Prizes, prizes

    In talking about the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction the other day I said I was sorry not to see Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss on the longlist. Honour has been restored somewhat by the novel's inclusion on the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist, and if you follow that link and watch the short video you will hear chair of judges Bill Bryson remark that "it's the quality of the writing that really sets this book apart".

    Anyone who has read Bodies of Light will be glad to know that its 'sequel', Signs for Lost Children, will be out in early July.

 

    In other literary prize news, the Bailey's Prize longlist includes the superbly written The Offering by Grace McCleen. I described this as "a beautifully crafted, fluent work of intensity ... a bleak novel but one of great integrity", and while at times it's harrowing reading, the author's talent is undeniable.

    Also on the Bailey's list but towards the lighter end of the emotional spectrum is Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread, a large-scale 'portrait' on a small-scale canvas. I was about to say that Anne Tyler is the consummate prose pointilliste, but I see that Susan Hill got there before me!

Comments

[cath]

Even though 'bleak' I'm looking forward to reading the new Grace McCleen as I so much liked 'The Professor of Poetry'. Along with Mary Stewart and Sue Gee she is rapidly becoming another contemporary author I collect.

[Cornflower]

I'm a big admirer of 'The Professor of Poetry', too: http://www.cornflowerbooks.co.uk/2014/04/books-in-brief-the-professor-of-poetry.html
and as a reader you know you're in good hands with Mary Stewart and Sue Gee.

[B R Wombat]

Sorry to disagree, but the Anne Tyler had me in sudden bursts of tears throughout and has haunted me in the weeks since I read it, so I would not describe her as "light" except in the sense that light is absolutely vital for life!

[Callmemadam]

You and Susan Hill get Anne Tyler right! I love her books and am currently reading The Beginner's Goodbye.

[Cornflower]

I think Anne Tyler is very good at not being heavy-handed (she said clumsily!). In her books, all life is there, but she doesn't drown the reader in the sadder aspects, so when I put her on the lighter end of the emotional spectrum I was speaking comparatively: Grace McCleen's book is firmly at the dark end of the scale.

[Cornflower]

I enjoyed that one.

[LizF]

Just started A Spool of Blue Thread and am enjoying it as I usually do with Anne Tyler.

It is good news that there is another novel by Sarah Moss on the near horizon but I must investigate Grace McCleen as she has passed me by so far.

I was sorry to see that Weathering by Lucy Wood had been missed off the Bailey's longlist too - but then I very rarely agree with the judging panels for most literary awards. Probably too low brow for them! (Me that is, not the books!)

[B R Wombat]

Yes, I think we agree really. I think Tyler's writing reveals the depths of life without being in the least ponderous and I value writers who move me to both tears and laughter which she does with elan.