Having just reviewed the final shortlisted novel for the 2010 James Tait Black Prize for Fiction, it’s time for my feature where I decide whether the judges got it right. Most of the shortlist left me unsatisfied for this year, but it contains two wonderful books.
The novel I found least interesting was Strangers by Anita Brookner. The story of a lonely man and his unsatisfying relationships, I found it slow moving and repetitive, although it was well written.
I have loved some of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels and applaud him for seeming to try different things, but I found his collection of short stories about music and fame, Nocturnes, unsatisfying. I also found some of the situations frankly unbelievable.
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen is probably the most unusual of the entries. It is a boldly illustrated story about a boy genius and his trip to the Smithsonian to accept a fellowship. I found some of the aspects of the story unlikely, but my biggest problem with it was the narrator’s voice. There was no time that the voice sounded like a 12-year-old boy, genius or not.
The winner of the prize that year was The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt. I can understand why it won, because it is an ambitious novel that tries to paint a portrait of Victorian society against the microcosm of one family’s experience. It is also completely absorbing, so I think it deserves the award.
However, the other shortlisted book was Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, a fascinating novel about the life of Thomas Cromwell and one of my favorite novels of all time. I’m not saying that the judges got it wrong this time, but the choice between these two would be difficult for me. I’m guessing The Children’s Book won because of its larger scope.
What? Me Read? 
I loved both Wolf Hall and The Children’s Book and I would find it difficult to choose between them too. I don’t think I would like the other three books.
Maybe not.
I loved The Children’s Book though I found it a bit emotionally manipulative at the time. Never fancied WH or the others!
I don’t remember emotional manipulation, but it’s been quite a while since I read it.
I can’t remember the details but there was someone sent to WW1 just to drown in the mud once we’d got fond of them, or something!
Oh. Like I said, it’s been a while.
Hmm, I’m afraid I didn’t make it through The Children’s Book, so Wolf Hall would definitely be my winner, although of course I haven’t read the other ones…
Both were good.
I went to a talk with Byatt and bought The Children’s Book but have not read it yet. It sounded so interesting when she spoke about it. She was very funny as I find a lot of writers are who give talks. I loved Wolf Hall, a fantastic book in many ways.
I hope you like it when you read it.