Book Awards Reading Challenge

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Two more to start the year:

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by E.L. Konisburg
1968 Newbery Winner

Cute little story of being brave enough to run away, and smart enough to be careful and go to a museum, disciplined enough to learn while there, and resourceful enough to solve a mystery.
My full review is here at my blog.



The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro
1989 Booker Winner

With beautiful writing, Ishiguro captures the character of the proper British butler. Stevens recounts his life of service in Darlington Hall, with no self awareness, complete professionalism. It's a character study of a man, told by him, all the more telling by what he doesn't say. It was an excellent, quiet read.

My full review is here at my blog.

Since July 1, I've read the following award winning books or Nobel winning authors:

2006 Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures -Vincent Lam (The Giller Prize)

2005 We Need to Talk About Kevin - Shriver (Orange Prize)

1981 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (Pulitzer)
2007 The Road - Cormac McCarthy (Pulitzer)
1999 The Hours - Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer)

1985 The Bone People - Keri Hulme (Booker)
1989 The Remains of the Day - Kazou Ishiguro (Booker)
1997 The God of Small Things - Arundi Roy (Booker Prize)
2000 The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (Booker)

2006 Other Colors - Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize winner)

1968 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler - EL Konisburg (Newbery)
1990 Number the Stars - Lois Lowry (Newbery)
2004 The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo (Newbery)


1986 Enders Game - Orson Scott Card (Hugo, Nebula)

I still have three more from my original list, and I'm sure to read some more Bookers before July.

1993 A Lesson Before Dying - Ernest J Gaines (National Book Critics Award)
1997 The Chatham School Affair - Thomas H Cook (Edgar Award)
2002 Atonement - Ian McEwan (National Book Critics' Circle Award)

The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Pulitzer 1999

I think I'd like the movie better. The narration is brilliant as Cunningham connects three women, three eras, and so many other symbols that I missed most of them. An homage to Mrs Dalloway and Virginia Woolf, my lack of knowledge and familiarity with both made this a less than impressive read. I acknowledge my lacking in this regard, not Cunningham's.
full review is here at my blog


Blooodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
Giller Prize Winner 2006

An interesting collection of stories, bound together by four beginning doctors, Lam's experience as an emergency room doctor gives a credible perspective, much like an ER episode. I like short stories, and novels loosely held together by some seemingly random threads, so I whipped through this book. I like finding the connection between chapters - how are these related?
full review here at my blog

I've been forgetting to post reviews here of award winning books for the last while.

Other Colors: Essays and a Story by Orhan Pamuk
Nobel Prize winner

I've only read Pamuk's nonfiction books, Other Colors along with Istanbul but I love his lyrical writing and the picture of Istanbul he evokes. This is for the fan who likes to read everything by their favorite author, and includes a wide variety of topics, including literature, day to day life, his own books, and east versus west. My full review, including pictures form my brief visit to Istanbul, are here.


The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Pulitzer Winner 2007

How can you enjoy such a bleak and depressing story? And yet, it stays with you, and was very profound. Many other people have reviewed this better than I, but my full attempt is here at my blog.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo
Newbery Award Winner 2004

I liked this book so much, that after I returned it to the library, I went to the store to buy my own copy to have for my children. A little mouse who believes he can do what everyone else tells him he can't, and a princess who respects him.
My somewhat longer review is here at my blog.


We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shiver
Orange Prize Winner

This was a powerful book told from the mother of a school shooter's point of view. She tells things quite honestly, but there are no other perspective's to verify and she certainly wasn't very maternal. Sometimes I felt there was so much more I wanted to know. This would be a great book to have group discussions about. Here's my review from my site

1997 Booker Winner
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

What lovely prose and a compelling story. Roy's debut novel tells the tale of twins Rahel and Estha, during the 1960s and in the present. The spiralling story deftly carries you along, gradually introducing characters and more and more information about an event that happened one day and affected both twins. I found the suspense building and building as more layers of details are revealed.

We are shown a slice of life in one family in Kerala, India but also the political climate of the day, the caste system of course and how both contributed to the event in question. The story is well written and the language is beautiful, as Roy plays with words and with the idea that twins have a special connection.

also posted at my blog

Booker Prize 2000

Margaret Atwood's ambitious story, set during the depression in Ontario, told as a story within a story. The Blind Assassin is the name of a science fiction story written by one of the characters that is also about two lovers carrying on a secret affair. There are several other reviews already about this book; see wendy, tammy, matt, steven and nicola, so I won't go on too much. They have written great reviews.

Overall, just OK. I never go immersed enough in the story to care what happened, and the suspense didn't build up because things seemed pretty obvious. Atwood is a terrific writer, her idea was intriguing, I loved the setting in Ontario during the depression, and the high life in Toronto, and the newspaper clippings.

next up: The God of Small Things

I recently completed A Confederacy of Dunces, Pulitzer Prize winner of 1981. I originally picked it for the Southern Reading Challenge as it is set in New Orleans. I had never heard of the character of Ignatius J Reilly before, and I'm not sure why, because surely, there is no character like him in literature. This thirty year old, over educated, doofus, still living with his mother wreaks havoc wherever he goes. This comedy is filled with very interesting characters and was laugh out loud funny in parts.

1985 Booker Prize

The Bone People wasn't an easy read, with characters like Kerewin, Joe, and Simon and their somewhat unorthodox relationship. In addition, the prose was unique and could be difficult, but for some reason, I easily let myself go and floated along on the lyrical, magical words. I quickly understood who was thinking or speaking in the unusual style of Hulme's writing. The Maori words and phrases list at the back also helped, but didn't need to look that often as the meaning was usually clear.

Joe is a widower and foster parent to Simon, a mute child with severe behaviour problems. They suddenly enter Kerewin's life and Tower home which is all the more amazing as she is an artist and hermit, happily miserable in her own world. This unusual threesome quickly bond, but it is a difficult relationship as all three seem used to pushing people away. It is a difficult life to read, with much violence and drinking.
Overall, I really liked the book. The writing especially carried me along, and even when the book became mystical and, to me, vague, I still was able to feel connected to the story. A line of Kerewin's I particularly liked was
A hook to his jaw and a hook in his thumb and a kind of hook in my heart, by God

And while I can't say the characters were terribly likeable - there were mean streaks in each of them, I still rooted for the three of them together. There was about much Maori legends and the New Zealand setting was powerful. Hulme does a great job of bringing the reader to her land and her Maori culture. This was a book unlike any other I've read.
ps thanks for the book Michelle!

I've been perusing the awards lists lately, so this challenge was very timely. I was toying with the idea of my own personal challenge to read a certain number, so thanks 3M for doing this for me. And it's always more fun to read with others, although all these challenges seem to do is give me more books I want to read. I can see easily going beyond twelve for this challenge, but I may be flush with the excitement of a list of big, fat juicy books.

The books I already have or had planned to read for other challenges would be:

1. 1993 A Lesson Before Dying - Ernest J Gaines(National Book Critics Award)
2. 2006 Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures -Vincent Lam (The Giller Prize)
3. 1981 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (Pulitzer) done
4. 2006 The Echo Maker - Richard Powers (National Book Award) I read this before the challenge started, so I'm not counting it. 2000 The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (Booker)
5. 2005 We Need to Talk About Kevin - Shriver (Orange Prize) done
6. 2007 The Road - Cormac McCarthy (Pulitzer) done
7. 1985 The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Booker) done
8. 2002 Atonement by Ian McEwan (National Book Critics' Circle Award)
9. 1997 The God of Small Things by Arundi Roy (Booker Prize) done
10. 1997 The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H Cook (Edgar Award)
11. 2004 The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Newbery)
12. 2006 Other Colors by Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize winner)
13. 1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer)
14. 1968 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by EL Konisburg (Newbery)
15. 1989 The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro (Booker)
16. 1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (Newbery)
17. 2005 Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason (Gold Dagger Award)
18. 1991 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Newbery)
19. 1983 Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee (Booker, Nobel Laureate)
20. 1986 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Nebula, Hugo)
21. 2004 This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun (IMPAC Dublin)
22. 2007 The Gathering by Anne Enright (Man Booker)
23. 1990 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Newbery)

and that will get me off to a great start. We have a whole year, right? Excellent