Pulitzer Prize Winning Fiction Project discussion

My general opinion is that this is a sad book. I enjoyed it for the most part until about the last 1/4. Then everything started falling apart for all of the characters. I'm reading the Pulitzer prize winners and this is the 2nd. Of the two I've read, I liked this one better than His Family.

I am also reading them but not in order. Reading some newer ones first may make less of a daunting task

I read the Pulitzer winners in rather an unorthodox order. I became interesed in the winners in 1987 ("Beloved"), and read them from then on in more or less chronological order, with a book here or there skipped. I had read a few other winners before 1987, such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Grapes of Wrath" -- these when I was in high school.

In the mid-2000s, I realized that I had read nearly half the list. So I decided to read them all. When I did, I began reading them in reverse order, which was rather like going back in time, as it were. It was interesting to glean certain patterns and subjects from decade to decade that seemed to be of interest to the various members who comprised the juries and boards.

But really, I don't think it matters in what sequence you read the books, many of which are wonderful, a few of which are not. I guess it comes down to what one prefers aesthetically -- a matter that cannot be extricated from artistic mediums.

For some of the years when no award was given, I read the book which had been chosen unanimously by the jury but rejected by the board (viz. "Gravity's Rainbow"), as well as some of the finalists.

Elizabeth: I agree, "The Magnificent Ambersons" is rather sad. So is Booth Tarkington's other winner, "Alice Adams." But then, a number of the Pulitzer winners deal with grief and loss in various forms. Be prepared for this. Which isn't to say that many of the books fail also to have much that is joyful and transcendent -- a good number of them explore happiness as well as sadness. When you think about it, you realize that every life has these -- as well as a plethora of other -- emotions. Without one, you do not fully appreciate the other.

The ending of "Ambersons" is indeed timorous. Tarkington spends a great deal of time exploring the lives of the family in a forthright -- and somewhat satirical -- manner. Then, in the final stretch, he introduces a mystical element that seems… I don't know… somewhat tacked on. It's not that I minded the inclusion of this element (in life, it is important to keep an open mind if you wish to learn of the world); it just seemed to be presented rather abruptly.

But to both you and Jan, I wish happy reading. You've some real gems to encounter!

Interesting way to read in the reverse. I have just booped all around and have really gone in no order but have read 39 so far. I started reading them as I thought it would get me to read some books I would have never considered reading. One great surprise was "Lonesome Dove". I would have never thought to read this in a million years but it turned out to be one of my favorites.
As far as the books not all being joyful and transcendent, I agree you cant apppreciate joy without having experienced sadness.
One of the most brutual reads for me was American Pastoral. It was rough but by god it stayed with me. It was at a time that my daughter was lost and it really hit close to home but have to admit I was glad I read it

Oh, Jan. "Lonesome Dove"! I know, right? I've always like McMurtry's work, but I wasn't sure about "Dove." An epic western? It's a genre that I neither dislike nor love. However, "Dove" is a novel that just happens to take place in the West. That's how I see it anyway.

More than anything, it's a novel that focuses intently on the characters, which is the kind of writing I prefer. (As a writer, my way into a story is always through character.) Gus and Call. Lorena. Newt. July. Jake. Blue Duck. Clara Allen. Each one of them is presented as three-dimensional. Flesh-and-blood human beings. And on such a vast scale! I liked them all, but Clara really stayed with me. This fiercely intelligent woman who adapts to life and its tragedies as best she can. Who understands the concessions we all must make in life. And yet she never loses her ability to love and exercise empathy. She reminds me of my mother. For me, "Dove" was one of those wonderful surprises to be found in the list.

"American Pastoral." Yes, it's quite brutal. I've always loved Roth's books. His wit and satire are razor sharp. No one is safe; nothing is sacred. And yet, with "Pastoral," he takes these elements and wields them in writing a story that achieves the level of a Shakespearean tragedy. I was stunned and very moved. Never did I suspect I'd find such a deep level of sadness in a Roth novel. The American Dream as American Nightmare -- that's what I think of when I think of "Pastoral." While I also love "The Human Stain," I think "Pastoral" is Roth's most mature work. Swede and Dawn and Merry -- my heart ached for all of them. To think you read it while you were dealing with your own loss -- it must have been frightening.

I don't know if they're part of the 39 you've read, but if not, I'd suggest you immerse yourself in "The Executioner's Song" and "A Thousand Acres" -- two of my favorites. "The Edge of Sadness" is also very good.

"Executioner's" looks like a big book (over 1,000 pages), and it deters some people; but I promise you: once you start it, you won't be able to stop. You just get lost in it. It's a very sharp and specific perspective on America in the seventies, with beautiful prose that perfectly reflects the country in which the characters live. It's a true-life novel, as Mailer said of it. Yes, it's a true story; however, Mailer writes it using the elements of a novel. By the end, you are just shattered -- by the story, as well as Mailer having managed to write such a masterful novel.

"A Thousand Acres" takes "King Lear," transplants it to a late-seventies farm community, and offers the story a humanistic slant. There's also something quite brilliant in the way Jane Smiley reveals the elements of the story -- the "real" story. You'll get halfway through, be given a piece of information, and it will change everything you've read up to that point. (Toni Morrison did something similar in "Beloved.") I won't tell you what the information is, but it's jarring. It was a novel that, during the time I read it, I couldn't wait to get back to and continue reading. I woke up each day excited. The characters seemed so real to me.

"The Edge of Sadness" is the story of a priest who, after having some personal challenges, finds himself drawn back into the lives of a family whom he knew when he was younger. How Father Hugh deals with the Carmody clan is a great journey in fiction. I don't want to give anything away.

Oh, you have quite a journey ahead of you -- one I'm so glad I took myself. In fact, sometimes I feel a little sad that I've completed it… that is, until a new Pulitzer is announced each year.

Happy reading.