Man Booker Longlist

'Tis that time of year again. The Man Booker Committee has announced their longlist fiction. In regards to the actual list, Chair Michael Portillo commented:

"With a notable degree of consensus, the five Man Booker judges decided on their longlist of 13 books. The judges are pleased with the geographical balance of the longlist with writers from Pakistan, India, Australia, Ireland and UK. We also are happy with the interesting mix of books, five first novels and two novels by former winners."

And the potential winners are:

Aravind Adiga The White Tiger
Gaynor Arnold Girl in a Blue Dress
Sebastian Barry The Secret Scripture
John Berger From A to X
Michelle de Kretser The Lost Dog
Amitav Ghosh Sea of Poppies
Linda Grant The Clothes on Their Backs
Mohammed Hanif A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Philip Hensher The Northern Clemency
Joseph O'Neill Netherland
Salman Rushdie The Enchantress of Florence
Tom Rob Smith Child 44
Steve Toltz A Fraction of the Whole

I bet Rushdie wins. Anyone want to go up against that??

Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, by Diana Gabaldon

This is my first post on Luminous, and I am admittedly scared. I wanted to write some elloquent, powerful analysis of the two tomes that have comprised my summer reading thus far. But I realized that such expectations would proabably keep me from ever posting. So, here is a brief response to the first two books of a 6-part historical fiction/romance series by (best-selling...dare I say that) author, Diana Gabaldon.

Claire Randall, a mid 20th-century woman, is caught in an unconventional love triangle that spans 300 years of history. On a vacation/research tour in the Scottish Highlands with her husband, Frank, Claire ventures off one afternoon and finds herself displaced. When she awakens, she realizes that while she vaguely recognizes the landscape around her, she knows she is not in the same place she just came from. Claire quickly learns that she has just traveled back to the 1700s!

Action immediately ensues as Claire is rescued from a harassing Englishman, Jack Randall, by James "Jamie" MacKenzie Fraser, a Scotsman. The relationship that develops between Claire and Jamie is the primary focus throughout the series (at least thus far). It is a relationship that the reader cannot help but support, regardless of the cost.

There was a secondary short-term "relationship," (perhaps better described as an encounter) that began in the first book between 2 of the above mentioned characters, while it's affects were explored further in the second book. It was this disturbing encounter that I found unforgetable. Not only for it's darkness, but for it's redemption. It was a glimpse into the emotionally and physically painful window of sacrifice in the name of the one (or even ones) you love.

So, would I recommend this series? If you are looking for something with a little history, a little (ok more than a little) romance, a little steaminess, a lot of adventure, and time traveling(!), then I would recommend you read Outlander. If you don't like it, I'm sorry. But if you do, there is good news!...The series is 6 books long; and each one is around 600+ pages (in small print), so you have time to revel in your facinatation with the story and it's characters.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

The History of Love. You have seen it on the EL, or at the bus stop, or maybe a friend read it a few months ago. It's on display in the window at the local book stop. Whatever the case, you have heard about it. It's everywhere. That is basically why I picked it up. Sometimes curiosity gets the best of me...and if everyone else is doing it...I know that is not a good reason, but I just can not help it. Anyway. So I read The History of Love. It's a mere 250 pages and by all means fits the definition of a light summer read. There are at least four different narrators in the novel (I think maybe a fifth one shows up for a chapter but don't hold me to that) and some of them are really great. Such as Leopold Gursky, a persnickety old man with a fondness for making people uncomfortable by forcing them to come in contact with his aging body. He's great and hilarious (laugh out loud funny) and also charming and heartbreaking. Then there's 14 year old Alma Singer, and all I have to say to Krauss on this one is: "did you let your husband right this part?" These chapters are incongruous with the rest of the text and sound like they have come straight out of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...which is too bad, not because that book was bad, I rather enjoyed it, but because that book has already been written.

Okay, so you want to know how the book is already? I get it. It's a lot of fun for the first third. Bland and un-notable (if that's a word) for the second third (I almost put the book down and gave up). The final third, well it was good. The stories came together pretty nice, although there were a few things that were never resolved that kinda irked me. But over all it was enjoyable. And it gives you a little more time with Gursky, who I really had a fondness for. So, should you read the book? Well, maybe if you are sitting at the beach and feeling kinda go-with-the-flow. Or if you happen to have a copy laying around and nothing else to read. Then sure, read it. It's good, but it won't knock your socks off. And if you can get over the fact that she pretty much plagiarized one of her husbands characters (and apparently he doesn't mind) then yeah, you will like it.