"The Fortune Men" is a fictionalized account of a gross miscarriage of justice that sent a Somali sailor to the gallows in 1952 Cardiff, Wales. Shortlisted for Britain’s 2021 Booker and Costa literary awards, it’s received much attention and praise. Here’s a review.
Category: Award Books
My 10 favorite books of 2021
A surprising mix of novels became my year-end favorites for their morally conflicted and inspiring characters: from scientists to petty thieves, French Algerians to Chilean dictators, an Indiana farm woman to a Black female executive. And then one book, simply put, I didn't want to end.
A man walks into a tacky hotel
"Winter in Sokcho" by Elisa Shua Dusapin tells the story of a stranger arriving in an isolated South Korean fishing village. He’s a graphic novelist looking for peace and quiet to complete his final book in a series. The unnamed narrator, who works at the guesthouse where he takes a room, becomes his tour guide, and also his unexpected emotional life reckoning. Her voice is enticing. Read more here about this award-winning novel.
The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners 2021
Since 2006, this significant prize in literature has celebrated the power of the written word to promote peace. Here are the 2021 winners: one adult fiction and one adult nonfiction, both of World War II and lives revealed, both riveting reads.
Finalists for the 2021 International Booker Prize
I wasn't paying attention, and then I was, when the six books in the running for this year's International Booker Prize jumped out at me on social media with their surprising variety. It's the stuff that astonishes. Take a look.
Book award winners announced this week
Some of the finest books published this year won the Booker Prize and the National Book Awards. Fiction includes stories about a ghost haunting a train station, an Asian actor aspiring to be Kung Fu Guy, and a boy in 1980's Glasgow. Here are the titles.
New this month, a major award finalist: “How to Make a Slave and Other Essays”
An essay collection written with singular insight, humor and irony. A finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in Nonfiction and the first essay collection I’ve ever described as a page-turner. Published by The Ohio State University Press.
A milkman and slow horses: Mick Herron’s brilliant British intelligence series
“The Catch" is a perfect introduction to Mick Herron’s Slough House series about disgraced British spies. It’s a fast-paced novella and the reason I picked up “Slow Horses." Here’s what to love about these two books.
My impossible list of wants. Then three.
The International Dublin Literary Award is parked indefinitely at its 2020 Longlist due to the pandemic. But wait ‘til you see the nominees, happy hunting ground for readers in search of a good novel. There are many, but I provide a tip to help your search.
Lessons for a book critic
Larry Heinemann won the 1987 National Book Award for fiction. It was a controversial upset. Here's why his story has stayed with me all these years.
National Book Awards 2019 Finalists
Twenty-five nominees in five categories made it from the longlist to the shortlist of the National Book Awards. Here's a look at three of them, and also one that didn't make the cut but has an interesting scandal going on in Norway.
Which 2019 Man Booker finalist will win?
Will it be Margaret Atwood's sequel to “The Handmaid's Tale”? Or perhaps Lucy Ellman's one-sentence epic? This year's shortlist offers six novels that embrace the issues of our times. Here's the list and thoughts to go with it.
Summer prize-winning reads
This summer, fill the beach bag with 2019 award winners. From the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction to the recently awarded Women's Prize for Fiction, here are seven novels you'll be glad you read.
Five fiction finalists: the daring ones?
The National Book Awards released their 2018 finalists. I've listed here those for fiction with brief descriptions. Also, reasons why I've lost my thrill for this annual event.
The Longest Chapter 