Our novel was the Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction. But why was it such a big surprise to the literati? Let's look at the competition in 2010:
Love in Infant Monkeys: Stories by Lydia Millet and
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Tinkers by unknown debut author and former drummer for the band Cold Water Flat, Paul Harding took the prize. If the book reminds you of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead (it did me), there's a reason -- which I just found out -- she was his teacher at Skidmore College and is the one who informed him about the Iowa Writer's Workshop writing program, where he again studied with her (among others).
This is a short novel, and I think we can cover it in two diaries. The first will appear THU, June 30th at 2 PM ET.
I like book covers. What do you think of this one?
We'll consider the title -- why it is or isn't appropriate.
The book was rejected by many publishers before finding a home with tiny Bellevue Literary Press, and it gained an audience largely due to the efforts of indie bookstores and word-of-mouth. It did make lists of notable reads for that year, but the NYT failed to review it. In light of being awarded the Pulitzer -- how embarrassing for the NYT's book editors!
Finally, keep this in mind. . .Paul Harding says he is a transcendentalist. How does he express transcendentalism in the novel? Anyone who's read Thoreau's Walden please bring that to bear in our discussion. I haven't, and I look forward to learning from you.
$5.00 Kindle e-book
$3.00 up Amazon paperback used
$8.00 Powell's trade paperback
$6.00 and under AbeBooks.com