I'm pleased with the official Giller longlist. My predictions regarding six of the titles were correct, so that feels good. They are:
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Dominoes at the Crossroads by Kaie Kellough
Indians on Vacation by Thomas King
Polar Vortex by Shani Mootoo
The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
(My full list of predictions is online here.)
Surprises:
Watching You Without Me by Lynn Coady
There are fourteen titles on the list instead of the usual twelve -- that's the surprise. One of the titles that I cut from my own list during the final throes is Watching You Without Me. If I had known that I could include fourteen, this would have been another one of my predictions.
Clyde Fans by Seth
It's a masterful graphic novel, and I'm delighted to see it on the list, but it doesn't fit the Giller's own eligibility guidelines. It was published in May 2019 and the stated timeline is October 2019-September 2020. My best guess is that, because this is the first year that graphic novels are allowed, a special dispensation was created for publishers to submit this format. Is there another explanation? I'd love to know.
Ridgerunner by Gil Adamson and The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
After reading these, I considered them to be "maybes" because they are highly engaging. However, both have flaws that seem even more glaring upon reflection now. Our reactions have much to do with individual circumstances and preferences, so I will give these another look. If you are a fan of either, you are invited to persuade me in the comments.
All I Ask by Eva Crocker
I'm only halfway through reading this. I'm enjoying it, but had set it aside temporarily because it didn't seem to be a likely candidate for the Giller, and I had other books to sample before the longlist deadline. I will pick up where I left off to see what I was missing.
Here the Dark by David Bergen
I don't have an explanation for why this surprises me because Bergen did win the Giller in 2005 for his novel The Time in Between. I have a digital copy of the story collection Here the Dark, but I just haven't made the time to get to it yet.
Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi and Consent by Annabel Lyon
These are a different kind of surprise, the surprise of the unknown, because neither have yet been published. It's a bit of an annoyance, actually, that some of the eligible titles aren't yet available when the longlist is announced. I'm excited about getting my hands on both.
Noopiming by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Of those that I predicted, I'm most surprised that this outstanding novel from House of Anansi isn't on the list. I wonder if it has to do with limitations on how many titles each publisher can submit. They are allowed either one or two, depending on their previous success at placing titles on the Giller longlists. New titles by previous Giller winners are exempt from the quota, which I assume is how it happens that House of Anansi has three authors on the 2020 longlist, Gil Adamson, Lynn Coady, and Eva Crocker. (Lynn Coady having won in 2013 for Hell Going.) As it happens, I had predicted an additional House of Anansi title would be on the longlist: Coming Up for Air. Hooray for them, for acquiring great books!
What's next? Guessing which books will make the shortlist. I will also continue posting reviews of Canadian literature here on my blog.
This post is part of a series. I'm on the Shadow Giller jury this year, so I have been reading as many qualifying Canadian titles as possible in order to come up with my own longlist prediction before the official one, which was announced today. To see my other reviews that are a part of this project, click on the Shadow Giller tag. Also, please visit our Shadowing the Best of CanLit website to see what the rest of the Shadow Giller jury are up to. Thanks for visiting my blog.
2 comments:
I thought Here the Dark was a good collection of stories - the longest being my favourite. I don't know why I didn't put it on my list - he's been on it several times before.
I haven't yet read All I Ask, but am curious about it because I read her short story collection a couple of years ago and didn't love it. They were good, but I just felt something was missing. Now I'm even more curious to read it myself and to see what your end reaction to it will be.
I re-read your review of Ridgerunner... is it still the lack of a larger truth that nags at you, or is it something else?
Naomi: Regarding Ridgerunner, yes -- the lack of a larger truth, or perhaps what I mean is the lack of new insight into our world: that is what bothers me most. (It is perhaps my own failing that I cannot see a larger truth.) I am also troubled by the characterizations, that major characters lack complexity. The portrayal of two characters with mental illness, especially, seems heavy-handed. Also, one character who is part Indigenous relies too much on the stereotype of noble savage. I look forward to hearing what you and the other shadow jurors make of Ridgerunner. P.S. My review of All I Ask will be ready in the near future.
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