Click International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Shortlist
From that incredibly long longlist the IMPAC has announced the shortlist of eight titles. The winner will be announced on June 17.
- Zoe Heller: The Believers
- Muriel Barbery: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
- Ross Raisin: God’s Own Country
- Marilynne Robinson: Home
- Robert Edric: In Zodiac Light
- Joseph O’Neill: Netherland
- Christoph Hein: Settlement
- Gerbrand Bakker: The Twin
I’ve only read two (better than last year): Netherland and The Twin. Both are excellent books. Long-time readers will remember how much I rooted for Netherland to win more 2008 literary awards. I have The Elegance of the Hedgehog and Home sitting on the shelf, always just about to be read.
I’m a Zoe Heller fan but I haven’t read the Believers yet.
I did enjoy The Elegance of the Hedgehog–although I preferred the parts narrated by the concierge over the parts narrated by the child in the story.
I’ve only read Home (not to my taste, but a very well-written book) and Netherland (which I liked and the memory of it has got better with time, which is a good sign). If I can abuse the hospitality of Trevor’s blog just a bit, I did run an IMPAC contest on KevinfromCanada last year and intend to repeat it again this year. I’ve had a number of these on my radar (Heller, Raisin, Barbery) and the others look interesting — so I plan to set the goal of reviewing them all and, of course, running a contest that will reward someone who picks the IMPAC winner. The contest post should be up later this week.
Ah, good news, Kevin! I remember the excitement last year when John Self swooped in from nowhere and at the last second last year to claim the prize! I will link to your contest in a post proper when you get it up on your blog.
I’m particularly interested in your take on The Twin. That book started swaying to the “dislike” side early on but then, against the odds, landed firmly in my favor. There’s something quietly working in that book that has stuck with me.