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Compulsive Reader News
maggieball@compulsivereader.com
http://compulsivereader.com
Volume 23, Issue 11, 1 November 2021
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IN THIS ISSUE
New Reviews at Compulsive Reader
Literary News
Competition News
Sponsored By
Coming soon
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Hello readers. Here is the latest batch of reviews and interviews:
A review of Castilian Blues by Antonio Gamoneda
Castilian Blues, originally written in the 1960s and unpublished for political reasons until 1982, confronts the reader with the position of Gamoneda’s personal and intimate experience as a worker during the Franco dictatorship. The suffering of the people is the leitmotif of the whole book, revived with literary images that evoke spiritual and musical effects. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/24/a-review-of-castilian-blues-by-antonio-gamoneda/
A review of Free Rose Light by Mary O’Connor
Mary O’Connor may have made her career as an architect, but her debut book shows her to be one heck of a writer. Her prose is tight, well-paced, and often exquisite. She balances fact and emotion with perfect precision, using a blend of memoir, reportage, biography, and social history to make Free Rose Light a rich and creative book that is both about its subject and transcendent. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/22/a-review-of-free-rose-light-by-mary-oconnor/
An interview with Arthur Swan
The author of The Encanto (La Fog) talks about his latest book, what inspired it, his themes, how story ideas come to him, what he does when he isn’t writing, his favourite authors, and lots more. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/19/an-interview-with-arthur-swan/
A review of Take Care by Eunice Andrada
Within the seventy one pages, Andrada delves (as she characteristically does) straight to the heart of what it means to be a young woman of diaspora, in a system bound to the prevailing iniquity of colonialism, which is ‘a structure, not an event’. In so doing, her poetry illustrates the attention, work and ‘care’ that urgently needs to be taken at a personal and structural level to avoid perpetuating this juggernaut of harm. Interspersed with poems that at once depict crisis and inspire bravery, Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/18/a-review-of-take-care-by-eunice-andrada/
A review of The Counsel of the Cunning by Steven C. Harms
A complex, imaginative novel, The Counsel of the Cunningby Steven C. Harms, offers readers international thriller pacing combined with the precision of a police procedural and just the right gloss of mad scientist. It opens with a howler monkey and a kidnapped scientist, and it never slows down or lets up from there as the characters—good and bad—travel through vast landscapes and much danger. Broad in scope, the story is a bold adventure with harrowing interludes in which the prevailing question seems to be “what exactly is going on here?” Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/16/a-review-of-the-counsel-of-the-cunning-by-steven-c-harms/
A review of Planetary Motions by William Seaton
Poetic truth is as open to interpretation as the movements of the planets. We add our own perceptions and perturbations which are subject to the fragmentations of an ultimately unknowable universe. Seaton accepts this and continues on his international travels with a universal perspective. He is now inter-galactic in his observations, pulling us out into the cosmos from our earth-tethered and more insular points of view. As a fully integrated inhabitant of the world, he has the weight of history in his pocket and cosmic, unbounded access. He seeks not to answer questions but to keep asking them. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/13/a-review-of-planetary-motions-by-planetary-motions-by-william-seaton
A review of Come the Bones by KA Rees
The book has an eco-poetic quality, immersed in nature which is both subject and object – not as something ‘other’ but as an inherent part of the same life. The ocean where the “sea mist rolls/and the tide folds in” is a critical part of this book, but other habitats too—the forest with its spiders and caterpillars or the city streets with cockatoos and miscreants. From a raindrop to the universe, the work moves through the micro to the macro and as it becomes clear that these are part of a single, unified system. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/12/a-review-of-come-the-bones-by-ka-rees/
The Hubris Of An Empty Hand by Mahyar A. Amouzegar
Amouzegar has this fantastic manner of urging his reader to put their “ear to the wall.” He constantly lures you in, requesting that you listen closely, that you read carefully, and that you ask questions. His gift of narration is dangerously cunning as well. Between and within his stories, he experiments with points of view, using narrative gymnastics to capture the most alluring perspective. Amouzegar holds the secrets close to the chest, withholding them until three chapters later, and or even indefinitely. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/10/the-hubris-of-an-empty-hand-by-mahyar-a-amouzegar/
A review of Watched and other stories by Carol Chandler
Each story is a slice of life where the reader enters places and into the mind of the characters. The characters are well developed, intriguing and mysterious, some live at the margin and others think at the margin. The plots are neat and compact with good time and pacing demonstrating the skills of the writer. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/09/a-review-of-watched-and-other-stories-by-carol-chandler/
A review of We’re Doomed! by Scott Erickson
If the author had written the book as a “serious exploration,” would it have made any difference? The answer is: probably not. Plenty of other serious books have been written, which are making little or no difference. And they aren’t touching the roots of the problem. So why write a serious book that nobody would take seriously? Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/07/a-review-of-were-doomed-by-scott-erickson/
An interview with Andrew Rowen
The author of Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold talks about his new book and why it’s still important for people to understand 1492 and its aftermath, why he chose to write historical fiction, his research, his characters, the story of Taíno resistance and the devastating aftermath of the invasion, Isabel and Ferdinand and their role (and what they gained), and much more. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/04/an-interview-with-andrew-rowen/
A review of Beyond the Hill I Gather by Jeffrey Kingman
Beyond That Hill I Gather is like a Rorschach Test where readers can interpret the poetry from their own psyche point of view. Is his poetry sometimes enigmatic? Yes, it is, and also it is rich in musicality, imagination and imagery. Kingsman also creates characters or interpret and represents real ones. Read more: http://compulsivereader.com/2021/10/02/a-review-of-beyond-the-hill-i-gather-by-jeffrey-kingman/
All of the reviews and interviews listed above are available at The Compulsive Reader on the front page. Older reviews and interviews are kept indefinitely in our extensive (and growing) categorized archives (currently at 2,8362), which can be browsed or searched from the front page of the site.
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LITERARY NEWS
In the literary news this month, a five-book shortlist has been released for the C$100,000 (about US$79,455) Scotiabank Giller Prize, which recognizes excellence in Canadian fiction. Each of the finalists receives C$10,000 (about US$7,945). The winner will be named November 8. This year’s shortlisted titles are: What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad , Glorious Frazzled Beings by Angélique Lalonde, The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, The Listeners by Jordan Tannahill, and Fight Night by Miriam Toews.
The shortlist has been released for the C$60,000 (about US$47,670) Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, which recognizes writers of exceptional talent for the best novel or short story collection of the year. The award is named in honor of Writers’ Trust of Canada co-founders Margaret Atwood and the late Graeme Gibson, who started the organization in 1976 “with the help of a few fellow writers and an aim to encourage a Canadian literary culture at home.” The winner will be announced November 3 at the digital Writers’ Trust Awards. This year’s finalists, who each receive C$5,000, are: Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen, We Want What We Want by Alix Ohlin, Fight Night by Miriam Toews, August into Winter by Guy Vanderhaeghe, and The Strangers by Katherena Vermette.
The National Book Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2021 National Book Awards. The winners will be announced live on November 17 at the 72nd National Book Awards Ceremony, which will be held exclusively online. According to the NBF, of the 25 nominees, five writers and two translators have been previously honored by the National Book Awards: Hanif Abdurraqib, Anthony Doerr, Nona Fernández, Lauren Gross, Kekla Magoon, Leri Price, and Natasha Wimmer. Four of the twenty-five finalists are debuts. The full list can be found here: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/87536-2021-nba-finalists-announced.html
Abdulrazak Gurnah has won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature for “his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” He is the fifth English-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in the past decade, following Canadian short story writer Alice Munro in 2013, American songwriter Bob Dylan in 2016, Japanese-born English novelist Kazuo Ishiguro in 2017, and American poet Louise Glück in 2020. The Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace…. At the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.” Due to the pandemic, the Nobel Prize laureates will not gather in Stockholm in December for the customary ceremony and lectures. Instead, they will be “arranged in their vicinity,” a representative of the Nobel Prize Committee said; the ceremony and lecture will be broadcasted. Ceremonies in Stockholm for the 2020 and 2021 laureates will be held on a later date.
A shortlist was released for the £10,000 (about $13,610) Goldsmiths Prize, which recognizes “fiction that breaks the mold or extends the possibilities of the novel form.” The winner will be named November 10. This year’s finalists are: Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett, Assembly by Natasha Brown, A Shock by Keith Ridgway, This One Sky Day by Leone Ross, Sterling Karat Gold by Isabel Waidner, and little scratch by Rebecca Watson.
Novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, who was tortured by the Ugandan government in prison over his novel The Greedy Barbarian, has been named this year’s International Writer of Courage, the Guardian reported. Presented to a writer who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs, the honor was announced by 2021 PEN Pinter Prize winner Tsitsi Dangarembga. Rukirabashaija is also a featured writer in PENWrites–English PEN’s international letter-writing campaign in solidarity with writers in prison and at risk around the world.
The shortlist has been unveiled for the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers, awarded in memory of Hachette Australia’s former CEO Matt Richell, who died in a surfing accident in 2014. The winner, who will be named November 4, receives A$10,000, along with a 12-month mentorship with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers. Hachette Australia will work with the winning writer to develop their manuscript with first option to consider the finished work and shortlisted entries for publication. This year’s finalists are: Odette Des Forges for Chasing Sadie, Kay Harrison for Flip the Bird, Simone Jordan for Tell Her She’s Dreamin’, Jessica Kirkness for A Sense of You, and Ben Randall for Snakehead.
Seán Hewitt has won the £5,000 Laurel Prize for nature and ecopoetry for his collection Tongues of Fire, the Bookseller reported. The prize is funded by U.K. poet laureate Simon Armitage’s honorarium, which he receives annually from the Queen, and is run by the Poetry School. The £2,000 second prize went to Ash Davida Jane for How to Live with Mammals and the £1,000 third prize was given to Sean Borodale for Inmates. Will Burns’s Country Music took the £500 best first collection award. In addition to prize money, each of the winners will receive a commission from the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty organization to create a poem based on their favourite landscape.
The T.S. Eliot Foundation released the shortlist for the 2021 T.S. Eliot Prize, honoring “the best new collection of poetry published in the U.K. or Ireland.” The winning poet receives £25,000 and the shortlisted poets each get £1,500. This year’s shortlisted titles are: All the Names Given by Raymond Antrobus, A Blood Condition by Kayo Chingonyi, Men Who Feed Pigeons by Selima Hill, Eat or We Both Starve by Victoria Kennefick, The Kids by Hannah Lowe, Ransom by Michael Symmons Roberts, single window by Daniel Sluman, C+nto & Othered Poems by Joelle Taylor, A Year in the New Life by Jack Underwood, and Stones by Kevin Young.
The winner of the €25,000 German Book Prize is Antje Rávik Strubel for her novel Blaue Frau (Blue Woman), published in Germany by S. Fischer.
A shortlist has been released for the £50,000 (about $68,040) Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction. The winner will be named November 16. This year’s shortlisted titles are: Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn, Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945–1955 by Harald Jähner, translated by Shaun Whiteside, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe, Things I Have Withheld by Kei Miller, Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston, and Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi.
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced finalists in 14 English- and French-language categories for this year’s Governor General’s Literary Awards. Category winners, who will be named November 17, receive C$25,000. The publisher of each winning book receives C$3,000 to support promotional activities, and finalists each receive C$1,000. A complete list of finalists is available here: https://ggbooks.ca
The shortlist for the Australian Prime Minister Literary Awards has been announced. The Awards recognise and celebrate the exceptional literary talents of established and emerging Australian writers. These include, for fiction, A Treacherous Country by K M Kruimine, In the Time of Foxes by Jo Lennan, The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey, Lucky’s by Andrew Pippos, and The bass by Evie Wyld. For Poetry, Homer Street by Laurie Duggan, The Strangest Place by Stephen Edgar, Change Machine by Jaya Savige, Shorter Lives by John A Scott, and Nothing to Declare by Mags Webster. For the full list visit: https://www.arts.gov.au/pm-literary-awards/current-awards
The winners of the 2021 Kirkus Prize in three categories were announced last night. The winners, each of whom receives $50,000, are: Fiction: Harrow by Joy Williams (Knopf), Nonfiction: Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome (Mariner Books), Young Readers’ Literature: All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat (Candlewick).
The Forward Arts Foundation announced that Luke Kennard’s Notes on the Sonnets won the £10,000 Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection, while Caleb Femi’s Poor took the £5,000 Felix Dennis Prize for debut collection and Nicole Sealey’s “Pages 22-29, An excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure” topped the £1,000 best single poem category.
Toni Ann Johnson won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction for her collection Light Skin Gone to Waste, which will be published by the University of Georgia Press in the fall of 2022. The prize “seeks to encourage talented writers of short stories by presenting their work to a wider readership,” and winners are offered publication of a book-length collection and $1,000.
Have a great month!
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COMPETITION NEWS
Congratulations to Annette Estell, who won a copy of Deadheading and Other Stories by Beth Gilstrap.
Congratulations to Debra Guyette, who won a copy of What if We Were Somewhere Else by Wendy J Fox
Congratulations to Constance Norwood, who won a copy of The Encanto (La Fog) by Arthur Swan.
Our new site giveaway is for a set of the full Rivers Trilogy books by Joan Schweighardt. To win send me an email at maggieball@compulsivereader.com with the subject line: “Rivers Trilogy” and your postal address in the body of the email. Check out my reviews of these three book on the site: Before We Died: http://compulsivereader.com/2018/08/01/a-review-of-before-we-died-by-joan-schweighardt/
Gifts for the Dead: http://compulsivereader.com/2019/09/29/a-review-of-gifts-for-the-dead-by-joan-schweighardt/
River Aria: http://compulsivereader.com/2020/10/19/a-review-of-river-aria-by-joan-schweighardt/
We also have a copy of All Things That Deserve to Perish by Dana Mack to give away. To win send me an email at maggieball@compulsivereader.com with the subject line “All Things that Deserve to Perish” and your postal address in the body of the email.
Good luck, everyone!
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COMING SOON
We will shortly be featuring reviews of The Crumbling Mansion by Charles Freyberg, Oliver Muriel Pink: Her radical and idealistic life by Colleen Keating, The Sauna is Full of Maids by Cheryl J. Fish, Nemerov’s Door by Matt Cooper, The Collection Plate by Kendra Allen, and lots more reviews and interviews.
Drop by The Compulsive Reader talks (see the widget on right-hand side of the site) to listen to our latest episode which features my interview with KA Rees reading from and talking about her poetry book Come the Bones. Or drop by to listen directly here: https://anchor.fm/compulsivereader/episodes/KA-Rees-on-Come-the-Bones-e18n0pq You can also subscribe to the show via iTunes and get updates automatically, straight to your favourite listening device. Find us under podcasts by searching for Compulsive Reader Talks. Then just click subscribe.
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(c) 2021 Magdalena Ball. Nothing in this newsletter may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher, however, reprint rights are readily available. Please feel free to forward this newsletter in its entirety.
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