A Word About Awards

GUARD OF HONOR by James Gould Cozzens Award: Pulitzer Winner 1949 Date Read: September 27, 2019 I wanted so much to like this novel, but I found the entire experience excruciating. Set over three days during WWII, I found there wasn't a single driving plot but many subplots that needed to be ironed out. Perhaps because the time frame for these events was so narrow, each detail was painstakingly described. Without a single narrator, the focus continued to shit among each character, none of which I admired or respected. Guard Of Honor, in the end, describes the honors given fallen soldiers and the debate among the central characters on whether an officer that committed suicide deserved to be honored by graveside military rites. Some argued he should; some argued he shouldn't. I didn't really care either way. The Air Force military life described throughout is run by white men, an unsurprising fact considering when this novel was written. I found the side focus of

THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich Award: National Book Winner 2012 Nomination: Carnegie Finalist 2013 Dates Read: December 23, 2012 & September 16, 2019 I don't know where to begin with this novel but to say that Erdrich takes my breath away. So much ground is covered here - loss of innocence, injustice, the depths of friendship, the roots of tradition - all come mixing together to form a beautiful symphony. Erdrich is truly a master and I am thrilled I have so much of her work ahead of me. The prejudice experienced by Native Americans in this book is staggered yet these characters let it wash over them sometimes with a shrug, often with a joke and yet forever with the understanding that the laws foisted upon them over the centuries are altogether unjust. The violence visited upon Joe's mom, Geraldine, is horrific and only slowly do we learn how violent and inhuman her experience was. With this assault, Joe is immediately thrust into the world of adults, tryi

SONG OF SOLOMON by Toni Morrison Awards: National Book Critics Circle Winner 1977, Nobel Prize Winner 1977 Date Read: September 16, 2019 I am truly in shock that I didn't love this as much as I had hoped I would. I think Toni Morrison is a national treasure and have savored  The Bluest Eye and Beloved. Having passed away only last month, I sat down with this novel at a truly strange point in my own life and I had hoped more of it would resonate with me. I can only marvel at the lack of communication in the Dead family. Milkman knows so little about his past and everyone seems to come to their own conclusions about the inner workings of those most close to them. Milkman begins to unearth his family legacy when he defies his father and introduces himself to his Aunt Pilate. To me, the main thrust of this story is searching for identity when the past seems hell bent on erasing it. While the search for the gold is a fool's errand, the gold Milkman finds is his own self

REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier Award: National Book 1938 Date Read: September 12, 2019 Only now that I sit to write this blog post do I realize that we never learn the name of the woman who narrates this story. Rebecca refers to Maxim's former wife who died suddenly at sea. I suppose I shall call her Jane. Jane is a young woman of little means who serves as the companion for a charmless older woman. She finds herself in Monte Carlo and happens to meet Maxim de Winter, a widower on holiday from his estate Manderley. After a quick courtship, and at the prospect of saying good-bye to one another indefinitely, Maxim proposes and Rebecca accepts. I found the prospect of these two marrying somewhat mystifying. They hardly knew each other. They had a large difference in age and had never discussed some of the more pertinent aspects of marriage such as children or future plans. Then again, marriages used to be embarked on with even less of a courtship than this so I'll hold my