Last night the longlist for this year's Miles Franklin award were announced! I am ashamed to say that I haven't read any of them, and hadn't heard of a few of them!
The Pages - Murray Bail
Wanting - Richard Flanagan
Addition - Toni Jordan
One Foot Wrong - Sofie Laguna
Ice - Louis Nowra
Fugative Blue - Claire Thomas
A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz
The Devil’s Eye - Ian Townsend
The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas
Breath - Tim Winton
In fact, of all those authors I have only read one book by one of those authors and that was Tim Winton.
The Miles Franklin award is arguably the most prestigious prize awarded for Australian Fiction.
I am a bad Aussie!
I'm always excited to find good reading among the Franklin Miles award nominees. I've read several by Tim Winton (including Breath****) and Murray Bail (Eucalyptus was especially good), and half of the Toltz book. I have recently acquired a copy of Flanagan's The Sound of One Hand Clapping, and Wanting is on my tbr list. I am rarely disappointed by Aussie lit. I'll be interested to see what you think if you read any of these.
ReplyDeleteI started A Fraction of the Whole, and while there was something about Toltz's voice that was both intriguing and perplexing, the whole thing was too depressing for me to finish. I skimmed the rest and was glad I didn't invest the time. Voice good, plot torturous. I do want to try Breath, though. One day.
ReplyDeleteKat, I have thought about reading A Fraction of the Whole, but in the end didn't because I have the feeling that this part of a trilogy, and not the first part.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I will get to them eventually...maybe. I know that I didn't like the last Miles Franklin winner that was announced!
I read just a fraction of what you do but still when the nominees for the various book awards are announced at the end of the year I haven't ready any of them.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad, I read tons of review blogs and I haven't heard of any of them either.
ReplyDeleteI've read Wanting and Addition but they are the only 2 from this list. Both very different books but both fantastic I thought. I'm on a mission to read more Aussie fiction this year.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bad Aussie too Marg!!! I'm ashamed to say I've never even read a Bryce Courtenay novel...
ReplyDeleteNow I feel better Annie, because I have read at least a couple of his!
ReplyDeleteKaren, I say that I am always on a mission to read more Aussie Fiction each year, but so far I have only read one book by an Aussie this year, and that was only last week!
Yogi and Ladytink, it depends on which award, sometimes I have read a couple, and usually I have at least heard of most of them but not this time!