CHALLENGE: Book Award Challenge, update

Since July 1, I've read the following award winning books or Nobel winning authors:

The Giller Prize
2006 Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures -Vincent Lam

Orange Prize
2005 We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

Pulitzer
1981 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham
2007 The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Man Booker
1983 Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee
1985 The Bone People - Keri Hulme
1989 The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro
1997 The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
2000 The Blind Assassin - Maragaret Atwood
2007 The Gathering by Anne Enright

Nobel Winners
2006 Other Colors by Orhan Pamuk
1983 Life and Times of Michael K - JM Coetzee

Newbery
1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
1968 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by EL Konisburg
1990 Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
1991 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
2004 The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

NBCC
1993 A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines
2002 Atonement by Ian McEwen

Hugo, Nebula
1986 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Edgar
1997 The Chatham School Affair - Thomas H Cook

Golden Dagger
2005 Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason

IMPAC Dublin
2004 This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun

I enjoyed this challenge, and liked looking into the different awards, since there are a lot out there. My favorite books would have been The Bone People and The Tale of Depereaux, perfect since I read a majority of Booker and Newbery winners. I get to pick two because I read 23 books! I am pleased with the overall quality of the books I read, and that I managed to read from a variety of book awards. There are more books to read and more awards to discover; luckily, I believe 3m is planning another edition.

BOOK: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines

book awards challenge (NBCC 1993); herding cats challenge

I'm not sure I read this book in the right setting. A story about lessons learned before dying in the electric chair and an amusement park don't really go together, but I had lots of time while watching children ride the roller coaster and merry go round, so I took advantage of the reading time. This Oprah pick of a novel was good and kept my attention, but it's not the type of book that will make me rave.

Grant Wiggins, the teacher on a plantation school, is asked by his aunt to go and visit Jefferson in jail, in the months leading up to Jefferson's execution for a crime he did not commit. Grant is not happy with the way his life is going, and the expectations he feels on placed on him, but in talking to Jefferson, he gains a new view of what it means to live. I gained a new appreciation for life in the 1940s of Louisiana, in which the race relations don't appear to have progressed very far from the slavery days. It was rather scary to realize how desperate the times were for African Americans a relatively short time ago. It was a good read and it feels like an important book. Maggie talks about sense of place in the Southern Reading Challenge, and I really felt it in this book.

from the cover: "Enormously moving ... Gaines unerringly evokes the place and time about which he writes." - Los Angeles Times

BOOK: Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Orbis Terrarum (New Zealand), Man Booker Challenge (shortlist 2007)

This is my second book this year with many references to Dickens' Great Expectations ( Lost in a Good Book had Mrs Havisham as a major character) and I am feeling like I've read the book with out having to have actually read the book. I am not sure what I expected from this book, but the devastation during war, and the lost of innocence portrayed was a little surprising. My naivete also rose up, as life on the Pacific island of Bourgainville in 1992, was shockingly primitive and the war that raged there was unknown to me.

Matilda narrates her tale during this wartime, her battles with her mother, and her introduction to Great Expectations by Mr Watts, the only white man in their village who acts as a teacher. There are some abrupt changes in mood, necessitated by Matilda's view as an adult looking back at the events as a way to understand them. The rebels and the red faced guerrillas both wreck havoc on the village and the people living there.

This is one of those books where I sense there are big ideas being discussed at a different level, but I am missing them. I still enjoyed the book and the view of a much different life and the connections to Great Expectations. Some classic books seem so important that they lend themselves to other books written around them. That's pretty impressive for Mr Dickens. So far I'd say this was the strongest of the short list contenders for last year's Man Booker, ahead of On Chesil Beach and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, both of which were good, but underwhelming. Next will be the winner - The Gathering, so I'm getting a good taste of the nominated books.

also reviewed by: katrina here and marg here

BOOK: The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H Cook

The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H Cook

Book Awards Challenge, 1997 Edgar Winner

What does Edgar mean to you? When I hear Edgar Allen Poe, I think of creepy, suspenseful writing, really spooky stuff, and this prize is given by The Mystery Writers of America to the best in mystery fiction. I think I've got a new list to check out, as I love a good suspenseful, not gory, book. One of the first winners of the Edgar was The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler in 1955 and I loved that one last year.

1927, Massachusetts. We begin in the old age of our narrator as he recollects the events of the Chatham School Affair, as it was known. Henry was a teenager at the time, and knew all the participants from his father's school. I won't give away any more of the story, but I was very impressed with the plot as it appeared to be foreshadowing, and it was, but Cook tantalizingly gave details bit by bit, so that as more of the story came out, my head was spinning. Just so well done. And even though I thought I knew what had happened, it still twisted at the end very believably.

The atmosphere of the time and New England was terrific, but I am often drawn to that Dead Poets' Society type of story. The teen narrator, who sees life one way, is idealistic and dismissive of his father. He tells the story from his younger point of view, but with an adult perspective of the choices he made. I am trying to review this without giving anything away, so I am sounding very vague. It is a good story, and you don't need to know anything about it before hand to enjoy it.

BOOK: This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun

This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
translated from the French by Linda Coverdale


novella challenge (190 pages), Orbis Terrarum Challenge, IMPAC Dublin award winner


Although written as a novel, and listed in fiction, this account of life underground in a concentration camp in Morocco is based on interviews Ben Jelloun did with a survivor. This is a harrowing yet beautifully written book. In 1971, an attempted coup was planned against the king of Morocco. The coup failed, and the participants were sentenced to jail, which became for some, a small underground cell, where survival was not possible except for a very few, who lasted twenty years. In 1991 they were released due to international pressure.


The narrator takes us through the thought processes that enabled him to survive. How he erased the images of his family from his mind, how he prayed and was transported away, how he completely separated his body from his mind. He held no thoughts of revenge or hatred and really became a completely pure person, understanding only what is required to survive. And while this is disturbing, watching most of the prisoners die, ultimately it is uplifting, as this one man survives amidst the most horrible conditions. That a person is capable of being that strong and that religious, was quite beautiful.

BOOK: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Newbery Winner 1991, young adult challenge

I borrowed this from the library for my son, but he wasn't interested. I decided to read it since it was a Newbery winner and it was really good. When it got to one of the chapters behind the legend of Maniac Magee, I read it aloud since it was describing a baseball game, and my son is now into baseball mode, tossing the ball all the time, in the living room. I read a few paragraphs, and he was on baited breath, listening. I stopped after a few paragraphs, but he wanted more. I read the whole chapter, and I passed it on to him as I finished the book. Whew, sometimes it takes quite a bit of work to interest a child in a good book.

This book is part folklore, of the legend of Maniac Magee, part modern, as Maniac lives on the street, with no home, and part awareness, as race relations are one of the by products of Maniac's adventures. I loved the fable aspect of the story; the legend of Maniac will obviously have some exaggerations as all fables do, but the truth is in there, is you look. Maniac lives on the fringes of the town, and yet he touches many of the residents.

I laughed, I cried, I really liked this little book.

BOOK: Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee

Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee

Booker Winner 1983; Book Awards Challenge; Eponymous Challenge

Oh dear. I tried Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello last year and I didn't get it at all. I had to look up reviews to get any understanding of the novel, and most of the reviews implied it was confusing, hard to understand, and too abstract, even for Coetzee. So I felt I should give Coetzee one more try and while this wasn't as bad as Elizabeth Costello, I still didn't get it. I haven't looked anything up yet because I don't think books should be that hard. I am looking forward to the discussion at the yahoo book awards group to figure out the meaning of this book. I'll save some of my complaints for that discussion as well. The only thing it had going for it was that it was under 200 pages. I may not have finished it otherwise.

The book is broken into three sections - the first tells of Michael's life and those 126 pages had no breaks, not even an extra space anywhere. Michael was born with a hare lip, put in an institution, released, became a gardener, quit to look after his mother, escaped Cape Town without his papers during a civil war, his mother died, he is captured and spends some time on a work gang, escapes, finds a deserted farm to live on, grows some vegetables, is captured again. Part two is narrated by a doctor in the work camp and was the part I enjoyed the most as it seemed to make the most sense. Part three is Michael's escape and life back in Cape Town.

If this book is about 'the need for an interior spiritual life; for some connections to the world in which we live; and for purity of vision' as the front inside cover states, I didn't really get that. I think A Prayer for Owen Meany might have covered the same basic theme, but I enjoyed that process much better.

To be fair, I'm not into difficult books, and many people find him a wonderful writer, worth the effort to read. He's won many awards, including the Nobel prize, and this is a Man Booker winner, but I need more story in my books. To read reviews of people who liked the book, I've linked to some more eloquent writers who also appreciate Coetzee more than I do.

3m's review

caribousmom's review

BOOK: Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridson

Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason
translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder

a Reykjavik Murder Mystery
winner of the CWA Gold Dagger 2005


He knew at once it was a human bone, when he took it from the baby who was sitting on the floor chewing it. And away we go on a murder mystery in Iceland that kept me reading, as all good mysteries should. The bone the baby was chewing leads to a body in a shallow grave, found in a construction site of a newly developed area outside of Reykjavik. Erlendur, one of the detectives in charge of this cold case, is sad and depressed and dealing with his comatose drug addicted daughter at the same time. His story was just as interesting as the mystery.


There are two possibilities for the crime that the detectives are following, and one of them is a horrific case of domestic violence. We follow that story simultaneously, much like an episode of Cold Case, and it is quite depressing, but the atmosphere is written very well, as the weather and the landscape are described to perfectly match the story. I had to keep turning to find out what happened, wondering how it would end.


I liked the history of Iceland, the setting itself, the detectives, the red herrings, the suspense, pretty much everything. If you like mysteries, this would be a good read.

BOOK: Atonement by Ian McEwan

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Book Awards Reading Challenge: NBCC 2002 winner, Man Booker Challenge (shortlist 2001)

If I am going to see clips at the Academy Awards ceremony about this movie, I want to know what the book is about without the ending being given away. This is also a book from the shortlisted books of the Man Booker Prize.

From the cover:
On the hottest day of the summer of 1934, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching her is Robbie Turner, her childhood friend who, like Cecilia, has recently come down from Cambridge.

By the end of that day, the lives of all three will have been changed for ever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined at its start, and will have become victims of the younger girl's imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.

I copied the plot summary from the cover because I don't want to give anything away. I've been carefully avoiding reviews of this book for the past few months so as not to know anything I shouldn't know. All I knew was that it had 'an ending'. And I loved the ending. I won't say any more than that, but I know some people who were disappointed by the ending.

There are three sections to this book: 1934 when the event occurs, Robbie's trek across France during the war, and Briony in present day. I found the war section went on a little too long, but other wise, I sped through this book, reading great chunks at a time and anxious to find out how it ended. McEwan writes great prose, builds suspence, but a little too much with the colours and descriptions at times, but the story moved along nicely, and I've enjoyed my time in prewar England this weekend. It feels good to read a book I've been meaning to read for quite a while, and that it didn't disappoint.

BOOK: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Young Adult Challenge, more Somthing About Me, Newbery Award Winner


Young Adult novels can be such a satisfying read. They cover interesting topics in a slightly less intense method. This lovely story about Karena, the girl living alone on her island, was easy to read, and yet still powerful. O'Dell's writing was sparse but still conveyed all the emotions of a young girl struggling to survive. This reminded me of Robinson Crusoe, but emminently more readable. I was also reminded of Shawnadithit, from Cloud of Bone, but only after I read the afterword, of how this was based on a true story.


Again, with so many of these older children's classics, I wonder, why I didn't read this when I was younger? It is a quiet book and I might not have appreciated it when I was younger. I could see reading this as a class novel, with lots of survival discussions and projects. Karena stayed so level headed, and dealt with her situation with such calm and intelligence, she makes a great role model.

Juli chose this for the Something About Me Challenge because: When I would play alone outside I would always pretend that I was alone on an island surviving with what skills I had. I would act out scenes from the book over and over. I also checked this book out from the library over and over.

BOOK: The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro

1989 Booker Winner, 1980s decade, Man Booker Challenge

I haven't seen the movie, but I would like to now. This quiet book is the memoirs of Stevens, proper butler to Darlington Hall from the 1930s to his present day 1956. Ishiguro has written an amazing book in that this is a character study of the main character, told in first person narrative, and the man has no inner thoughts, a completely flat character. It is completely sad how removed from himself he is without even realizing it. But the book is genius.

Stevens has lived his whole life as a butler and he is very invested in being the best butler, to the point that he has no relationships with anyone - his father, Miss Kenton, or anyone. He doesn't think critically about any decisions of his boss, who, it comes out, was quite the Nazi sympathizer before World War 2.

Later in life, he seems to feel that bantering is a skill he should acquire, as part of his repertoire of a good butler. But bantering doesn't come easily to him. This is typical of his interactions with other people. It is particularly sad when he retells events with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper. He keeps his emotions so bottled up, under the guise of professionalism, that he cannot even offer condolences or talk of anything that is not to do with the job.

Ishiguro offers a view of life in the upper classes in England, and what life may have been like 'on the job'. And he does such a great job of exposing Stevens character without saying anything, especially the parts that Stevens isn't even aware of. Ishiguro is on my list of potential favorite authors now, with two books (Never Let Me Go) that have impressed me.

BOOK: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by E.L. Konisburg

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by E.L. Konisburg

1968 Newbery Winner (Book Awards Challenge)

I bought this for my ten year old son for Christmas but he hasn't been intrigued by it enough yet - I told him it's like Night at the Museum, but maybe not completely. I read it last night, taking a break from the intensity of The Book Thief; Nazi Germany stories do that to me.

The story is cute although a little dated, as Claudia runs away from the injustice of chores and a too small allowance, and from a desire to stop being ordinary. (Her life did not have the makings of an after school special) She chooses her younger brother Jamie, excellent with money, to go with her. Claudia is a great planner and they stay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. They encounter surprisingly few obstacles and live a pretty cool week on their own with a mystery to try to solve.

The author includes an afterward to my edition which explains how times have changed and what could and could not have happened today. It makes the book a nice history lesson as well as a good story. I hope my son will read this soon as it is a nice little easy read that shows life in a different time.

BOOK: Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam

Giller Prize Winner 2006

Ontario book for the Canadian Book Challenge

Not so much a novel as a collection of stories, connected by four medical students / interns in Toronto. The stories are connected enough not to be stand alones, and reminded me of an ER episode, with different doctors and different medical emergencies. I read this fairly quickly and enjoyed the progression of the main characters. Lam is an emergency room doctor and it was interesting to read the stories from that perspective. I didn't recognize this as prize winning novel caliber, but it was enjoyable enough.

BOOK: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

First of all, Lionel Shriver is a woman. I don't know why that should make a difference, but just like it changes how you say someone's name if you know how it is spelled - Sean, or Shawn, it does make a little difference.

Second, holy cow! What a book. It took me about 100 pages to get into it, and I wasn't sure I would like it in the beginning, because the narrator is not easy to like. But suddenly, I was wondering where my Sunday went, because I didn't get off the couch. This is not an easy book to read, it may challenge some ideas, it may make you think, it may make you scared, very scared, but you won't forget Kevin.

Plot summary, from the back cover:
In this gripping novel of motherhood gone awry, Lionel Shriver approaches the tragedy of a high-school massacre from the point of view of the killer's mother. In letters written to the boy's father, mother Eva probes the upbringing of this more-than-difficult child and reveals herself to have been the reluctant mother of an unsavory son. As the schisms in her family unfold, we draw closer to an unexpected climax that holds breathtaking surprises and its own hard-won redemption.

The big question after one of these shooting incidents, is always, why? Eva, the mother, takes us through Kevin's life and her own, to look for these answers. She is brutally honest about herself and how she saw things, but it is only her perspective in the end. There are parts where you will cringe with uncomfortableness, with sympathy, and with a 'there, but for the grace of God, go I'.

I don't like to put spoilers in a review, and I won't, but I would really like to talk to somebody who has read this book. This would make a great discussion book, especially among parents and teachers. Dewey picked this book for her Something About Me list, because she is the parent of a high school boy and a high school teacher. I teach high school, and my kids are younger, but it still had a great impact. Thanks, dewey, for the suggestion, I am really glad I read this one.

BOOK: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Newbery Winner 1990

Booklogged picked this as one of her selections for the Something About Me challenge. She said: I really like Lois Lowry, both as a person and an author. The other reason I chose this book is because my ancestor are from Denmark, which is the setting for this story.

I liked this book too. It was a very easy read, and sometimes it is nice to read a children's book and get a message in a different method. I'm definitely going to put this one on my kids' pile of books. I also enjoyed the setting of Denmark, and would like to read more books set there, even if it just involves rereading some old Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales. But this book is set during the Nazi occupation of Denmark so it is not a fairy tale at all. Lowry uses an example from the Danish resistance to define the word bravery for children in a concrete, wow, imagine if my life were like that kind of way. I've read two of Lowry's books this year (Number the Stars and The Giver), and each were excellent in very different ways. Thanks for the suggestion booklogged.

BOOK: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

1997 Booker Winner

What lovely prose and a compelling story. Roy's debut novel tells the tale of twins Rahel and Estha, during the 1960s and in the present. The spiralling story deftly carries you along, gradually introducing characters and more and more information about an event that happened one day and affected both twins. I found the suspense building and building as more layers of details are revealed.

We are shown a slice of life in one family in Kerala, India but also the political climate of the day, the caste system of course and how both contributed to the event in question. The story is well written and the language is beautiful, as Roy plays with words and with the idea that twins have a special connection.

BOOK: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Booker Prize Winner 2000

I've read a few Margaret Atwood books now, Cat's Eye, The Handmaid's Tale, and Alias Grace, and I am still not sure if I like her books. There are elements of each that I like, but overall, I'm not a complete fan. I read them, but I never get immersed in the novel. The characters in this book have their flaws and I could never sympathize, empathize, or care enough about them to truly enjoy the novel.

There are several layers to this story. Iris Chase Griffen is the narrator of her life story both past and present, and at the same time, The Blind Assassin novel written by her late sister Laura, is told. This novel in the novel is the story of two clandestine lovers and the science fiction story they are telling each other. This sounds more confusing than it is, and that is where Atwood is a great author because it doesn't take long to understand. Iris' story is told from her writing and memories, and as well, newspaper clippings and letters.

There is a grand tale here, and I really enjoyed the setting of Ontario during the thirties. The Chase's were a rich industrialist family, facing hard times during the depression. The depressed economy and the beginning of unions and the communist threat are touched on, but because it is Iris' narrative and she was a naive, sheltered daughter, this aspect is just touched on in terms of how it related to her protected life. An instigator, Alex Thomas comes to town and becomes involved with the two sisters. Iris tells the story of Laura as well, but it is from Iris's perspective. I felt Iris was protective of Laura, but never really understood her.

Iris gets married off to her father's main competitor, Richard and his sister Winnifred. Still, Iris is just going through the motions, not really much of a participant in her own life and still tries to narrate the story. Viewing Toronto from the elite perspective was also interesting, since there was a depression on, yet these people were still living the high life. There is supposed to be some mystery here I think, but it seemed pretty obvious, so the suspense never really built for me. Any of the other so-so reviews I've read so far seem to have the same complaint; with no mystery to have revealed at the end, the story just falls a little flat. If you don't like the characters, then the plot has to carry the story and if the plot isn't there, then the characters have to be what you cheer for. I didn't feel like The Blind Assassin did it for me.

The whole science fiction story and how it paralleled the other story was the main part I didn't like. Sometimes I think I shouldn't read real literature because it takes too much thinking for me, how does this symbolize what Iris was? or where does Laura fit into this part of the story? Once I read some analysis, it made more sense, but some days I don't want to have to think so much. I can see why this story was written how it was, and it is very ambitious and well done, but overall, it didn't resonate with me. I felt too detatched from the characters since Iris herself wasn't very aware for much of her life.

BOOK: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

ha ha ha ha ha
I don't know what I thought this book was going to be about, especially as it was a Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction in 1981. Often, award winning books are, important or precious. This was more of Seinfeld meets Abbot and Costello. How have I never heard of Ignatius J Reilly before? Because he is a character like no other in popular fiction and hopefully not in real life either. I was feeling a little of the eccentricity of Kramer crossed with the boorishness of George Costanza. So I laughed. A lot.
The story behind the novel is quite tragic. Toole wrote the book and tried to get it published for years. After his suicide, his mother persevered and the book was eventually published, but this is the only book by Toole. Full of interesting characters, Ignatius spreads havoc wherever he goes. A thirty year old still living home in one of the most dysfunctional mother-son relationships, Ignatius is educated, and delusional. His adventures begin when his mother insists he needs to get a job to help out with money.
As Ignatius goes through several jobs he meets more interesting characters. (Quite honestly, all these southern books are scaring me a little. I know there are stereotypes at play, but are southerners truly this strange? I remember the old Burt Reynolds comedy with oddballs wandering around and thinking, how strange. Does nobody work? How many eccentrics can be in one small town?) All the characters and their seemingly disparate lives will eventually be connected, just like the best of the Seinfeld episodes. New Orleans is a character itself, but I couldn't help thinking how different the city is probably now after Hurricane Katrina.
I loved all the minor characters, especially Patrolman Mancuso and his undercover assignments, and the sub story involving the homosexual community on Bourbon Street, not that there is anything wrong with that. I seemed unusual for a book written in the sixties to include such references; it felt more modern.
This counts for my third Southern Reading Challenge book and it is also an Award Winning Book for that challenge. Well worth the read and a nice diversion in the summer.

BOOK: The Bone People by Keri Hulme

1985 Booker Prize Winner




The Awards Challenge began July 1, and this was my first read. I hope all the books will be this good. It wasn't an easy read, with characters like Kerewin, Joe, and Simon and their somewhat unorthodox relationship. In addition, the prose was unique and could be difficult, but for some reason, I easily let myself go and floated along on the lyrical, magical words. I quickly understood who was thinking or speaking in the unusual style of Hulme's writing. The Maori words and phrases list at the back also helped, but didn't need to look that often as the meaning was usually clear.
Joe is a widower and foster parent to Simon, a mute child with severe behaviour problems. They suddenly enter Kerewin's life and Tower home which is all the more amazing as she is an artist and hermit, happily miserable in her own world. This unusual threesome quickly bond, but it is a difficult relationship as all three seem used to pushing people away. It is a difficult life to read, with much violence and drinking.
Overall, I really liked the book. The writing especially carried me along, and even when the book became mystical and, to me, vague, I still was able to feel connected to the story. A line I particularly liked was

A hook to his jaw and a hook in his thumb and a kind of hook in my heart, by God

And while I can't say the characters were terribly likeable - there were mean streaks in each of them, I still rooted for the three of them together. There was about much Maori legends and the New Zealand setting was powerful. Hulme does a great job of bringing the reader to her land and her Maori culture. This was a book unlike any other I've read.

Here's the wikipedia link with some great info; I didn't see all the parallels to Christianity when I read the novel, but the information might be spoilerish if you haven't read the book yet.

CHALLENGE: Book Award Reading Challenge

Look what 3M came up with. Another challenge. The goal is to read twelve award winning novels from July 2007 until June 2008. I think she's even talking about some prizes. And she made up a new blog over here: http://bookawardschallenge.blogspot.com/ I've been perusing the awards lists lately, so this challenge was very timely. I was toying with the idea of my own personal challenge to read a certain number, so thanks 3M for doing this for me.
Some good points to this challenge:

• it goes for one year,
• the books can be crosslisted to other challenges
• the list can be ongoing
• the more you read the more you can win,

And it's always more fun to read with others, although all these challenges seem to do is give me more books I want to read. I can see easily going beyond twelve for this challenge, but I may just be flush with the excitement of a list of big, fat juicy books.

The books I already have or had planned to read for other challenges would be:

1. 1993 A Lesson Before Dying - Ernest J Gaines(National Book Critics Award)
   
2. 2006 Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures -Vincent Lam (The Giller Prize)
   
3. 1981 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (Pulitzer)
   
4. 2006 The Echo Maker - Richard Powers (National Book Award) I read this too early to count for this challenge but I linked my review from June
5. 1985 The Bone People - Keri Hulme (Booker Prize)
   
6. 2005 We Need to Talk About Kevin - Shriver (Orange Prize)
   
7. 2007 The Road - Cormac McCarthy (Pulitzer)
8. 1990 Number the Stars - Lois Lowry (Newbery)
9. 1997 The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (Booker)
10. 1997 The Chatham School Affair - (Edgar)
11. 2000 The Blind Assassin - Maragaret Atwood (Booker)
12. 2004 The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Newbery)
13. 2006 Other Colors by Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize winner)
14. 1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer)
15. 1968 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by EL Konisburg (Newbery)
16. 1989 The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro (Booker)
17. 2002 Atonement by Ian McEwen (NBCC)
18. 1986 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Hugo, Nebula)
19. 1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (Newbery)
20. 2005 Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason (Golden Dagger)
21. 1983 Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee (Booker)
22. 1991 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Newbery)
23. 2004 This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun (IMPAC Dublin)
24. 2007 The Gathering by Anne Enright (Man Booker)

and that will get me off to a great start. We have a whole year, right? Excellent

Challenge wrap up posted here