A Word About Awards

THE CAT’S TABLE by Michael Ondaatje   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2012, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2012, Dublin Longlist 2013, LA Times Finalist 2011   Date Read: August 31, 2021   The cat’s table is a table on a ship that is the furthest from the captain’s table. This is where Michael, a child of twelve is assigned on a ship crossing from Ceylon to England to meet his mother who he hasn’t seen in four or five years.    Fortunately for him, Michael quickly falls in with two other boys around his same age, Cassius and Ramadhin. They have free reign of the ship and get into all sorts of places they know they shouldn’t be. They encounter adults who they otherwise would never have met and are often lured into their schemes. The relationships that form among the three boys will follow them for the rest of their lives, even if some of their lives are far too brief.    They marvel at a prisoner who is let out of his cell for fresh air most evenings, wondering at his crimes and watching

AFTER MOONDOG by Jane Shapiro   Nomination: LA Times Finalist 1992   Date Read: August 27, 2021   Essentially, After Moondog is a divorce saga, detailing the implosion of a marriage and the attempts at putting a life back together after the life you thought you’d live vanishes. Moondog is met only once, on a New York street where Joanne is introduced to William, her future husband and a friend of Moondog.   While this novel is now 30 years old, the complexities and permanence of the relationship between Joanne and William still feels fresh and relevant. You realize that regardless of the bond through their kids, these two will be in each other’s lives forever and they will never stop loving each other, even though they probably should. Neither are very good at moving on and giving their heart to someone new.   After Moondog is primarily focused on Joanne’s point of view as she navigates her newly single life from raising teenagers with their dangerous forays into the world, to aging pa

MIDNIGHT CHAMPAGNE by A. Manette Ansay   Nomination: National Book Critics Circle Finalist 1999   Date Read: August 23, 2021   A couple dead-set on eloping are roped into having a “traditional,” although not religious ceremony by their parents. April and Caleb having only known each other for 3 months and are already living together, a scandal in the eyes of their parents. But they are very much in love and are trying their best to keep the peace.   Their wedding is full of drama, with ex-boyfriends showing up out of the woodwork, kids running amok and ruining various parts of the venue, an out-of-control snow storm that brings a power outage and, yes, even a murder, although not by one of their attendees.   Due to the short notice, April was only able to find a rather run-down hall that has an adjoining hotel. The only date available? Valentine’s Day. As much as this sounds like a cliché, Ansay makes the best of these parameters and uses all of these disparate personalities to her adv

AGE OF IRON by J.M. Coetzee   Award: Nobel Prize Winner 1991 Nomination: LA Times Finalist 1991   Date Read: August 22, 2021   If I had to describe this novel in one word it would be despair. Mrs. Curran, a retired schoolteacher, is dying from cancer. From page 1 she is aware of her impending death and this is the lens through which she sees everything and everyone around her. She continuously tries on different ideas of how to go – should her death mean something? Should she go out in one brave act? Should she vanish quietly like a bubble popping on the surface of a pond?   Mrs. Curran finds Vercueil sleeping in her courtyard and rather than tossing him back out onto the street, she tolerates his being there. Over the course of time, she forms a relationship with him and looks out for him. Mostly silent, Mr. Vercueil reveals very little about himself and his past. As Mrs. Curran’s health continues to deteriorate, he becomes her caregiver and receiver of her past, her thoughts and a pr

THE KEEP by Jennifer Egan   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2008, Women's Prize Longlist 2006   Date Read: August 20, 2021   I gotta say this is a strange one from Egan. I am a huge fan because of A Visit From The Goon Squad and Manhattan Beach. This is more horror meets suspense meets romance? There’s a lot going on here, another story within a story.   Danny is a ne’er-do-well that is summoned by his wealthy cousin, Howard, to a castle he just purchased in Germany. Their history, however, is fraught and Danny has much to atone for. As a childhood prank, Danny and another cousin lure Howard to a cave and then abandon him there. Howard isn’t found for almost 3 days. As childhood pranks go, this one’s awful. But Howard makes good, becomes wealthy and has a lovely family. This plotline is the story within the story.   Creating the story about the castle is Ray, a convicted felon who seems to be a lifer. He signs up for a creative writing class to get away from his nutter roommate for a

THE HAIR OF HAROLD ROUX by Thomas Williams   Award: National Book Winner 1975   Date Read: August 20, 2021   The Hair of Harold Roux is a story within a story and, at times, within another couple of stories. Occasionally, the stories would switch and I would struggle to recall the storyline I’m supposed to be following. Overall, however, this was an engaging and entertaining novel. Any deep thoughts or epiphanies gained? Not so much.   The two main stories regard a college student named Allard Benson and a college professor, Aaron Benham. Are they essentially the same person at different stages of their lives? If you ask me, I would say yes. Both ride motorcycles, both are vets, both have had first loves with the first name of M.    Within Allard’s story is where we meet Harold Roux, a fellow collegian who has prematurely gone bald at the age of 22. He hides his baldness under a toupee that everyone knows is a toupee. This hair piece becomes a part of Harold’s identity, making him a vu

THE WITCH DIGGERS by Jessamyn West   Nomination: National Book Finalist 1952   Date Read: August 17, 2021   The older I get, the more I enjoy older novels. Here is no exception. Known for Friendly Persuasion, West takes on the Conboy family who are superintendents of the Poor Farm. Why they have to actually call it a Poor Farm is beyond me. The father, Link, having failed at being a lawyer and feeling the need to “atone” for sins in his past, takes on the management of the Poor Farm against the protestations of his family, particularly his wife Lib.   With their son and two daughters, Dandie, Cate and Em respectively, the characters and personalities they are exposed to at the farm are a constant source of strife for Lib. Dandie ends up marrying one of the girls residing there, who was an unwed mother, although not really due to any sin on her part. Cate is just coming into her own and is of a marriageable age with many suitors to show for it. The youngest, Em, is an odd bird and march

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by Louise Erdrich   Awards: Aspen Words Winner 2021, Pulitzer Winner 2021   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2021, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2021   Date Read: August 12, 2021   This richly textured, highly detailed and slow novel from Erdrich chronicles the attempt by the U.S. government to terminate the tribal lands of the Chippewa tribe. Largely based on her grandfather’s life, Patrick Gourneau, was a resident of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota in the 1950s when the termination was first proposed.   Knowing that this actually happened in reality is infuriating, realizing that the attacks on Native people and their land is simply ghastly. Had this legislation passed, it would have violated long-standing treaties between Native tribes and the U.S. government. Gourneau was head of the Turtle Mountain Reservation at the time and lead the resistance to the termination.   Erdrich follows numerous peoples that form a web of complex relationships and fam

99 NIGHTS IN LOGAR by Jamil Jan Kochai   Nomination: PEN/Hemingway Longlist 2020   Date Read: August 3, 2021   99 Nights In Logar follows Marwand and his family, U.S. citizens that have returned to Afghanistan to visit their extended family. What makes this novel so interesting is having Marwand view the country of his birth through a foreigner’s eyes. The other piece that resonated with me is, for better or worse, Marwand’s extended family is a vast network of cousins, aunts, and uncles that keep him firmly rooted in the traditions and expectations of an Afghani.    From the moment he arrives, Marwand is eager to atone for his past behavior to the dog at the family compound, Budabash. Without any caution, he approaches the dog and he bites the tip of Marwand’s finger off. As bad as you feel for the dog being chained up and abused by the neighborhood children, you realize that he has become a beast passed redemption. Marwand is convinced Budabash has become a demon.   Afghanistan, as s

THE GATHERING by Anne Enright   Award: Booker Winner 2007   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2009, Women's Prize Longlist 2008   Date Read: August 1, 2021   My second encounter with Enright and I am just as delighted, even if the content is somber and somewhat ambiguous. In The Gathering, Enright explores family connectedness, family obligations and the unreliability of memory. Rather than reading like a plot-driven novel, The Gathering is more of an exploration or meditation on these topics.   Veronica, our narrator, comes from a large Catholic family (12 children and 7 miscarriages – I can’t even imagine) and along with all these personalities comes varying degrees of closeness and understanding. Veronica is closest with her brother Liam, who has always been a troubled soul and suffering from depression. Liam, unable to bear the burden any longer, drowns himself in the sea. This loss is the undoing of Veronica’s life, as up until this point she has been teetering on the brink of need