A Thought...

Literary Prizes: 

A Thought...

Today as I continued to read History of Wolves by: Emily Fridlund, I was caught off guard by a perplexing thought regarding literary prizes. Why are literary prizes held, and what do they truly judge based on? As a follow up I began to explore what I look at when I am reading literary fiction, and how prizes fit into the scheme. This whole idea is rather perplexing, prizes, merit, ideas, and themes all coming together to influence readers. 

In general I believe that literary/book prizes in general are used to compare the years nominees and select the best novels based on varying characteristics. These varying characteristics are what can cause people to misjudge books. For example some literary prizes are judging for how a novel deals with pertinent topics and issues, while others rate based on quality of story and writing. For this reason, it is crucial for readers to understand what each prize judges for prior to reading nominees.

It is important for each person to know why they read a specific genre, and what they are looking for within a prize before they begin to read the nominated works. For myself I read literary fiction to explore situations and experiences in which I could never experience in my current situation. In addition to an eyeopening plot, I also seek beautiful writing and impeccable character development. These aspects rarely are targeted for a singular prize, which makes reading nominees very difficult to select specific novels which will cover all aspects which I crave. I do not typically follow any prize for this reason, however the Man Booker is one that I am always captivated by. Though each book will not be the perfect title for me to read I have come to trust the quality of writing and topics which the nominees discuss each year. For this reason I am attempting to read the entire shortlist this year. 

When reading an entire shortlist for one single years prize, I believe it is crucial to understand that not every single novel will make the same impact upon you and therefor should be judged on that and its literary quality. For example, History of Wolves  is very well written and is enjoyable while reading, however it is scattered and sparse in both plot and character growth. That is not to say that the novel is not of merit, or is not worthy of the prize's attention; it simply means that I do not connect with the themes and characters. Not connecting with characters often makes me less attracted to a novel, however reading an entire shortlist will force me to find merit in every single novel. 

What do you think of literary prizes, are they good, bad or indifferent? 

What are you favorite prizes? 

• My two favorite are Man Booker, and the Bailey's Women's prize for Fiction.

Happy Thinking!