tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post111269610490016285..comments2024-03-27T07:25:07.401+00:00Comments on Grumpy Old Bookman: Pulitzer -- yawn -- prizesMichael Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11338398159818400930noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1145451630710302052006-04-19T14:00:00.000+01:002006-04-19T14:00:00.000+01:00Marilynne Robinson's first novel, Housekeeping, is...Marilynne Robinson's first novel, Housekeeping, is magnificent, although I cannot vouch for Gilead. I've often noted that critics and establishment types often reward an artist for their previous work as a kind of penance for missing them first time around.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1112993450335335422005-04-08T21:50:00.000+01:002005-04-08T21:50:00.000+01:00I think your preconceptions of recent Pulitzer fic...I think your preconceptions of recent Pulitzer fiction winners are way off base. Aside from Empire Falls, two other recent winners spring to mind. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay --- a novel in which the birth of the comic book industry, golems, escape artists and WWII play an integral role; Middlesex --- an eminently readable family saga narrated by a hermaphrodite. Both have high entertainment value in addition to addressing fundamental human questions.<BR/><BR/>That said, I haven't yet read Gilead, so I can't vouch for it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1112824052521992902005-04-06T22:47:00.000+01:002005-04-06T22:47:00.000+01:00You're missing out. Empire Falls is a populist, ge...You're missing out. <BR/><BR/>Empire Falls is a populist, generational saga, soapy, page-turning sort of book. Soon to be a major motion picture with Ed Harris, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Helen Hunt.<BR/><BR/>Hardly the kind of etiolated artsy sort of thing you're complaining about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1112804416980310852005-04-06T17:20:00.000+01:002005-04-06T17:20:00.000+01:00But, your grumpiness, I have to refer back to your...But, your grumpiness, I have to refer back to your earlier posts in which you noted that tedium (in the minds of academia) is the standard for "greatness." If true, the choice of Gilead makes all the sense in the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com