I’m late posting this, but on April 17 the shortlist for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction was announced:
- Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan (my review here)
- The Forgotten Walz, by Anne Enright
- Painter of Silence, by Georgina Harding
- The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
- Foreign Bodies, by Cynthia Ozick (my review here)
- State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett (my review here)
I was thrilled to see Enright and Ozick on the shortlist. I certainly did not expect to see them there. The winner will be announced on May 30. My vote goes to Ozick.
I just today bought The Forgotten Waltz, having waited for the normal paperback edition – I try to avoid the trade versions.
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard good things about Madeline Miller’s book, and of course I have you to thank for previous Ozick recommends Trevor. So, an interesting list.
Like Trevor, I have read half the list (in my case, Enright, not Patchett) but the other two as well.
Off that half-list, I tood would give the nod to Ozick but just by a bit over the Enright (The Forgotten Waltz is a very good novel that I don’t think got the attention that it deserves). Hope you like it, Leroy — it does speak to what post-2008 Ireland looks like.