Today the Giller Prize shortlist was announced.
- 419, by Will Ferguson
- Inside, by Alix Ohlin
- The Imposter Bride, Nancy Richler
- Ru, Kim Thúy
- Whirl Away, Russell Wangersky
Because the Shadow Giller was very unsure about which titles would be on the shortlist, I’ve simply held off reading any up to this point, but now my work begins. The only one I have right now is Inside, so I’ll start there.
I may be a bit off here, but I don’t think these are the titles most of the rest of Shadow Giller would have chosen, and they left off one or two we’ve really enjoyed, like Katrina Onstad’s Everybody Has Everything. Well, soon enough my reviews will start popping up here.
I’m a bit perplexed by short stories popping up into the list. I suppose the jury thinks (as publishers seem to, lately) that time-poor readers prefer this form. But I think that a major literary prize ought to be for the novel.
Ahhhhhhhh! [I’m running around my office pulling out hair] Are you just saying that to have some fun at my expense, Lisa?? Please?
I’m a lover of the short story because in that form a writer (who knows how to use the form — not sure this author does) can do incredible things one could never do in a novel. My choice for this year’s Nobel Prize is Alice Munro, followed closely by William Trevor. The short story is neglected and misunderstood, and I’m thrilled the Giller recognizes it (they’ve given the award to Alice Munro twice, and I’d say, even without reading all the winners, that those were two of the best years of the Giller and of any other major literary prize) and wish other major literary prizes did, too.
Teasing me, right?