How about a Pulitzer Prize winner?
Thursday, August 6, 2009 – 8:04 pm
I just finished reading this year’s winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. This character driven series of interconnected stories set in a small town in Maine is characterized by an emotional intensity expressed in elegant writing. Olive is in each story, sometimes she’s the main character, sometimes she has a cameo. This book was one of my favorites so far this year and it got me thinking about other novels that have won this coveted prize in previous years. So what follows is a list of some of my favorites–one from each of the last six decades, although I had a hard time choosing one from the 1990s and had only read one from the 1960s. The prize was first awarded in 1948 so my list starts with the 1950s.
The Travels of Jamie McPheeters by Robert Taylor (1959) is a sprawling, raucous saga of a boy during California’s Gold Rush.
The only winner in the 1960s that I’ve read is the perennially popular To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1961). Told in the authentic voice of a young girl, the characters and theme remain unforgettable.
I had no trouble choosing a favorite from the 1970s. It had to be Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (1972). One of the best writers from the West, Stegner presents a loving, if sometimes harsh, portrait of a couple trying to keep their marriage alive in the mining camps of the late 1800’s. Wonderful writing.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1986) was my obvious choice from that decade. The sweeping scope of the novel makes reading it an even better experience than watching the mini-series.
I decided that I would highlight Martin Dressler: the Tale of an American Dreamer by Stephen Millhauser (1997) as my pick from the 90s. New York City during the Gilded Age is the setting for this story of a young man’s ‘rags to riches’ rise in society. Concise, dreamlike in places.
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (2000) is my pick for the 2000s. The immigrant experience is expertly and poignantly portrayed in a series of short stories featuring Indians in both America and India.
Other favorites of mine include Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, The Shipping News by Annie Proulx and Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie. For a complete list of winners visit the Pulitzer Prize website.
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This year’s winners of the National Book Awards were announced on November 18th. The choice for fiction, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, is one of my favorite books from this year’s reading, and I was thrilled to find out this morning that it had won this prestigious award. Too often in recent years I have been disappointed by the winner, but this choice is one that I will be able to personally recommend with enthusiasm. Set in New York City during the days in 1974 that Phillipe Petit crossed a wire between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view. The individual stories connect in surprising and satisfying ways.
The National Book Foundation is giving the American reading public the chance to vote for the best. The Foundation has chosen six previous winners of its prestigious annual award for fiction written by an American author and invited readers to choose their favorite. Four short story collections and two women authors are on this short list. Click here to vote and to see more about the 
