a winner, although my list is different: Oscar and Lucinda, Disgrace, God of Small Things and The Famished Road. I’m yet to read Life of Pi but sheer volume of recommendations is making it a must.
Oh and I’ve read The Diamond Age one or two times too ;-)
Posted by: sean on October 2, 2003 08:36 AMTrue History of the Kelly Gang was a sensational read!!
I have just finished one that you should like.. “The Dream of Scipio” by Iain Pears. Brilliant.
Posted by: Tracey on October 2, 2003 03:54 PMi am reading diamond age right now , before i red snow crash - i can’t say i’m that impressed , it’s ok but not out df the ball park .
i can’t seem to lose the feeling that i read it all before - in bruce sterlings and william gibsons work , of wich i’m a huge fan and addict .
but if you like Neal Stephenson - he ‘s just publisheded a new book the first part of a baroque triology .
i agree that most of the recent nobel price winners were pretty boring - but i think that has lot to do with not all literature being meant to entertain and a lot being lost in translation - i once read thomas mann in english different book allthogether . how bad might it be to translate a book from a non indo-germanic language into english ?
anyway the best si-fi novel i ever red was schismatrix-plus
by bruce sterling if you haven’t red it - do so .
btw you look mighty scholary with those glasses
Posted by: axel on October 3, 2003 11:50 PMBobby Shaftoe Lives! I made the t-shirt after the third time through Cryptonomicon, and yeah, its a guy book, but something about it really grabbed me. Yes to Bookers! Double yes to Ned Kelly. And Soul Mountain sat on my shelf for two years, and then I finally read it by just opening it anywhere and reading it like a cereal box at breakfast, and I think it is a book by a genius. And the vignettes still stick in my mind….
Posted by: ana ma roopa on October 5, 2003 11:43 PMI just found your weblog searching for weblogs from Japan (a direct hit,then),
and now stumbled over your comments on Gao Xingjian’s book, which
incidentally I have just read as well.
I must say that I disagree with your assessment, I think the book is truly brilliant.
Granted, it’s not story driven, but his insight into his characters, and
his ability to evoke the feeling of trying to remember something that is lost
simply stunning.
Right, just my 2 cents.
