While I looked to see who the winner was this last Sunday, I forgot to post it here for those interested. This year the award went to Brigid Pasulka for A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True. I haven’t heard of the book, which is Pasulka’s first — hence the elligibility for this award.
The two finalists were C.E. Morgan for All the Living and Abraham Verghese for Cutting for Stone. There are also two honorable mentions, Mary Beth Keane for The Walking People and Lydia Peele for Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing.
All of this book award news is about to culminate in the Pulitzer Prize, to be announced April 12. Does anyone think they know who will win?
Of course, I am cheering for Richard Russo’s That Old Cape Magic and, alas, it won’t win. It got eliminated in the first round of the ToB.
I’d love to see one of two short story collections win, either Maile Meloy or Daniyel Mueenuddin. But since a short story collection won last year, I also don’t like the chances for either.
You liked Lark and Termite but I suspect it is too slight. I’d hope both The Help and Lacuna meet the same response from the judges.
I’m hopeless at juries, so I’ll just give my choices — Russo and I would not be disappointed with Meloy.
I’ve been thinking about Lark and Termite, but I think that’s really the only elligible book I read last year. I’m not sure I’d call it slight, though. I thought it quite Faulknerian. Bad year for me and current American fiction. And I still need to read Empire Falls!