Diane Cook’s The New Wilderness (Harper (August 11, 2020)) rounds out my 2020 Booker Prize shortlist selections. This book has been heralded as the “environmental novel of our time” by Booker judge Lemn Sissay, but I’d like to think our time could do better. I think I’ve actually read better. (Barbara Kingsolver, anyone?) Cook isContinue reading “THE NEW WILDERNESS – Diane Cook”
Tag Archives: 2020 Booker Prize
SHUGGIE BAIN – Douglas Stuart
He wanted to crush her with his secrets the way she had once done him with hers. “What’s wrong with me, Mammy?” He asked quietly. 262 Douglas Stuart’s debut novel, Shuggie Bain (Grove Press, 2020) was recently awarded the highly coveted Booker Prize. It’s my favorite book award, and I try and read some ofContinue reading “SHUGGIE BAIN – Douglas Stuart”
THE SHADOW KING – Maaza Mengiste
“But tell me who you are, she says. Tell me slowly and repeat it three times, and I will make sure you are known. I will make a remembrance worthy of this fall. Say your name to me now. Say your name as you are photographed. Say it as you leap into the air andContinue reading “THE SHADOW KING – Maaza Mengiste”
THIS MOURNABLE BODY – Tsitsi Dangarembga
In 2004, I met a woman whose impact on my life has proven immeasurable beyond belief. Not long after I met Gay, she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, and I watched as she began to lose control over her muscles. One of the first things to go was her voice; she walked the hallsContinue reading “THIS MOURNABLE BODY – Tsitsi Dangarembga”
A Girl Named Tommi 