I just fell in love with Eleanor Catton - she was so wonderfully confused and speaks with the cutest accent! - so I'm getting her book tomorrow Anyone else reading "The Luminaries"?? Or for that matter, any of the other six (shortlist) nominees for this year? "We Need New Names" by NoViolet Bulawayo "Harvest" by Jim Crace "The Lowland" by Jhumpa Lahiri "A Tale for the Time Being" by Ruth Ozeki "The Testament of Mary" by Colm Tóibín
I've had my eye on the Crace book for some time now, but I never got around to reading it. Out of the rest, I've only heard of Lahiri. The great thing about such prizes is that it introduces people to good writers they may never have heard of.
I'm reading The Testament of Mary. Tóibín is a masterful writer. He's been nominated a couple of times already for this award and his work has won spates of other awards including top honours like the PEN, IMPAC, Coasta award etc...Ireland just keep churning out great writers, what can you say! For such a small population they have produced an incredible amount of great writers...including four Nobel prize winners for literature... Anyway, about The Testament of Mary - it's told from Mary's, the mother of Jesus, POV. She is an old reclusive woman and she doesn't believe her son was the son of God, rather he was just a vulnerable and impressionable young man. Controversial? Yep...Enjoying the quality of the writing and the controversy very much... I've read a few of Lahiri's shorts from Interpreter of Maladies...impressive writer. A bit slow for my tastes maybe... Haven't read anything from the other nominees. I've read Crace is the favourite to win...we shalll find out later today
I've just now downloaded this book on the strength of your description and the fact that it's shortlisted. I've been bookless for a bit.
Let me know what you think of it. I actually want to read it at some point. This is only her second book, and she's a really young author (only 28). So I'm curious to see how her writing compares to some of my favorite contemporary writers. I'm also impressed about the fact that she was able to write a 850-ish page book at such a young age. You don't see that very often.
@Darrell Standing ...but give it a try, anyways: you might be pleasantly surprised! How about those Zimbabwean authors? Some look like an interesting read, if you're into post-colonial poetics...
I've a ton of stuff to read at the moment...plus it's a real doorstopper of a book don't think I'll bother...ah so many books I want to read. I wish I could absorb these books by some rapid type of tranference like you see in science fiction lol...wouldn't that be nice!
Hope you like it Wrey ...her tone is quite dry isn't it? I'm finding it not as good as the reviews are saying, but still very readable all the same...
