The Inaugural Sonnet87.com Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence (or, The 2006 Book Awards)
IP has inspired me to produce this post. His suggestion in the last 2006 Book List comments was a great one. So, I developed the awards. Remember, all of this is my opinion—if I were a lit critic, then . . . I’d be a lit critic.
Best Book of 2006: Hands down, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I went on and on about it during its appearance in the book list and I will continue to do so here. It’s one of those books that make you want to write. A lot of the credit goes to the translator, especially since I’m not inclined to read texts in their original Spanish—even though I can, I don’t get the same enjoyment from them as reading (and close reading) in English. Its climax is an easy one to figure out well before it arrives, but Zafon’s characters more than make up for the easy path he puts in front of his readers.
Worst Book of 2006: The Autobiography of Henry VIII. Margaret George did such a phenomenal job with Mary Magdalene that I had to read something else by her. This book and the book on Mary, Queen of Scots, were absolutely horrendous. I never finished the book on Mary, Queen of Scots, because I just couldn’t stomach it—that’s why it’s absent from the book list. From Anne’s treatment as a witch to Henry’s speculation that Elizabeth might be a witch, the entire story rubbed me the wrong way. I am a staunch Boleyn supporter, so that leads me to . . .
Best Non-Fiction of 2006: Eric W. Ives’ treatment of Anne Boleyn in The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: The Most Happy, although earning him some critics, has delighted me. Finally, someone who’s able to express publicly what I’ve always believed (the book is older with new revisions, and its recent reissue is the first time I’ve come across it). Anne Boleyn was not a witch; she was a person caught in tough circumstances. As queen, Ives is able to demonstrate that Anne was more the suited for the job (never mind her jealousies of Henry—as a love match, the possibility of either spouse getting hurt was inherent, and even if Anne knew what her place should’ve been, she couldn’t help it that she loved the brute). She was a generous patron, a conscientious queen who wanted her recalcitrant subjects to love her, and a powerful woman who was beheaded for political expediency. Had I the chance to choose three noteworthy people to dine with, dead or alive, Anne would be among them.
Best Fiction of 2006: World War Z by Max Brooks. The Shadow of the Wind could’ve repeated here because it’s a wonderful book, but nothing tops near-apocalypse thanks to flesh-eating dead bodies, all started by a little Chinese boy who is bitten while moon fishing. Less a linear novel than a collection of oral histories of the outbreak, world depopulation, and then victory over the enemy called Zack, World War Z creeped me out enough that I was happy to have it out of my apartment when I returned it to my older brother in November. I would literally put heavy objects on top of the book to make sure that if any zombies tried to climb out of there, I’d hear the racket caused by falling objects and be far away from my apartment when they finally left the pages. Yes, I am that pathetic when I want to be frightened. The Battle of Yonkers and the reclamation of the United States (as told by the same character) are particularly good sections of the book. If you’re not interested in reading the book, the synopsis on Wikipedia is pretty damn good—overview of everything from fake vaccines to how Cuba becomes the leading country in the world.
Best Plot-Twist of 2006: Not so much a plot twist but a highly appreciated moment in fake history, the celebrity safe house established in the early days of the Total Panic in World War Z is a hilarious and probably true-to-life section of the book. Holing up on (I believe) Long Island, celebrities of all kinds come together in a fabulous mansion and decide to telecast their bout for survival during the zombie takeover. Of course, ordinary folks see this and attempt to penetrate the fortress—the celebrities’ defenses fall not to mindless cannibals, but men, women and children who just want to escape the threat of a) being eaten alive or b) getting away after getting bitten and then turning into a zombie. Mayhem ensues, with celebrity casualties coming at the hands of their assistants, the people trying to use the mansion for their own protection, and various other (explosive) devices. See, zombie wars would be good for few things, but the annihilation of self-important yet unaccomplished celebrities would be one of the good things.
Worst Plot-Twist of 2006: This distinction has to go to William Trevor’s The Story of Lucy Gault. Even though I am not a mother, I know that, even when you suspect the worst, you look for a kid everywhere. And if you do go abroad for an indefinite amount of time, no justification for love’s sake can convince me that you wouldn’t check in at least once with the property and people you left behind. A beautifully written book, it nonetheless irritated me that there wasn’t even a half-hearted search for the eponymous child. Or that her parents would float around Europe without sending a telegram or two. The contrivances didn’t cause me to put down the book, but they galled me because I believe that Trevor has proven to me (at least in this work—I’m not sure about others) that he doesn’t know how to write women well. All women struck me as stalwart men with breasts who followed their need to punish themselves rather than the sensible path to take. And you know, self-flagellation only goes so far when it comes to advancing the plot.
Best Stephen King Book of 2006: This has to have its own category because I read so much. The award goes to From a Buick 8, where the relationships in the book had me completely convinced even if I don’t believe in inter-dimensional cars (or do I?). I loved all those blokes and how they protected, cared, and worked together. I was sorry when the story ended. I loved the creepy car. I loved the kid who wanted to destroy what might’ve destroyed his dad. It was written in a laid-back, subtle tone that contrasted wildly with the car—and it worked.
Worst Stephen King Book of 2006: Cell. I adore me some zombies, but these were too much. Collective-consciousness live zombies, no less—like the Borg combined with 28 Days Later in order to produce the dullest enemy ever. All this brought to you, of course, by the magic of cell phones. Don’t forget that the survivors were led by a 17-year-old girl who is later gratuitously killed—joy. Overall, this book was a snoozer whose only creepy moment came when the people affected by the Pulse surround the house where our merry band of protagonists is staying.
Best Discovery of 2006: Sarah Vowell, for her dry observations, irreverent wit, guilt complex, and dislike of all things Republican. Thanks, Jon Stewart, for having her as a guest—and thanks, YouTube, for allowing me to see that.
Comments are closed.
Best Book: I haven’t read it, but I think I should borrow it from you.
Worst: Ditto, but I won’t borrow it.
Best Fiction: Whatevs. ;)
Best Plot Twist: Two things about this I especially like. 1) The celebrities decided to tape themselves in a life-or-death situation (for whose entertainment, I wonder) (heck, you don’t even need to be a celebrity to do that these days, apparently), and 2) they holed up on Long Island. This gives me a mental image of Paris Hilton being bludgeoned to death by frenzied, bagel-wielding guidos. (Maybe I should read this book.)
Worst Plot Twist: Agreed that it strains credulity. Not agreed that it reflects Trevor’s ability to write women. I say this because it strains credulity for BOTH sexes. Maybe, unlike the wife, the husband would never have checked in about the kid (though I doubt it), but to never check in on his property/servants/friends/relatives – I could just as well say Trevor can’t write men, either. The protagonist (I guess?) was a woman – what’d you think of her? In short, my take is it’s just an implausible situation, but doesn’t reflect any particular weakness beyond that. It would take reading more of his stuff to test this hypothesis, and I’d probably give him another try. I thought his writing was terrific.
Stephen King: I’m with you on both, but are you also counting the short story collections, because I thought both of those were awesome (though this may in fact reflect my tender young age when I read them)? From a Buick 8 had both wonderful characterization and some bigger-picture musings that I thought were extremely interesting. I thought it was one of his best. Cell seemed like a rush job, weak in all the places you pointed out.
I’m a little disappointed you didn’t think more of Cat’s Cradle. That one stuck with me for a long time after I read it. But different strokes for different strokes, and I know you’re not much of a “postmodernist”. :)
World War Z is worth the read only because of thinly-veiled celebrities (you can clearly identify Paris Hilton, but she doesn’t meet her end at the hands of guidos) and politicians (Colin Powell and Howard Dean are clearly the President and Vice President elected to lead the country out of the crisis). There is also something about near-apocalyptic literature and film that appeals to Big Bro A and me—don’t know if the idea of the end coming in such a far out way appeals to you, but it’s a good enough read (though I would recommend reading the Zombie Survival Guide by the same author before tackling World War Z).
I found Trevor’s characterization of the father to be a bit more believable—the man will clearly do anything for his wife, even if it means cutting ties. The fact that she chose him over his brother kind of cemented that for me. He made family sacrifices before Lucy was even born, so that backstory helped me to believe he’d listen to her in whatever she wanted. Lucy as an adult I did not find plausible. The fact that she felt so guilty about what happened enough to deny her own happiness was unacceptable because her parents had dropped off the face of the planet as far as she knew—I thought she owed it to herself to move on and begin to make amends by leading a better (not sheltered) life. I still think the writing is beautiful, and I don’t regret reading it, but the plot twists really pulled my leg. But I would definitely give him another try because he’s a good writer.
When I was compiling the awards, I decided to exclude Shakespeare and short stories–I decided to focus on novels and the non-fiction I’d read. That’s why Stephen King’s collections didn’t make the list, but I do agree that they’re pretty good.
I did enjoy Cat’s Cradle when I read it. Part of the problem was that I read it so long ago; another part is that I’m not much of a postmodernist, so it’s not going to stick with me that long anyhow. But it was a good recommendation, so thanks. :)
Definitely borrow The Shadow of the Wind when you get a chance.
I was frustrated by Lucy as an adult, for reasons similar to yours. She was such a home-body, so small-minded. You’d think she would want to get away, at least temporarily, from the insular place where she felt so unwelcome (the villages around the house, though by the time she was grown I don’t think she was actually unwelcome – witness all the neighbors hoping she’d get with that tutor guy). At the same time, if she was going to continue to beat herself up over something that happened when she was nine, you’d think maybe she’d want to go and try to find out for herself just how much her parents had actually suffered, or tell them herself she was OK. Isn’t that what being grown-up is about – taking charge of your own destiny? (I guess there’s a little bit of like father-like daughter in that.)
But the more I think about it the more implausible a lot of it seems, from the finances (did anyone in that novel actually work for a living, besides tutor guy and the family friend?) to the servants who kept the place for decades and never decided just to sell off the furniture and bail. So anyway, I think the problems go far beyond a woman thing. It’s a plot thing.
I liked Cat’s Cradle because of Bokononism – an interesting take on religion and an interesting philosophy in and of itself. Long after the characters and plot details had left me, I remembered my karasses and my wampeters and my granfalloons. That’s why I mention it.
I do like apocalyptic stuff, to some degree. I’m mostly fascinated by the logistics of it, but also by potential mechanisms. Though I have to say, as a mechanism, Captain Trips seems a lot more likely to me than either zombies or messed-up cell phones. :)
I did like that Lucy branched out enough, closer to the middle of her life, to meet and continue visiting the man who kind of instigated everything (though I still think her parents and the village are mega-stupid for not at least giving the woods a cursory search). The adult Lucy was supposed to be in contrast to the young Lucy, who wandered everywhere—I did want her to go out, but you’re right in that the finances just didn’t permit that. Still, she could’ve at least married the tutor guy—there weren’t many options available, she obviously loved him (and he loved her), and building a family with him could help repair her own shattered life. Anyway, not that marriage or kids were the ultimate solution, but I just didn’t get why she let him go.
See, I don’t remember anything about Cat’s Cradle in terms of its philosophy—when you mentioned all those words, I had to look them up to recall why they meant. I remember liking the youngest son the best, though.
Agreed that Captain Trips is more likely, but you know—Brooks’ zombies come about not from supernatural means, but by a virus called solanum (obviously, not the plant genus): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zombie_Survival_Guide#Solanum . So it’s also a super infection, just one that reanimates the corpse and turns it into a killing machine. I did like The Stand a lot because of its apocalyptic nature. I like that the disease was man-made, but the actual stand itself is supernatural. The biggest question both books make you ask is: Would I survive? I’m guessing Captain Trips would get me, but I’d put up a hell of a fight in a zombie war. I’m just saying.