Wednesday, April 1, 2020

TOURNAMENT OF BOOKS 2020 - THE WINNER IS...

Oliver models my 2020 TOB t-shirt.
I hope all my blogger friends are staying safe and healthy during these strange days.  I am currently (a) still employed and (b) able to work from home, so I consider myself lucky in that respect. I know that some of you, like Kathy at Reading Matters, are still interfacing with the public the service sector, which must be unnerving. I also have friends and family who work in hospitals, which is also a cause for worry, as well as friends who are laid off or furloughed without pay. It's hard not to let our panicky lizard brains take over too much. 

But we still have each other via the internet and we have books to read and discuss and for that I consider myself especially lucky. And I have The Tournament of Books which absolutely can be enjoyed while maintaining a six foot distance from other humans.

I did end up reading all 18 of the shortlisted 2020 Tournament of Books.  And the winner was Normal People by Sally Rooney. It wasn't my favorite from the list. My top favorites were:

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo: This was this year's Booker Prize winner and it features 12 characters, almost all exclusively female, black and British. It was a real joy to read and suss out the links between the characters. I think it is a real credit to the author that I was both irritated and empowered by every character’s opinion or actions at times. Evaristo compellingly presented each person in all their contradictory glory, warts and all.  No one person is representative of anything other than themselves and their own unique trajectory. The only thing that spoiled it for me what the epilogue. I thought the book didn't need it.  

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha: This was a taut novel that rolled out like a Greek tragedy. It is based on a real life shooting of a young African-American woman by a Korean-American convenience store employee in Los Angeles in the 1990s. The book starts with a similar incident and then fast forwards 25 years focusing on the families of both the victim and the perpetrator and showing how this crime has affected them. As the story progresses, the events conspire to bring the incident back to life and the reader is asked if one can ever reconcile one's pasts with the present. It wasn't always easy reading but I thought it was a thoughtful portrayal of a tragic situation.    

Normal People was a fine book. I would encourage any reader to give it a try if it sounds interesting to them or if they are curious about Sally Rooney, who isn't even thirty yet and has two best sellers under her belt along with much critical acclaim. I read Normal People last summer before the TOB shortlist was published. It is about two young people in Ireland who meet in high school and maintain a strong bond, though not necessarily a relationship (friendship or otherwise) up through university. What brings them together and what pulls them away from each other is the novel's focus. Their communication is so deep on many levels and yet completely inadequate on others. If it weren’t for the fairly explicit sex scenes, I would consider this YA. It often read like that to me, in any case.

14 comments:

  1. Can't comment on any of the books because I haven't read any of them, but I love that pic of Oliver and the tee shirt. :D Glad you're doing okay and that you're able to work from home.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Lark! Oliver is doing his best Vanna White impressions. I like reading the TOB short list because it makes me read books I normally wouldn't gravitate toward. :D

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  2. Hi Ruthiella, thanks for the mention. It is unerving going to work right now but I am also grateful to have a job. Who would have predicted this situation this time last year? It shows you never know.

    I too am glad for our book community and you have some really interesting books here. The one I want to try is Girl Woman Other. I like those books involving multiple female characters and you get to hear their stories.

    Take care Ruthiella and stay safe!

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    1. Thanks for the comment Kathy! Indeed, even just a month ago I could not have imagined the situation we are in now! I hope you do read Girl, Woman, Other and enjoy it. I found it a joy to read once I got used to the style. Take care yourself! :D

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  3. Your House Will Pay sounds good and wasn't really on my radar before this so thanks for that! I haven't yet read any of the books on this year's TOB list, but I also suspect I'll read Girl, Women, Other at some point.

    Glad to hear you're well in all of this!

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    1. Thanks for the comment reese! Your House Will Pay was under the radar for me too. Definitely worth giving it a try if it sounds interesting to you.

      I hope you and yours remain safe and healthy.

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  4. Hi Ruthiella,
    So interesting to read about your favorites from the tournament. And congratulations to you for reading 18 of the 20 books!! So glad you are in place at home, still working, with hopefully some time for reading.
    Take care, and wishing you the best.

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    1. Thank you for the comment Judith! My reading time is about the same as before. I think it is true what they say about working from home; one ends up often actually working longer hours than in the office.

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  5. I'm slowly reading Girl, Woman, Other and am blown away by how good it is. Every story just pulls me in, opens my eyes to how others live, and inspires me. It's the only Tournament book I got to this year. Some years are like that, I guess.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Jane! I am so glad you are loving Girl, Woman, Other. I was so impressed by it and found it to be a real page turner. Each story made me more curious about the next one. And even though it shows characters going though difficult times, I felt over all it was a very positive and affirming book. It made me happy. :D

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  6. Yay! Did you get yourself a sticker? If not, do you want one? I ended up with two. The other is already on my jeep. I'm off to goodreads to find out more on what will be up for the zombies?!?!? or write me and tell me. ha.

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    1. Hi Care! Sure, I would love a decal if you are so inclined to pass it on. Thanks! I will send you a list of the zombies via goodreads too.

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  7. Hi Ruthiella! As usual, I'm running late but just wanted to leave a brief comment. I'd had a copy of the Evaristo novel for over a year now but haven't gotten to it. It sounded intriguing but had a lot of competition on my list year. I'm glad you felt it lived up to the hype. I really will read it.
    I've read Rooney's Conversations with Friends and liked it o.k. without wanting to rush out and read Normal People. Maybe I'll give in to societal pressure and give people a whirl.
    I was vaguely aware of Your House Will Pay but thought it might be a tad too grim (I'm in a fragile mood these days). I'll have to give it another look . . .
    Glad to see you're staying well and employed (so important for feeding Oliver, who looks absolutely adorable BTW. Do you have other cats?)

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    1. Hi Janakay! I hope you like the Evaristo. I think you will find Normal People to be o.k. if you liked Conversations with Friends. It is also a lot of people thinking about taking actions instead of actually doing something. I'm not a fan of her style. I don't dislike it but it doesn't wow me. Your House Will Pay has its tense and grim moments and the ending is ambiguous, but I found it ultimately hopeful. That may just be my rose colored glasses, however.

      I do have other cats - Wally (inside with Oliver) and two semi-feral orange calicoes outside. I also have two dogs. :D No birds, fish or lizards!

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