A Word About Awards

AMONGST WOMEN by John McGahern   Nomination: Booker Finalist 1990   Date Read: July 30, 2022   Trigger warning: Michael Moran is a complete asshole. For those with asshole fathers of their own, this book is a little like coming home. Moran fought in the war and brought his regimented, brutal attitude home with him. He had five children: Mona, Sheila, Maggie, Michael and Luke, whose mother passed away.    Moran was lucky to meet and marry Rose, who became a stepmother to the children and a peace-maker between Moran and his kids. She was also his apologist, constantly saying that he didn’t really mean it, things aren’t that bad, he really loves you. Honestly, no good asshole can stay that way without a Rose in their life.   Moran lives with no regrets but his one constant concern is for his son, Luke. Luke left years ago and hasn’t really been heard from since. He made himself successful in London but has never returned home for a visit or written his parents since he left. He doesn’t ev

CONSENT by Annabel Lyon   Nomination: Women's Prize Longlist 2021   Date Read: July 27, 2022   I can’t tell if Consent was intended to be a psychological thriller or one person’s take on the immensity and variations of grief. Regardless, Consent focuses on two sets of sisters, Saskia and Jenny (twins) and Sara and Mattie. Both end up losing a sister and there is one person that links these pairs – Robert Dwyer.   Sara encounters Dwyer when she returns home after their mother’ death to find Mattie married to him – the local, neighborhood handyman. This wouldn’t be such a problem except that Mattie is mentally disabled and not totally capable of making her own decisions. Robert seems sweet but Sara suspects that he is only out for the inheritance Mattie will receive from their mother’s passing. Besides, what would a normally functioning man want with a mentally disabled wife? She quickly forces a divorce.   Saskia is the exact opposite of her sister, Jenny. Saskia is a professor – in

BILLIE MORGAN by Joolz Denby   Nomination: Women's Prize Finalist 2005   Date Read: July 23, 2022   An interesting take on those beckoned to the darker sides of society. While not all bad or evil, some of the repercussions can be unforeseen and incredibly complicated. Billie was always drawn to “alternative” groups or lifestyles. I get that, having the same proclivities as well. She never could have foreseen the dangers that lurked around the corner, even with a husband by her side and good-will in her heart.   Billie was always the embarrassment of her family – middle class, more concerned what the neighbors thought than their own kin, raised with an education and without poverty. Her mother and sister could never understand why Billie always insisted on bringing shame unto the family. Especially when they were already ashamed that their father had up and left.   But Billie marches to her own drummer and the only hitch with her march is her needing drugs from time to time to calm

ADULTERY by Paulo Coelho   Nomination: Dublin Longlist 2016   Date Read: July 20, 2022   Linda, a well-respected journalist living with her family in Geneva, experiences a rather sudden and intense mid-life crisis. She looks at her husband and children and sees monotony, endless obligation and very little joy. After some self-reflection, she realizes that the source of her unhappiness is that she is profoundly lonely.   At about this time, an old lover, Jacob, who she hasn’t seen since they were teenagers. Jacob has become a rising political star and Linda interviews him as a journalist, ever the professional right up until the end when she gives him a farewell blow-job. And so begins an affair, albeit reluctantly on the part of Jacob.   Linda finds Jacob’s desire alluring, even if the sex isn’t exactly what she was hoping for. Rather than focusing on her pleasure, he fucks her in the ass, much to her disbelief, agony and intense nastiness of it, which surprisingly turns her on. When s

ANGEL OF OBLIVION by Maja Haderlap   Award: PEN/Translation Winner 2017   Date Read: July 17, 2022   In Carinthia, at the southern border of Slovenia, the people there are considered neither Slovenian nor Yugoslavian. They are in a no-man’s land where neither country claims them. During WWII, most of the people there were partisans, fighting against Germany and were often imprisoned and tortured for their efforts. Grandmother was interned in a concentration camp.   Angel Of Oblivion is a heartbreaking novel that shows the suffering caused by war through a child’s eyes. The grandmother was sent to a concentration camp as a young woman, her son, the Father, was tortured by German police before he even turned 12. The repercussions last for generations.   Still, grandmother is a force to behold. While she’s strict and lives her life by religious and historic rules that often make no sense, she is also unprecedentedly kind. Strangers turn up and the girl is never shocked when they say they

MY NOT SO PERFECT LIFE by Sophie Kinsella   Nomination: Goodreads Finalist 2017   Date Read: July 15, 2022   I can’t remember when I’ve picked up a book for a good “trash” read and been impressed at the quality of trash. I found My Not So Perfect life witty, intelligent, honest and entertaining. A winning combo! And, of course, a good reminder that no matter how privileged someone’s life may seem, everyone is struggling with their own demons, their own past, their own pain. That reminder is even more prescient in a world where we put our lives on social media, but only the good stuff.   Katie Brenner has always wanted to make it big in London. Hailing from the country, she changes her hair, her accent, even her name (“Cat”) to put forth her perfect big city persona. But it’s all crap – her flat, her commute, her finances, her job. It’s made even more crap when she compares her life to that of her “perfect” boss, Demeter. She has the family, the career, the house, even the lover. But, o

AWAY FROM YOU by Melanie Finn   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2006, Women's Prize Longlist 2005   Date Read: July 15, 2022   Ellie left her roots in Africa and never looked back. That is, until her father dies and she is summoned to settle his estate. An abusive alcoholic, Helen, Ellie’s mother, had no choice but to leave John to keep Ellie and herself safe. But the emotional scars are still there for anyone to not see. They don’t see because Ellie never lets anyone close enough to see.    When she arrives in Nairobi, the memories come flooding back to her of her childhood growing up in a volatile Africa, on the cusp of independence but still very much living the colonial reality the British would, obviously, like to maintain. Even for those cherished by their families, the racism between whites and blacks runs rampant and was often shocking to read.   In addition to settling her father’s estate, Ellie is determined to get to the bottom of a murder she has long-suspected her father

THE LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE by Valeria Luiselli   Awards: Carnegie Winner 2020, Dublin Winner 2021, Rathbones Folio Winner 2020   Nominations: Aspen Words Finalist 2020, Booker Longlist 2019, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2020, Kirkus Finalist 2019, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2019, NY Times Finalist 2019, Women's Prize Longlist 2019   Date Read: July 11, 2022   The Lost Children Archive is truly one of the most beautiful books I have read in a while. Luiselli has confronted a tragic and ongoing tragedy with beauty, humanity and awareness, while also liking in the struggles of blended families and the obligations of documentarians to archive current and past experiences and voices. I am truly in awe.   The husband brought to the relationship a son and the mother, a daughter, blending the two households with the best of intentions. Everything does mesh together well until differing career paths and interests bring the couple apart and, consequently, their children. The husb

THE GREATEST HITS OF WANDA JAYNES by Bridget Canning   Nomination: Dublin Longlist 2019   Date Read: July 8, 2022   The Greatest Hits Of Wanda Jaynes is about the shitstorm that surrounds anyone deemed “a hero.” Wanda is struggling, having just learned her job is on the chopping block and things with her boyfriend are so-so. On her way home from the gym, Wanda stops at the grocery to pick up coconut milk and is subject to a mass shooter. With no time to escape and no time to think, Wanda hurls the can at the shooters head and knocks him out.   Wanda is simply relieved to have escaped with her life. What she doesn’t except is the media circus that camps around her, watching her every move, scrutinizing her religious choices (or lack thereof), and invading her privacy. She begins receiving creepy emails from a stranger that border of stalking. Amidst all this, she is clearly suffering from PTSD and is finding it difficult to express that to everyone around her.   Ivan, her live-in boyfri

AT NIGHT ALL BLOOD IS BLACK by David Diop   Nominations: Booker International Winner 2021, Dublin Finalist 2022, LA Times Winner 2020   Date Read: July 6, 2022   Alfa, a rifleman in the Senegalese army fighting in WWI, lets down his best friend and practical brother by failing to kill him. Mademba Diop has been Alfa’s friend since childhood and Alfa followed Mademba into war so that they could remain together. But when Mademba is shot and his intestines are outside his body, Alfa cannot bring himself to kill Mademba, although he begs repeatedly for Alfa to put him out of his misery.   Losing his grip on reality a little, Alfa attempts to atone for failing his friend by killing the enemy, gutting them like Mademba was and chopping off their hands as a remembrance. At first, those in Alfa’s camp find the hands brave, then strange, then crazy. At Alfa’s 7 th  hand brought back to camp, he is sent to the rear for rest and, hopefully, recovery of his sanity.   Having barely experienced life

THE FLAMETHROWERS by Rachel Kushner   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2015, James Tait Black Finalist 2013, National Book Finalist 2013, NY Times Finalist 2013, Rathbones Folio Finalist 2014, Women's Prize Longlist 2014   Date Read: July 5, 2022   The Flamethrowers is a strange novel in that it’s captivating, particularly the level of detail, but you are never quite sure where you’re headed. Indeed, I still am unsure where I went. Is this a novel about a woman finally finding her own identity? We see a lot of Reno becoming but I don’t quite know what she became.   Having finished her art degree in her home state of Nevada, Reno heads to New York to experience the art scene there. She has a one-night-stand with Ronnie, who turns out to be Sandro Valera’s best friend. Ultimately, she winds up in a relationship with Sandro, who is related to the Valera motorbike family, Reno’s favorite brand of bike. She briefly sets the land speed record in Bonneville on her Valera motorcycle and is top