Books To Get You Thinking
Each year the National Book Foundation selects some of the most outstanding works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and Young People’s Literature published in America for its prestigious National Book Awards that have become a symbol for literary excellence. Eminent authors such as Gore Vidal T.J. Stiles, Timothy Egan and Thomas Friedman are among the recipients of the annual National Book Awards. This month’s picks include a selection of books from the 2010 list of winners and finalists in the fiction and nonfiction categories.
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon won the 2010 National Book Award for fiction.
The author, who has been teaching creative writing at Western Michigan University sets her novel against the backdrop of the Indian Mound Downs, an old second class racetrack nestled in the heart of West Virginia in the early 1970s. Gordon has mastered the language of the racetrack, the dynamics of backstretch society, the nature of the animals, their personality and psychology. The novel centers around Maggie, the young twenty five year old groom and the two horses Lord of Misrule and Pelter. The author skillfully weaves all the elements of life on the racetracks in her novel - unscrupulous loan sharks, horse traders, grooms and con men are all part of the vivid landscape of this fascinating book.
Just Kids by Patti Smith received the 2010 National Book award for nonfiction.
The celebrated American rock musician and composer writes a beautiful memoir of life in New York City in the seventies. It is a story of the time the author, young, poor and a striving poet from South Jersey heads out to New York City, where she runs into Robert Mapplethorpe, an aspiring artist who later finds his passion in photography. This marks the beginning of a lifelong friendship and readers get a rare glimpse of the long arduous journey and the struggles and travails along the way that these two young, ambitious artists face as they fight their way to the top. Especially fascinating is the backdrop of New York City, in many ways the cultural capital of the West in the seventies, with its conflicting tapestry of poverty, desperation, hope and optimism.
Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Awards in the fiction category.
The autho, a winner of the Booker award on two previous occasions draws on the life and times of Alexis de Tocqueville the author of “Democracy in America’ for his central character of Olivier in this work of historical fiction. The period is the 1800s, when Olivier sets sail for America to study the American penal system but in reality it is to escape from the unrest in France. He is accompanied by Parrot, an Englishman versed in the art of engraving, who serves as his secretary. The book looks at American politics, cultural and social structure through the eyes and alternating voices of both Olivier and Parrot. At the same time skillfully woven into the story are the special bonds of affectionate comradeship that gradually develop over the course of time between the privileged master and his employee.
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver was a finalist in the fiction category. The author delivers a powerful narrative that serves as a timely introspection on the serious failings of the health insurance system in the United States and the bitter struggles of families grappling with a life threatening illness. Central to the novel is Shep Knacker a 48 year old businessman who is planning to use all his savings to move to a retreat when he learns that his wife Glynis is suffering from cancer. Through the experiences of her very realistic characters, the novel examines both the psychological toll that disease takes on the families, as well as the harsh world of escalating hospital bills, inadequate medical responses and lifetime limits in insurance coverage that are easily surpassed for patients with debilitating diseases. Shriver delivers a passionate message at a time when the Health Care Reforms are still being debated.
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon won the 2010 National Book Award for fiction.The author, who has been teaching creative writing at Western Michigan University sets her novel against the backdrop of the Indian Mound Downs, an old second class racetrack nestled in the heart of West Virginia in the early 1970s. Gordon has mastered the language of the racetrack, the dynamics of backstretch society, the nature of the animals, their personality and psychology. The novel centers around Maggie, the young twenty five year old groom and the two horses Lord of Misrule and Pelter. The author skillfully weaves all the elements of life on the racetracks in her novel - unscrupulous loan sharks, horse traders, grooms and con men are all part of the vivid landscape of this fascinating book.
Just Kids by Patti Smith received the 2010 National Book award for nonfiction.The celebrated American rock musician and composer writes a beautiful memoir of life in New York City in the seventies. It is a story of the time the author, young, poor and a striving poet from South Jersey heads out to New York City, where she runs into Robert Mapplethorpe, an aspiring artist who later finds his passion in photography. This marks the beginning of a lifelong friendship and readers get a rare glimpse of the long arduous journey and the struggles and travails along the way that these two young, ambitious artists face as they fight their way to the top. Especially fascinating is the backdrop of New York City, in many ways the cultural capital of the West in the seventies, with its conflicting tapestry of poverty, desperation, hope and optimism.
Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Awards in the fiction category.The autho, a winner of the Booker award on two previous occasions draws on the life and times of Alexis de Tocqueville the author of “Democracy in America’ for his central character of Olivier in this work of historical fiction. The period is the 1800s, when Olivier sets sail for America to study the American penal system but in reality it is to escape from the unrest in France. He is accompanied by Parrot, an Englishman versed in the art of engraving, who serves as his secretary. The book looks at American politics, cultural and social structure through the eyes and alternating voices of both Olivier and Parrot. At the same time skillfully woven into the story are the special bonds of affectionate comradeship that gradually develop over the course of time between the privileged master and his employee.
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver was a finalist in the fiction category. The author delivers a powerful narrative that serves as a timely introspection on the serious failings of the health insurance system in the United States and the bitter struggles of families grappling with a life threatening illness. Central to the novel is Shep Knacker a 48 year old businessman who is planning to use all his savings to move to a retreat when he learns that his wife Glynis is suffering from cancer. Through the experiences of her very realistic characters, the novel examines both the psychological toll that disease takes on the families, as well as the harsh world of escalating hospital bills, inadequate medical responses and lifetime limits in insurance coverage that are easily surpassed for patients with debilitating diseases. Shriver delivers a passionate message at a time when the Health Care Reforms are still being debated.- Nita Mathur
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