Name: Alice Monroe
Year Won: 2013
Read: Lives of Girls and Women
Original Language: English
Reason: "master of the contemporary short story"
About: Lives of Girls and Women/i> details a young girl's life growing up in rural Ontario. She is surrounded by many colorful characters who she interacts with as she grows to maturity.
What I liked: The description is beautiful and unique and the characterizations are aptly done.
What I Disliked: The plot is literally just..."this girl grows up". Which is very literary since who needs plots? But also makes for a story that doesn't have much motive power.
Should it have won a Nobel: Probably. The Nobel committee does like this sort of thing.
Next Up: "Ballerina" by Patrick Modiano
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Frog by Mo Yan
Name: Mo Yan
Year Won: 2012
Read: Frog
Original Language: Mandarin
Reason: "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary"
About: Frog follows the life of several characters (the most interesting to me being a midwife) through a fictional Chinese village (in which the children, strangely, are all named for body parts.)
The midwife (Gugu) deals with the one child policy, sexism, and just existing in Communist China.
What I liked: The characters are generally interesting and it's a really intriguing look at a turbulent time and era from the past.
What I Disliked: The story is written almost as a fable, which makes things often feel flatter and less impactful than I think they otherwise might. I get why this was done (censorship and maybe to create a sense of timelessness), but it often for me, at least, dampened the seriousness of the subject matter.
Should it have won a Nobel: Probably. It's the sort of thing that the committee likes (arty and literary), while also covers significant subjects. It's definitely more *important* than a lot of the books on this list.
Next Up: "Lives of Girls and Women" by Alice Munro (this will be...interesting)
Year Won: 2012
Read: Frog
Original Language: Mandarin
Reason: "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary"
About: Frog follows the life of several characters (the most interesting to me being a midwife) through a fictional Chinese village (in which the children, strangely, are all named for body parts.)
The midwife (Gugu) deals with the one child policy, sexism, and just existing in Communist China.
What I liked: The characters are generally interesting and it's a really intriguing look at a turbulent time and era from the past.
What I Disliked: The story is written almost as a fable, which makes things often feel flatter and less impactful than I think they otherwise might. I get why this was done (censorship and maybe to create a sense of timelessness), but it often for me, at least, dampened the seriousness of the subject matter.
Should it have won a Nobel: Probably. It's the sort of thing that the committee likes (arty and literary), while also covers significant subjects. It's definitely more *important* than a lot of the books on this list.
Next Up: "Lives of Girls and Women" by Alice Munro (this will be...interesting)
Saturday, April 20, 2024
The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer
Name: Tomas Tranströmer
Year Won: 2011
Read: The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer
Original Language: Swedish
Reason: "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality"
About: It's a book of poems. I'm not sure what else to say.
What I liked: I suppose they were pretty and there were some interesting images? I'm not really sure how to describe poems.
What I Disliked: These poems didn't particularly gel for me. I can't really say why, they just didn't.
Should it have won a Nobel: I find it almost impossible to describe whether poetry is good or not even in English, far less in translation. For me, these poems didn't particularly work. But they might work better in Swedish, or resonate for someone else. So...who knows?
Next Up: "Frog" by Mo Yan
Year Won: 2011
Read: The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer
Original Language: Swedish
Reason: "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality"
About: It's a book of poems. I'm not sure what else to say.
What I liked: I suppose they were pretty and there were some interesting images? I'm not really sure how to describe poems.
What I Disliked: These poems didn't particularly gel for me. I can't really say why, they just didn't.
Should it have won a Nobel: I find it almost impossible to describe whether poetry is good or not even in English, far less in translation. For me, these poems didn't particularly work. But they might work better in Swedish, or resonate for someone else. So...who knows?
Next Up: "Frog" by Mo Yan
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Aunt Julia and the Script Writer by Mario Vargas Llosa
Name: Mario Vargas Llosa
Year Won: 2010
Read: Aunt Julia and the Script Writer
Original Language: Spanish
Reason: "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat"
About: Aunt Julia and the Script Writer is a rather peculiar novel in which a young radio station worker has an affair with his somewhat older (13 years?) and fairly wild aunt. It's all written in a rather satrical tone, which I didn't personally find tremendously funny (it might be cultural. Or not. Humor is very subjective).
What I liked: Wonderful descriptions of contemporary Peru. A lively voice. It reminded me a bit of Carl Hiassen's mysteries.
What I Disliked: I really didn't get the humor. I do get that it's all subjective, but it just didn't work for me, which made the book feel like it was trying too hard.
Should it have won a Nobel: I've given up trying to understand this. Honestly, this didn't feel like a tremendously substantial book to me, but I also feel very much like I Just Didn't Get It. So...who knows?
Next Up: "The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer"
Year Won: 2010
Read: Aunt Julia and the Script Writer
Original Language: Spanish
Reason: "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat"
About: Aunt Julia and the Script Writer is a rather peculiar novel in which a young radio station worker has an affair with his somewhat older (13 years?) and fairly wild aunt. It's all written in a rather satrical tone, which I didn't personally find tremendously funny (it might be cultural. Or not. Humor is very subjective).
What I liked: Wonderful descriptions of contemporary Peru. A lively voice. It reminded me a bit of Carl Hiassen's mysteries.
What I Disliked: I really didn't get the humor. I do get that it's all subjective, but it just didn't work for me, which made the book feel like it was trying too hard.
Should it have won a Nobel: I've given up trying to understand this. Honestly, this didn't feel like a tremendously substantial book to me, but I also feel very much like I Just Didn't Get It. So...who knows?
Next Up: "The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer"
Sunday, March 10, 2024
The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller
Name: Herta Müller
Year Won: 2009
Read: The Hunger Angel
Original Language: German
Reason: "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed"
About: The Hunger Angel is about a man in a Soviet Prisoner of war camp. He shovels stuff. He starves. It's bleak.
What I liked: Beautiful descriptions of a miserable and hopeless situation. There's also some rather interesting stuff regarding the protagonist's family, which were Nazi's once.
What I Disliked: There's really no plot. The protagonist suffers. He continues to suffer. That is his lot.
I also found some of the stuff to feel sort of surreal in a bad way. Like, the prisoners apparently trade bread every night for...*reasons*? It was weird and baffling and took away from the stark misery of it all.
Should it have won a Nobel: This hit me harder than most. The writing is brilliant and it feels important. So sure.
Next Up: "Aunt Julia and the Script Writer" by Mario Vargas Llosa
Year Won: 2009
Read: The Hunger Angel
Original Language: German
Reason: "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed"
About: The Hunger Angel is about a man in a Soviet Prisoner of war camp. He shovels stuff. He starves. It's bleak.
What I liked: Beautiful descriptions of a miserable and hopeless situation. There's also some rather interesting stuff regarding the protagonist's family, which were Nazi's once.
What I Disliked: There's really no plot. The protagonist suffers. He continues to suffer. That is his lot.
I also found some of the stuff to feel sort of surreal in a bad way. Like, the prisoners apparently trade bread every night for...*reasons*? It was weird and baffling and took away from the stark misery of it all.
Should it have won a Nobel: This hit me harder than most. The writing is brilliant and it feels important. So sure.
Next Up: "Aunt Julia and the Script Writer" by Mario Vargas Llosa
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
The Prospector by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio
Name: Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
Year Won: 2008
Read: The Prospector
Original Language: French
Reason: "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization"
About: The Prospector follows a dude who wanders around the Carribean looking for ancient, lost treasure while encountering a bunch of adventures.
What I liked: The description of the Carribean is gorgeous and evocative. It almost felt like I was there. It was really beautiful and serene. Also, I basically enjoyed that stuff happened in the story. The hero got lost, looked for treasure, wandered around, etc. It was a very enjoyable read all in all.
What I Disliked: Not really anything. This was a legitimately fun book. I think maybe I didn't get overly attached to the protagonist (who didn't feel tremendously deep to me or really compel me in any particular way), but that didn't distract too much from the enjoyable journey of going through a richly realized world. (Filled with adventure, beauty, and some despair and the actual history of the Caribbean is pretty bleak.)
Should it have won a Nobel: Probably? This felt fairly unpretentious for a Nobel choice. But I felt like Clezio did an excellent job telling a fun story while also weaving in some of the darker aspects of Caribbean colonialism, which is hard to do. (Far less gracefully and in a way that doesn't feel like I'm being beaten over the head with it.)
Next Up: "The Hunger Angel" by Herta Müller
Year Won: 2008
Read: The Prospector
Original Language: French
Reason: "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization"
About: The Prospector follows a dude who wanders around the Carribean looking for ancient, lost treasure while encountering a bunch of adventures.
What I liked: The description of the Carribean is gorgeous and evocative. It almost felt like I was there. It was really beautiful and serene. Also, I basically enjoyed that stuff happened in the story. The hero got lost, looked for treasure, wandered around, etc. It was a very enjoyable read all in all.
What I Disliked: Not really anything. This was a legitimately fun book. I think maybe I didn't get overly attached to the protagonist (who didn't feel tremendously deep to me or really compel me in any particular way), but that didn't distract too much from the enjoyable journey of going through a richly realized world. (Filled with adventure, beauty, and some despair and the actual history of the Caribbean is pretty bleak.)
Should it have won a Nobel: Probably? This felt fairly unpretentious for a Nobel choice. But I felt like Clezio did an excellent job telling a fun story while also weaving in some of the darker aspects of Caribbean colonialism, which is hard to do. (Far less gracefully and in a way that doesn't feel like I'm being beaten over the head with it.)
Next Up: "The Hunger Angel" by Herta Müller
Sunday, February 18, 2024
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Name: Doris Lessing
Year Won: 2007
Read: The Golden Notebook
Original Language: English
Reason: "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"
About: The Golden Notebook follows the life of a writer who tries to tie the threads of her life together. Or something. IDK. I didn't make it super far as the beginning felt like a rudimentary introduction to feminism 101, which is fine and all, but also kind of boring in the 21st century.
What I liked: There's a nice sense of time, place and character that permeates through the narrative.
What I Disliked: Maybe this fades with time - since I didn't read the whole thing - but the first chapters honestly feel like, 'hey, y'wanna learn about feminism? I'll tell you about feminism!" circa 1970. Which like, yeah, I'm a feminist and all. But it feels super dull and lectury.
Should it have won a Nobel: Maybe it gets better as it continues? IDK.
Next Up: "The Prospector" by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
Year Won: 2007
Read: The Golden Notebook
Original Language: English
Reason: "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"
About: The Golden Notebook follows the life of a writer who tries to tie the threads of her life together. Or something. IDK. I didn't make it super far as the beginning felt like a rudimentary introduction to feminism 101, which is fine and all, but also kind of boring in the 21st century.
What I liked: There's a nice sense of time, place and character that permeates through the narrative.
What I Disliked: Maybe this fades with time - since I didn't read the whole thing - but the first chapters honestly feel like, 'hey, y'wanna learn about feminism? I'll tell you about feminism!" circa 1970. Which like, yeah, I'm a feminist and all. But it feels super dull and lectury.
Should it have won a Nobel: Maybe it gets better as it continues? IDK.
Next Up: "The Prospector" by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
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