21st Century Literature discussion

Nominations are now open until May 22nd for the July 2018 Open Pick.

Nominating guidelines:
- Fiction (original & translation, if applicable) first published between January 1, 2000 and July 1, 2017. For translations the latter date must be an English edition.
- One nomination per person (please do not nominate or vote for a book unless you are certain you can read and discuss if it wins)
- A book this group has not yet read (see group bookshelf)

If you are nominating, please begin your post by stating "I nominate [name with hyperlink to book]

I nominate When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy

I nominate Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami.

EDIT: Hugh, I saw your post only after posting my nomination, and as I nominated Kandasamy before, I would of course also support your suggestion!

Sorry Meike - that is an interesting book, but this edition was published in English before 2000:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Hugh wrote: "Sorry Meike - that is an interesting book, but this edition was published in English before 2000:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..."

That's fine, then I second your nomination!

I nominate The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe

Thanks Robert

Hugh wrote: "I nominate When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy"

This would be an excellent and stimulating choice. And since I've recently read it, I know that I'll actually participate in the discussion.

I nominate Days Without End by Sebastian Barry.

I'm new to this group & this is my first nomination so I hope this novel meets the criteria - please let me know if not. I just heard an interview with the writer & now I'm eager to read this book.

Thanks Catriona, that one is fine (first published October 2016).

I nominate You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood

I think that one is fine too Vicky, though I am not 100% sure it wouldn't fit the wildcard slot better (genre fiction).

Catriona wrote: "I nominate Days Without End by Sebastian Barry.

I'm new to this group & this is my first nomination so I hope this novel meets the criteria - please let me know if n..."

Catriona, this book is fantastic - it made me cry!!!

Catriona wrote: "I nominate Days Without End by Sebastian Barry.

Another excellent choice.

Last month I read and really enjoyed The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry.

Meike wrote: "Catriona wrote: "I nominate Days Without End by Sebastian Barry.

I'm new to this group & this is my first nomination so I hope this novel meets the criteria - please..."

I highly recommend the audio version! The narrator, Aidan Kelly, voices Thomas McNulty so warmly and beautifully. I'm one of those who came to audio late (how could it possibly be equal to print??), but it's books like this that convince me that hearing can be just as good an experience as reading.

I nominate The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt.

Thanks Carol

Nadine wrote: "Meike wrote: "Catriona wrote: "I nominate Days Without End by Sebastian Barry.

I'm new to this group & this is my first nomination so I hope this novel meets the cri..."

Great to hear that so many of you enjoyed this book. I'll definitely be reading it, even if it doesn't win the vote, boxes of tissues at the ready! :o)

I nominate Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin.

Robin, Laurus is already scheduled for the June open pick so you don't need to wait until July!

I'll throw Mrs Osmond by John Banville into the ring. Pulled it from the new books shelf in a local library tonight and read enough to know that I willing to read it, even probably moderate if chosen. Of what of Henry James I have read, The Portrait of a Lady is probably my favorite.

Sorry Lily - the earliest publication date I can see for that is 5 Oct 2017 which means that November 2018 is the earliest we can accept it under the 12 month rule. It is one I want to read too...

Sorry, Hugh -- my time arithmetic cells (whatever such may be) weren't working well last night! I saw "2017" and somehow said, "this one is safe"! Time goes fast enough; I don't need to treat it as going faster. In the meantime, maybe this will encourage those who haven't read Portrait to do so. My initial reaction was that such may be useful for full enjoyment of Banville's "sequel" -- which may be as much about one great author attempting to respond to the genius of another as about the stories themselves.

I don't have another nomination right now.

Last day for nominations today. So far we have:

When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy (Hugh)

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe (Robert)

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (Catriona)

You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood (Vicky)

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (Carol)

I nominate Seiobo There Below by László Krasznahorkai.

A question : can we nominate books originally published before 2000, but translated post 2000?

What about new translations of a book that had been translated before ? (Like a new translation of the Odyssey, Antigone etc.)

Lia,

That one is not eligible because it has been discussed before, in May 2015. I think we decided that translations had to be books originally published in their original language after 1 January 2000, but the English translation must also have been published more than 12 months before the discussion starts.

Hope this helps

Hugh wrote: "Lia,

That one is not eligible because it has been discussed before, in May 2015. I think we decided that translations had to be books originally published in their original language after 1 Januar..."

Thank you, that clears it up.

The poll is now up here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is the last day to vote on this poll.

It was a very close vote, but When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife held off a late challenge from Days Without End to win the poll.

...maybe Barry will make it the second time around - Kandasamy also needed two rounds of voting! :-)

I'm still hoping to get the group to read Krasznahorkai together at some point; he's breaking my brain and I need help. (Probably not a good way to promote an author...)

I know it was technically my nomination but Meike, if you would like to lead the discussion I would be happy to pass it back. If not I am of course willing to do it myself.

No, it's fine, Hugh, you do it! I will participate and try to help keep the conversation going. I am already looking forward to it, it's such a great book! Thanks for nominating it!!

Ok - I am looking forward to it.

Lia, If you want to drop in the old Seibo conversation, I can try and dig my notes up on that one--it was a challenging, but fascinating read if I do recall.

Looking forward to reading the latest Open Pick winner--thanks for keeping us organized, Hugh!

Thank you Marc! I'm "almost done" with The World Goes On, but I think I need to read some of his earlier books to figure out what is going on.

I'll take up your offer and see if I can get a conversation going. If not, I might try and push for Destruction and Sorrow beneath the Heavens: Reportage, or The World Goes On next year.

This link will get you to the Seibo discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Forewarning to U.S. readers, allow extra time for shipping if you're getting the paperback version of When I Hit You. Library options may be limited, as well.

Thanks for the link, Whitney. Lia, one of the threads has resources that might be of interest, including an interview with LK. I've heard The World Goes On is one of his more difficult reads. I started with and was hooked by Satantango.

Satantango is the only Krasznahorkai I have read - a very atmospheric book. Too old to be selected for a group discussion here though...

Thanks. I just “finished” The World Goes On. I could have finished it last night! I didn’t realize the last chapter is ... ugh. I got owned!

Anyway, I’m confused and annoyed, a good time to move on to Seibo. Thanks for the link.