You have convinced me not to spend time on this book, because I'm pretty sure I would end up agreeing with you and disagreeing with the Booker committee. I did use Kushner's debut novel, Telex from Cuba, in a class I once taught, and I think it helped students to imagine what Cuba was like before the Revolution, and the conditions that led to it. Funny, but sometimes an author's debut novel is better than a subsequent one . . .
Christine, thanks for this review, which confirms my impression that this did not seem like a book I particularly wanted to read. I have just been reading Jenny Erpenbeck's "Kairos," which won this year's International Booker and which I'm supposed to review, and I was also disappointed by it (despite having been rooting for it to win based on what I'd heard about it and some of the competitors). Have you read "Prophet Song," which won last year's Booker? I have not gotten to it yet but did not particularly care for the previous year's winner, "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida."
Prophet Song is a tough read but i recommend it. The sense of dislocation and dread is palpable. I’m still wondering at what point I realized that things were not going to turn around and improve. I’ve heard interviews with the author and it confirms what I suspected, which is that the scene in the hospital was the most difficult for him to write and definitely for us to read. I’ll be interested in your reactions.
Mary, I’ll be interested in what you think. I felt the novel was a scaffold for the writer to show off things she had learned that did not move the novel forward. I always value your insights.
You have convinced me not to spend time on this book, because I'm pretty sure I would end up agreeing with you and disagreeing with the Booker committee. I did use Kushner's debut novel, Telex from Cuba, in a class I once taught, and I think it helped students to imagine what Cuba was like before the Revolution, and the conditions that led to it. Funny, but sometimes an author's debut novel is better than a subsequent one . . .
I can cross this one off my “ must read” list. Thank you!
Christine, thanks for this review, which confirms my impression that this did not seem like a book I particularly wanted to read. I have just been reading Jenny Erpenbeck's "Kairos," which won this year's International Booker and which I'm supposed to review, and I was also disappointed by it (despite having been rooting for it to win based on what I'd heard about it and some of the competitors). Have you read "Prophet Song," which won last year's Booker? I have not gotten to it yet but did not particularly care for the previous year's winner, "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida."
Prophet Song is a tough read but i recommend it. The sense of dislocation and dread is palpable. I’m still wondering at what point I realized that things were not going to turn around and improve. I’ve heard interviews with the author and it confirms what I suspected, which is that the scene in the hospital was the most difficult for him to write and definitely for us to read. I’ll be interested in your reactions.
Thanks! I’ve got a copy, just a question of when I can get to it. But good to hear that it is worth the effort (even if tough going).
Hmmm... I'll probably still take a look at it. If I do, I'll let you know what I think!
Mary, I’ll be interested in what you think. I felt the novel was a scaffold for the writer to show off things she had learned that did not move the novel forward. I always value your insights.
The Author is a show off and we all know how I feel about showoffs!