Posted by Gyl on October 22, 2011 at 16:04:28:
In Reply to: 2011 National Book Award for fiction posted by Dee on October 22, 2011 at 14:03:57:
I read
: According to this Fictionweek site, the five finalists for the 2011 national book award for fiction are "The Sojourn" by Andrew Krivak, "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht, "The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka, "Binocular Vision" by Edith Pearlman, and "Salvage the Bones" by Jesmyn Ward.
I read the Tiger's Wife. Good writing. Interesting. Not sure it will win though. The politics of such awards may be against her. They tend to honor the writers they think are "due" for an award. This writer, Tea Obreht, WAS selected as one of The New Yorker's hot new young writers (she is 25), but this is her first novel. Not only that, but it is also the first book ever sold by her young agent, and the 26-year-old editor who accepted it for Random House did so when he was still an editorial assistant. You see what I mean. However, it is a great honor just to be selected as a finalist for this prestigious award, and I'm sure she will win many awards in what I hope will be a long writing career.
: Has anybody here read any of them? Which one do you think will win?